Fixed Points of the Restricted Delaunay Triangulation Operator

The restricted Delaunay triangulation can be conceived as an operator that takes as input a k-manifold (typically smooth) embedded in R and a set of points sampled with sufficient density on that manifold, and produces as output a k-dimensional triangulation of the manifold, the input points serving as its vertices. What happens if we feed that triangulation back into the operator, replacing the original manifold, while retaining the same set of input points? If k = 2 and the sample points are sufficiently dense, we obtain another triangulation of the manifold. Iterating this process, we soon reach an iteration for which the input and output triangulations are the same. We call this triangulation a fixed point of the restricted Delaunay triangulation operator. With this observation, and a new test for distinguishing “critical points” near the manifold from those near its medial axis, we develop a provably good surface reconstruction algorithm for R3 with unusually modest sampling requirements. We develop a similar algorithm for constructing a simplicial complex that models a 2-manifold embedded in a high-dimensional space R, also with modest sampling requirements (especially compared to algorithms that depend on sliver exudation). The latter algorithm builds a non-manifold representation similar to the flow complex, but made solely of Delaunay simplices. The algorithm avoids the curse of dimensionality: its running time is polynomial, not exponential, in d. 1998 ACM Subject Classification F.2.2 Analysis of Algorithms and Problem Complexity: Nonnumerical Algorithms and Problems