Analyzing Time-Varying Scalar Fields using Piecewise-Linear Morse-Cerf Theory
Abstract
Morse-Cerf theory considers a one-parameter family of smooth functions defined on a manifold and studies the evolution of their critical points with the parameter. This paper presents an adaptation of Morse-Cerf theory to a family of piecewise-linear (PL) functions. The vertex diagram and Cerf diagram are introduced as representations of the evolution of critical points of the PL function. The characterization of a crossing in the vertex diagram based on the homology of the lower links of vertices leads to the definition of a topological descriptor for time-varying scalar fields. An algorithm for computing the Cerf diagram and a measure for comparing two Cerf diagrams are also described together with experimental results on time-varying scalar fields.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2507.00725,
title = {Analyzing Time-Varying Scalar Fields using Piecewise-Linear Morse-Cerf Theory},
author = {Amritendu Dhar and Apratim Chakraborty and Vijay Natarajan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.00725},
year = {2025}
}