arXiv subjects

James Damon

Publications and source records attributed to James Damon.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Interior Object Geometry via Fitted Frames

We propose a means of computing fitted frames on the boundary and in the interior of objects and using them to provide the basis for producing geometric features from them that are not only alignment-free but most importantly can be made to correspond locally across a population of objects. We describe a representation targeted for anatomic objects which is designed to enable this strong locational correspondence within object populations and thus to provide powerful object statistics. It accomplishes this by understanding an object as the diffeomorphic deformation of the closure of the interior of an ellipsoid and by using a skeletal representation fitted throughout the deformation to produce a model of the target object, where the object is provided initially in the form of a boundary mesh. Via classification performance on hippocampi shape between individuals with a disorder vs. others, we compare our method to two state-of-theart methods for producing object representations that are intended to capture geometric correspondence across a population of objects and to yield geometric features useful for statistics, and we show notably improved classification performance by this new representation, which we call the evolutionary s-rep. The geometric features that are derived from each of the representations, especially via fitted frames, are discussed.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2021

Non-Euclidean Analysis of Joint Variations in Multi-Object Shapes

This paper considers joint analysis of multiple functionally related structures in classification tasks. In particular, our method developed is driven by how functionally correlated brain structures vary together between autism and control groups. To do so, we devised a method based on a novel combination of (1) non-Euclidean statistics that can faithfully represent non-Euclidean data in Euclidean spaces and (2) a non-parametric integrative analysis method that can decompose multi-block Euclidean data into joint, individual, and residual structures. We find that the resulting joint structure is effective, robust, and interpretable in recognizing the underlying patterns of the joint variation of multi-block non-Euclidean data. We verified the method in classifying the structural shape data collected from cases that developed and did not develop into Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

stat.ML↗

arXiv2020

Rigidity Properties of the Blum Medial Axis

We consider the Blum medial axis of a region in $\mathbb R^n$ with piecewise smooth boundary and examine its "rigidity properties", by which we mean properties preserved under diffeomorphisms of the regions preserving the medial axis. There are several possible versions of rigidity depending on what features of the Blum medial axis we wish to retain. We use a form of the cross ratio from projective geometry to show that in the case of four smooth sheets of the medial axis meeting along a branching submanifold, the cross ratio defines a function on the branching sheet which must be preserved under any diffeomorphism of the medial axis with another. Second, we show in the generic case, along a Y-branching submanifold that there are three cross ratios involving the three limiting tangent planes of the three smooth sheets and each of the hyperplanes defined by one of the radial lines and the tangent space to the Y-branching submanifold at the point, which again must be preserved. Moreover, the triple of cross ratios then locally uniquely determines the angles between the smooth sheets. Third, we observe that for a diffeomorphism of the region preserving the Blum medial axis and the infinitesimal directions of the radial lines, the second derivative of the diffeomorphism at points of the medial axis must satisfy a condition relating the radial shape operators and hence the differential geometry of the boundaries at corresponding boundary points.

math.DG↗

arXiv2019

Characteristic Cohomology I: Singularities of Given Type

For a germ of a variety $\mathcal{V}, 0 \subset \mathbb C^N, 0$, a singularity $\mathcal{V}_0$ of type $\mathcal{V}$, is given by a germ $f_0 : \mathbb C^n, 0 \to \mathbb C^N, 0$ which is transverse to $\mathcal{V}$ in an appropriate sense so that $\mathcal{V}_0 = f_0^{-1}(\mathcal{V})$. For these singularities, we introduce "characteristic cohomology" to capture the contribution of the topology of $\mathcal{V}$ to that of $\mathcal{V}_0$, for the Milnor fiber (for $\mathcal{V}, 0$ a hypersurface), and complement and link of $\mathcal{V}_0$ (in the general case). The characteristic cohomology of both the Milnor fiber and complement are subalgebras of the cohomology of the Milnor fibers, respectively the complement. For a fixed $\mathcal{V}$, they are functorial over the category of singularities of type $\mathcal{V}$. In addition, for the link of $\mathcal{V}_0$ there is a characteristic cohomology subgroup of the cohomology of the link over a field of characteristic 0. The characteristic cohomologies for Milnor fiber and complement are shown to be invariant under the $\mathcal K_{\mathcal{V}}$-equivalence of defining germs $f_0$, resp. for the link invariant under the $\mathcal K_{H}$-equivalence of $f_0$ for $H$ the defining equation of $\mathcal V, 0$. We give a geometric criteria involving "vanishing compact models", which detect nonvanishing subalgebras of the characteristic cohomologies, resp. subgroups for the link. In part II of this paper we specialize to the case of square matrix singularities, which may be general, symmetric or skew-symmetric.

math.AG↗

arXiv2019

Characteristic Cohomology II: Matrix Singularities

Let $\mathcal{V} \subset M$ denote any of the varieties of singular $m \times m$ complex matrices which may be general, symmetric, or skew-symmetric ($m$ even), or $m \times p$ matrices, in the corresponding space $M$ of such matrices. A "matrix singularity", $\mathcal{V}_0$ of "type $\mathcal{V}$", for any of the $\mathcal{V} \subset M$ is defined as $\mathcal{V}_0 = f_0^{-1}(\mathcal{V})$ by a germ $f_0 : \mathbb C^n, 0 \to M, 0$ (appropriately transverse to $\mathcal{V}$). In part I of this paper we introduced the notion of characteristic cohomology for a singularity $\mathcal{V}_0$ of type $\mathcal{V}$ for the Milnor fiber (for $\mathcal{V}$ a hypersurface) and for the complement and link (in the general case). We determine here the characteristic cohomology for matrix singularities in all of these cases. For these singularities we had shown in another paper that the Milnor fibers and complements have "compact model submanifolds", which are classical symmetric spaces in the sense of Cartan. We show that characteristic subalgebra is the image of an exterior algebra (or in one case a module on two generators over an exterior algebra) on an explicit set of generators. We give "detection criteria"using the vanishing compact models for identifying a exterior subalgebras in the characteristic sublgebra, when $f_0$ contains a special type of "unfurled kite map". This will be valid for the Milnor fiber, complement, and link.

math.AG↗

arXiv2019

Lorentzian Geodesic Flows and Interpolation between Hypersurfaces in Euclidean Spaces

We consider geodesic flows between hypersurfaces in $\R^n$. However, rather than consider using geodesics in $\R^n$, which are straight lines, we consider an induced flow using geodesics between the tangent spaces of the hypersurfaces viewed as affine hyperplanes. For naturality, we want the geodesic flow to be invariant under rigid transformations and homotheties. Consequently, we do not use the dual projective space, as the geodesic flow in this space is not preserved under translations. Instead we give an alternate approach using a Lorentzian space, which is semi-Riemannian with a metric of index $1$. For this space for points corresponding to affine hyperplanes in $\R^n$, we give a formula for the geodesic between two such points. As a consequence, we show the geodesic flow is preserved by rigid transformations and homotheties of $\R^n$. Furthermore, we give a criterion that a vector field in a smoothly varying family of hyperplanes along a curve yields a Lorentzian parallel vector field for the corresponding curve in the Lorentzian space. As a result this provides a method to extend an orthogonal frame in one affine hyperplane to a smoothly "Lorentzian varying" family of orthogonal frames in a family of affine hyperplanes along a smooth curve, as well as a interpolating between two such frames with a smooth " minimally Lorentzian varying" family of orthogonal frames. We further give sufficient conditions that the Lorentzian flow from a hypersurface is nonsingular and that the resulting corresponding flow in $\R^n$ is nonsingular. This is illustrated for surfaces in $\R^3$.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Schubert Decomposition for Milnor Fibers of the Varieties of Singular Matrices

We consider the varieties of singular $m \times m$ complex matrices which may be either general, symmetric or skew-symmetric (with $m$ even). For these varieties we have shown in another paper that they had compact "model submanifolds", for the homotopy types of the Milnor fibers which are classical symmetric spaces in the sense of Cartan. In this paper we use these models, combined with results due to a number of authors concerning the Schubert decomposition of Lie groups, symmetric spaces via the Cartan model together with Iwasawa decomposition to give a cell decomposition of the global Milnor fibers. The Schubert decomposition is in terms of "unique ordered factorizations" of matrices in the Milnor fibers as products of " pseudo-rotations". In the case of symmetric or skew-symmetric matrices, this factorization has the form of iterated "Cartan conjugacies" by pseudo-rotations. The "Schubert cycles" (the closures of the Schubert cells), are images of products of suspensions of projective spaces (complex, real, or quaternionic). For general or skew-symmetric matrices the Schubert cycles have fundamental classes, and for symmetric matrices $\mod 2$ classes, giving a basis for the homology, corresponding to the cohomology generators for the symmetric spaces. For general matrices the duals of the Schubert cycles are given as explicit monomials in the generators of the exterior cohomology algebra; and for symmetric matrices they are related to Stiefel-Whitney classes of an associated vector bundle. Furthermore, for any matrix singularity of these types the pull-backs of these cohomolgy classes generate a characteristic subalgebra of the cohomology of the Milnor fiber. These results extend to exceptional orbit hypersurfaces, complements and links.

math.AG↗

arXiv2017

Modeling Multi-Object Configurations via Medial/Skeletal Linking Structures

We introduce a method for modeling a configuration of objects in 2D or 3D images using a mathematical "skeletal linking structure" which will simultaneously capture the individual shape features of the objects and their positional information relative to one another. The objects may either have smooth boundaries and be disjoint from the others or share common portions of their boundaries with other objects in a piecewise smooth manner. These structures include a special class of "Blum medial linking structures," which are intrinsically associated to the configuration and build upon the Blum medial axes of the individual objects. We give a classification of the properties of Blum linking structures for generic configurations. The skeletal linking structures add increased flexibility for modeling configurations of objects by relaxing the Blum conditions and they extend in a minimal way the individual "skeletal structures" which have been previously used for modeling individual objects and capturing their geometric properties. This allows for the mathematical methods introduced for single objects to be significantly extended to the entire configuration of objects. These methods not only capture the internal shape structures of the individual objects but also the external structure of the neighboring regions of the objects.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2017

Shape and Positional Geometry of Multi-Object Configurations

In previous work, we introduced a method for modeling a configuration of objects in 2D and 3D images using a mathematical "medial/skeletal linking structure." In this paper, we show how these structures allow us to capture positional properties of a multi-object configuration in addition to the shape properties of the individual objects. In particular, we introduce numerical invariants for positional properties which measure the closeness of neighboring objects, including identifying the parts of the objects which are close, and the "relative significance" of objects compared with the other objects in the configuration. Using these numerical measures, we introduce a hierarchical ordering and relations between the individual objects, and quantitative criteria for identifying subconfigurations. In addition, the invariants provide a "proximity matrix" which yields a unique set of weightings measuring overall proximity of objects in the configuration. Furthermore, we show that these invariants, which are volumetrically defined and involve external regions, may be computed via integral formulas in terms of "skeletal linking integrals" defined on the internal skeletal structures of the objects.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2015

Topology of Exceptional Orbit Hypersurfaces of Prehomogeneous Spaces

We consider the topology for a class of hypersurfaces with highly nonisolated singularites which arise as exceptional orbit varieties of a special class of prehomogeneous vector spaces, which are representations of linear algebraic groups with open orbits. These hypersurface singularities include both determinantal hypersurfaces and linear free (and free*) divisors. Although these hypersurfaces have highly nonisolated singularities, we determine the topology of their Milnor fibers, complements and links. We do so by using the action of linear algebraic groups beginning with the complement, instead of using Morse type arguments on the Milnor fibers. This includes replacing the local Milnor fiber by a global Milnor fiber which has a complex geometry resulting from a transitive action of an appropriate algebraic group, yielding a compact model submanifold for the homotopy type of the Milnor fiber. The topology includes the (co)homology (in characteristic 0, and 2 torsion in one family) and homotopy groups, and we deduce the triviality of the monodromy transformations on rational (or complex) cohomology. The cohomology of the Milnor fibers and complements are isomorphic as algebras to exterior algebras or for one family, modules over exterior algebras; and cohomology of the link is, as a vector space, a truncated and shifted exterior algebra, for which the cohomology product structure is essentially trivial. We also deduce from Bott's periodicity theorem, the homotopy groups of the Milnor fibers for determinantal hypersurfaces in the stable range as the stable homotopy groups of the associated infinite dimensional symmetric spaces. Applying a Theorem of Oka we obtain a class of formal linear combinations of exceptional orbit hypersurfaces which have Milnor fibers which are homotopy equivalent to joins of the compact model submanifolds.

math.AG↗

arXiv2015

Medial/skeletal linking structures for multi-region configurations

We consider a generic configuration of regions, consisting of a collection of distinct compact regions $\{Ω_i\}$ in $\mathbb{R}^{n+1}$ which may be either smooth regions disjoint from the others or regions which meet on their piecewise smooth boundaries $\mathcal{B}_i$ in a generic way. We introduce a skeletal linking structure for the collection of regions which simultaneously captures the regions' individual shapes and geometric properties as well as the "positional geometry" of the collection. The linking structure extends in a minimal way the individual "skeletal structures" on each of the regions, allowing us to significantly extend the mathematical methods introduced for single regions to the configuration. We prove for a generic configuration of regions the existence of a special type of Blum linking structure which builds upon the Blum medial axes of the individual regions. This requires proving several transversality theorems for certain associated "multi-distance" and "height-distance" functions for such configurations. We show that by relaxing the conditions on the Blum linking structures we obtain the more general class of skeletal linking structures which still capture the geometric properties. In addition to yielding geometric invariants which capture the shapes and geometry of individual regions, the linking structures are used to define invariants which measure positional properties of the configuration such as: measures of relative closeness of neighboring regions and relative significance of the individual regions for the configuration. These invariants, which are computed by formulas involving "skeletal linking integrals" on the internal skeletal structures, are then used to construct a "tiered linking graph," which identifies subconfigurations and provides a hierarchical ordering of the regions.

math.DG↗

arXiv2015

Persistent, Global Identity for Scientists via ORCID

Scientists have an inherent interest in claiming their contributions to the scholarly record, but the fragmented state of identity management across the landscape of astronomy, physics, and other fields makes highlighting the contributions of any single individual a formidable and often frustratingly complex task. The problem is exacerbated by the expanding variety of academic research products and the growing footprints of large collaborations and interdisciplinary teams. In this essay, we outline the benefits of a unique scholarly identifier with persistent value on a global scale and we review astronomy and physics engagement with the Open Researcher and Contributor iD (ORCID) service as a solution.

cs.DL↗

arXiv2015

Solvable Groups, Free Divisors and Nonisolated Matrix Singularities I: Towers of Free Divisors

We introduce a method for obtaining new classes of free divisors from representations $V$ of connected linear algebraic groups $G$ where $\dim(G)=\dim(V)$, with $V$ having an open orbit. We give sufficient conditions that the complement of this open orbit, the "exceptional orbit variety", is a free divisor (or a slightly weaker free* divisor) for "block representations" of both solvable groups and extensions of reductive groups by them. These are representations for which the matrix defined from a basis of associated "representation vector fields" on $V$ has block triangular form, with blocks satisfying certain nonsingularity conditions. For towers of Lie groups and representations this yields a tower of free divisors, successively obtained by adjoining varieties of singular matrices. This applies to solvable groups which give classical Cholesky-type factorization, and a modified form of it, on spaces of $m \times m$ symmetric, skew-symmetric or general matrices. For skew-symmetric matrices, it further extends to representations of nonlinear infinite dimensional solvable Lie algebras.

math.AG↗

arXiv2013

Solvable Group Representations and Free Divisors whose Complements are $K(π, 1)$'s

We apply previous results on the representations of solvable linear algebraic groups to construct a new class of free divisors whose complements are $K(π, 1)$'s. These free divisors arise as the exceptional orbit varieties for a special class of "block representations" and have the structure of determinantal arrangements. Among these are the free divisors defined by conditions for the (modified) Cholesky-type factorizations of matrices, which contain the determinantal varieties of singular matrices of various types as components. These complements are proven to be homotopy tori, as are the Milnor fibers of these free divisors. The generators for the complex cohomology of each are given in terms of forms defined using the basic relative invariants of the group representation.

math.AT↗

arXiv2013

Solvable Groups, Free Divisors and Nonisolated Matrix Singularities II: Vanishing Topology

In this paper we use the results from the first part to compute the vanishing topology for matrix singularities based on certain spaces of matrices. We place the variety of singular matrices in a geometric configuration of free divisors which are the "exceptional orbit varieties" for repesentations of solvable groups. Because there are towers of representations for towers of solvable groups, the free divisors actually form a tower of free divisors $E_n$, and we give an inductive procedure for computing the vanishing topology of the matrix singularities. The inductive procedure we use is an extension of that introduced by Lê-Greuel for computing the Milnor number of an ICIS. Instead of linear subspaces, we use free divisors arising from the geometric configuration and which correspond to subgroups of the solvable groups. Here the vanishing topology involves a singular version of the Milnor fiber; however, it still has the good connectivity properties and is homotopy equivalent to a bouquet of spheres, whose number is called the singular Milnor number. We give formulas for this singular Milnor number in terms of singular Milnor numbers of various free divisors on smooth subspaces, which can be computed as lengths of determinantal modules. In addition to being applied to symmetric, general and skew-symmetric matrix singularities, the results are also applied to Cohen--Macaulay singularities defined as 2 x 3 matrix singularities. We compute the Milnor number of isolated Cohen--Macaulay surface singularities of this type in $\mathbb{C}^4$ and the difference of Betti numbers of Milnor fibers for isolated Cohen--Macaulay 3--fold singularities of this type in $\mathbb{C}^5$.

math.AG↗

arXiv2009

The global medial structure of regions in R^3

For compact regions Omega in R^3 with generic smooth boundary B, we consider geometric properties of Omega which lie midway between their topology and geometry and can be summarized by the term "geometric complexity". The "geometric complexity" of Omega is captured by its Blum medial axis M, which is a Whitney stratified set whose local structure at each point is given by specific standard local types. We classify the geometric complexity by giving a structure theorem for the Blum medial axis M. We do so by first giving an algorithm for decomposing M using the local types into "irreducible components" and then representing each medial component as obtained by attaching surfaces with boundaries to 4--valent graphs. The two stages are described by a two level extended graph structure. The top level describes a simplified form of the attaching of the irreducible medial components to each other, and the second level extended graph structure for each irreducible component specifies how to construct the component. We further use the data associated to the extended graph structures to compute topological invariants of Omega such as the homology and fundamental group in terms of the singular invariants of M defined using the local standard types and the extended graph structures. Using the classification, we characterize contractible regions in terms of the extended graph structures and the associated data.

math.MG↗