Spline Functions and the Theory of Wavelets

Book excerpt: This work is based on a series of thematic workshops on the theory of wavelets and the theory of splines. Important applications are included. The volume is divided into four parts: Spline Functions, Theory of Wavelets, Wavelets in Physics, and Splines and Wavelets in Statistics. Part one presents the broad spectrum of current research in the theory and applications of spline functions. Theory ranges from classical univariate spline approximation to an abstract framework for multivariate spline interpolation. Applications include scattered-data interpolation, differential equations and various techniques in CAGD. Part two considers two developments in subdivision schemes; one for uniform regularity and the other for irregular situations. The latter includes construction of multidimensional wavelet bases and determination of bases with a given time frequency localization. In part three, the multifractal formalism is extended to fractal functions involving oscillating singularites. There is a review of a method of quantization of classical systems based on the theory of coherent states. Wavelets are applied in the domains of atomic, molecular and condensed-matter physics. In part four, ways in which wavelets can be used to solve important function estimation problems in statistics are shown. Different wavelet estimators are proposed in the following distinct cases: functions with discontinuities, errors that are no longer Gaussian, wavelet estimation with robustness, and error distribution that is no longer stationary. Some of the contributions in this volume are current research results not previously available in monograph form. The volume features many applications and interesting new theoretical developments. Readers will find powerful methods for studying irregularities in mathematics, physics, and statistics.