Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods

Book excerpt: This new edition of Professor Sethian's successful text provides an introduction to level set methods and fast marching methods, which are powerful numerical techniques for analyzing and computing interface motion in a host of settings. They rely on a fundamental shift in how one views moving boundaries; rethinking the natural geometric Lagrangian perspective and exchanging it for an Eulerian, initial value partial differential equation perspective. For this edition, the collection of applications provided in the text has been expanded, including examples from physics, chemistry, fluid mechanics, combustion, image processing, material science, fabrication of microelectronic components, computer vision, computer-aided design, and optimal control theory. This book will be a useful resource for mathematicians, applied scientists, practising engineers, computer graphic artists, and anyone interested in the evolution of boundaries and interfaces.