This second volume of Research in Computational Topology is a celebration and promotion of research by women in applied and computational topology, containing the proceedings of the second workshop for Women in Computational Topology (WinCompTop) as well as papers solicited from the broader WinCompTop community. The multidisciplinary and international WinCompTop workshop provided an exciting and unique opportunity for women in diverse locations and research specializations to interact extensively and collectively contribute to new and active research directions in the field. The prestigious senior researchers that signed on to head projects at the workshop are global leaders in the discipline, and two of them were authors on some of the first papers in the field. Some of the featured topics include topological data analysis of power law structure in neural data; a nerve theorem for directional graph covers; topological or homotopical invariants for directed graphs encoding connections among a network of neurons; and the issue of approximation of objects by digital grids, including precise relations between the persistent homology of dual cubical complexes.

Topological data analysis (TDA) has emerged recently as a viable tool for analyzing complex data, and the area has grown substantially both in its methodologies and applicability. Providing a computational and algorithmic foundation for techniques in TDA, this comprehensive, self-contained text introduces students and researchers in mathematics and computer science to the current state of the field. The book features a description of mathematical objects and constructs behind recent advances, the algorithms involved, computational considerations, as well as examples of topological structures or ideas that can be used in applications. It provides a thorough treatment of persistent homology together with various extensions – like zigzag persistence and multiparameter persistence – and their applications to different types of data, like point clouds, triangulations, or graph data. Other important topics covered include discrete Morse theory, the Mapper structure, optimal generating cycles, as well as recent advances in embedding TDA within machine learning frameworks.

Combining concepts from topology and algorithms, this book delivers what its title promises: an introduction to the field of computational topology. Starting with motivating problems in both mathematics and computer science and building up from classic topics in geometric and algebraic topology, the third part of the text advances to persistent homology. This point of view is critically important in turning a mostly theoretical field of mathematics into one that is relevant to a multitude of disciplines in the sciences and engineering. The main approach is the discovery of topology through algorithms. The book is ideal for teaching a graduate or advanced undergraduate course in computational topology, as it develops all the background of both the mathematical and algorithmic aspects of the subject from first principles. Thus the text could serve equally well in a course taught in a mathematics department or computer science department.

This book provides an accessible yet rigorous introduction to topology and homology focused on the simplicial space. It presents a compact pipeline from the foundations of topology to biomedical applications. It will be of interest to medical physicists, computer scientists, and engineers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students interested in this topic. Features: Presents a practical guide to algebraic topology as well as persistence homology Contains application examples in the field of biomedicine, including the analysis of histological images and point cloud data

Based on the first Workshop for Women in Computational Topology that took place in 2016, this volume assembles new research and applications in computational topology. Featured articles range over the breadth of the discipline, including topics such as surface reconstruction, topological data analysis, persistent homology, algorithms, and surface-embedded graphs. Applications in graphics, medical imaging, and GIS are discussed throughout the book. Four of the papers in this volume are the product of working groups that were established and developed during the workshop. Additional papers were also solicited from the broader Women in Computational Topology network. The volume is accessible to a broad range of researchers, both within the field of computational topology and in related disciplines such as statistics, computational biology, and machine learning.

This book discusses the computational geometry, topology and physics of digital images and video frame sequences. This trio of computational approaches encompasses the study of shape complexes, optical vortex nerves and proximities embedded in triangulated video frames and single images, while computational geometry focuses on the geometric structures that infuse triangulated visual scenes. The book first addresses the topology of cellular complexes to provide a basis for an introductory study of the computational topology of visual scenes, exploring the fabric, shapes and structures typically found in visual scenes. The book then examines the inherent geometry and topology of visual scenes, and the fine structure of light and light caustics of visual scenes, which bring into play catastrophe theory and the appearance of light caustic folds and cusps. Following on from this, the book introduces optical vortex nerves in triangulated digital images. In this context, computational physics is synonymous with the study of the fine structure of light choreographed in video frames. This choreography appears as a sequence of snapshots of light reflected and refracted from surface shapes, providing a solid foundation for detecting, analyzing and classifying visual scene shapes.

This volume is a collection of surveys of research problems in topology and its applications. The topics covered include general topology, set-theoretic topology, continuum theory, topological algebra, dynamical systems, computational topology and functional analysis.* New surveys of research problems in topology* New perspectives on classic problems* Representative surveys of research groups from all around the world