Computing the connected components of real algebraic curves

Abstract

Connected components of real algebraic sets are semi-algebraic, i.e. they are described by a boolean formula whose atoms are polynomial constraints with real coefficients. Computing such descriptions finds topical applications in optical system design and robotics. In this paper, we design a new algorithm for computing such semi-algebraic descriptions for real algebraic curves. Notably, its complexity is less than the best known one for computing a graph which is isotopic to the real space curve under study.