Power diagrams and Morse Theory

Abstract

We study Morse theory of the (power) distance function to a set of points in $\mathbb{R}^n$. We describe the topology of the union of the corresponding set of growing balls by a Morse poset. The Morse poset is related to the power tesselation of $\mathbb{R}^n$. We remark that the power diagrams from computer science are the spines of amoebas in algebraic geometry, or the hypersurfaces in tropical geometry. We show that there exists a discrete Morse function on the coherent triangulation, dual to the power diagram, such that its critical set equals the Morse poset of the power diagram.