Local Extraction of 3D Time‐Dependent Vector Field Topology

We present an approach to local extraction of 3D time-dependent vector field topology. In this concept, Lagrangian coherent structures, which represent the separating manifolds in transport, correspond generalized streak seeded along hyperbolic path surfaces (HPSs). Instead expensive and numerically challenging direct computation HPSs by intersection ridges forward backward finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) fields, our employs respective candidates four-dimensional space-time domain. These are subsequently refined toward surfaces, provides unsteady equivalents saddle-type critical points, periodic orbits, bifurcation lines from steady, traditional contrast FTLE-based methods, we obtain explicit geometric representation topological skeleton flow, for steady flows coincides with invariant evaluate on analytical flows, as well data computational fluid dynamics, using FTLE a ground truth superset, i.e., also show that exhibit several types false positives.