Topology Tracking for the Visualization of Time-Dependent Two-Dimensional Flows

The paper presents a topology-based visualization method for time-dependent two-dimensional vector fields. A time interpolation enables the accurate tracking of critical points and closed orbits as well as the detection and identification of structural changes. This completely characterizes the topology of the unsteady flow. Bifurcation theory provides the theoretical framework. The results are conveyed by surfaces that separate subvolumes of uniform flow behavior in a three-dimensional space–time domain