Stochastic Geometry Models In Image Analysis And Spatial Statistics

This volume is an attempt to provide a graduate level introduction to various aspects of stochastic geometry, spatial statistics and random fields, with special emphasis placed on fundamental classes of models and algorithms as well as on their applications, e.g. in materials science, biology and genetics. This book has a strong focus on simulations and includes extensive codes in Matlab and R which are widely used in the mathematical community. It can be seen as a continuation of the recent volume 2068 of Lecture Notes in Mathematics, where other issues of stochastic geometry, spatial statistics and random fields were considered with a focus on asymptotic methods.

Spatial statistics is one of the most rapidly growing areas of statistics, rife with fascinating research opportunities. Yet many statisticians are unaware of those opportunities, and most students in the United States are never exposed to any course work in spatial statistics. Written to be accessible to the nonspecialist, this volume surveys the applications of spatial statistics to a wide range of areas, including image analysis, geosciences, physical chemistry, and ecology. The book describes the contributions of the mathematical sciences, summarizes the current state of knowledge, and identifies directions for research.

This book develops the stochastic geometry framework for image analysis purpose. Two main frameworks are described: marked point process and random closed sets models. We derive the main issues for defining an appropriate model. The algorithms for sampling and optimizing the models as well as for estimating parameters are reviewed. Numerous applications, covering remote sensing images, biological and medical imaging, are detailed. This book provides all the necessary tools for developing an image analysis application based on modern stochastic modeling.

Stochastic geometry involves the study of random geometric structures, and blends geometric, probabilistic, and statistical methods to provide powerful techniques for modeling and analysis. Recent developments in computational statistical analysis, particularly Markov chain Monte Carlo, have enormously extended the range of feasible applications. Stochastic Geometry: Likelihood and Computation provides a coordinated collection of chapters on important aspects of the rapidly developing field of stochastic geometry, including: o a "crash-course" introduction to key stochastic geometry themes o considerations of geometric sampling bias issues o tesselations o shape o random sets o image analysis o spectacular advances in likelihood-based inference now available to stochastic geometry through the techniques of Markov chain Monte Carlo

This volume offers a unique and accessible overview of the most active fields in Stochastic Geometry, up to the frontiers of recent research. Since 2014, the yearly meeting of the French research structure GDR GeoSto has been preceded by two introductory courses. This book contains five of these introductory lectures. The first chapter is a historically motivated introduction to Stochastic Geometry which relates four classical problems (the Buffon needle problem, the Bertrand paradox, the Sylvester four-point problem and the bicycle wheel problem) to current topics. The remaining chapters give an application motivated introduction to contemporary Stochastic Geometry, each one devoted to a particular branch of the subject: understanding spatial point patterns through intensity and conditional intensities; stochastic methods for image analysis; random fields and scale invariance; and the theory of Gibbs point processes. Exposing readers to a rich theory, this book will encourage further exploration of the subject and its wide applications.

Point process statistics is successfully used in fields such as material science, human epidemiology, social sciences, animal epidemiology, biology, and seismology. Its further application depends greatly on good software and instructive case studies that show the way to successful work. This book satisfies this need by a presentation of the spatstat package and many statistical examples. Researchers, spatial statisticians and scientists from biology, geosciences, materials sciences and other fields will use this book as a helpful guide to the application of point process statistics. No other book presents so many well-founded point process case studies. From the reviews: "For those interested in analyzing their spatial data, the wide variatey of examples and approaches here give a good idea of the possibilities and suggest reasonable paths to explore." Michael Sherman for the Journal of the American Statistical Association, December 2006

Stochastic geometry is the branch of mathematics that studies geometric structures associated with random configurations, such as random graphs, tilings and mosaics. Due to its close ties with stereology and spatial statistics, the results in this area are relevant for a large number of important applications, e.g. to the mathematical modeling and statistical analysis of telecommunication networks, geostatistics and image analysis. In recent years – due mainly to the impetus of the authors and their collaborators – a powerful connection has been established between stochastic geometry and the Malliavin calculus of variations, which is a collection of probabilistic techniques based on the properties of infinite-dimensional differential operators. This has led in particular to the discovery of a large number of new quantitative limit theorems for high-dimensional geometric objects. This unique book presents an organic collection of authoritative surveys written by the principal actors in this rapidly evolving field, offering a rigorous yet lively presentation of its many facets.