Fast high-dimensional node generation with variable density

Abstract: We present an algorithm for producing discrete distributions with a prescribed nearest-neighbor distance function. Our approach is a combination of quasi-Monte Carlo (Q-MC) methods and weighted Riesz energy minimization: the initial distribution is a stratified Q-MC sequence with some modifications; a suitable energy functional on the configuration space is then minimized to ensure local regularity. The resulting node sets are good candidates for building meshless solvers and interpolants, as well as for other purposes where a point cloud with a controlled separation-covering ratio is required. Applications of a three-dimensional implementation of the algorithm, in particular to atmospheric modeling, are also given.