Optimal Quantization of Finite Uniform Data on the Sphere
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper develops a systematic and geometric theory of optimal quantization on the unit sphere S2, focusing on finite uniform probability distributions supported on the spherical surface—rather than on lower-dimensional geodesic subsets such as circles or arcs. We first establish the existence of optimal sets of n-means and characterize them through centroidal spherical Voronoi tessellations. Three fundamental structural results are obtained. First, a cluster-purity theorem shows that when the support consists of well-separated components, each optimal Voronoi region remains confined to a single component. Second, a ring allocation (discrete water-filling) theorem provides an explicit rule describing how optimal representatives are distributed across multiple latitudinal rings, together with closed-form distortion formulas. Third, a Lipschitz-type stability theorem quantifies the robustness of optimal configurations under small geodesic perturbations of the support. In addition, a spherical analogue of Lloyd’s algorithm is presented, in which intrinsic (Karcher) means replace Euclidean centroids for iterative refinement. These results collectively provide a unified and transparent framework for understanding the geometric and algorithmic structure of optimal quantization on S2.
Source: Mathematics
DOI: 10.3390/math14020288
Author: Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury
Institution: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W7123906048