TY - JOUR A1 - Hildebrandt, Klaus A1 - Schulz, Christian A1 - Tycowicz, Christoph von A1 - Polthier, Konrad T1 - Modal Shape Analysis beyond Laplacian T2 - Computer Aided Geometric Design N2 - In recent years, substantial progress in shape analysis has been achieved through methods that use the spectra and eigenfunctions of discrete Laplace operators. In this work, we study spectra and eigenfunctions of discrete differential operators that can serve as an alternative to the discrete Laplacians for applications in shape analysis. We construct such operators as the Hessians of surface energies, which operate on a function space on the surface, or of deformation energies, which operate on a shape space. In particular, we design a quadratic energy such that, on the one hand, its Hessian equals the Laplace operator if the surface is a part of the Euclidean plane, and, on the other hand, the Hessian eigenfunctions are sensitive to the extrinsic curvature (e.g. sharp bends) on curved surfaces. Furthermore, we consider eigenvibrations induced by deformation energies, and we derive a closed form representation for the Hessian (at the rest state of the energy) for a general class of deformation energies. Based on these spectra and eigenmodes, we derive two shape signatures. One that measures the similarity of points on a surface, and another that can be used to identify features of surfaces. Y1 - 2012 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-zib/frontdoor/index/index/docId/5481 VL - 29 IS - 5 SP - 204 EP - 2018 ER -