THE UNION OF BALLS AND ITS DUAL SHAPE

Efficient algorithms are described for computing topological, combinat orial, and metric properties of the union of finitely many spherical b alls in R(d) These algorithms are based on a simplicial complex dual t o a decomposition of the union of balls using Voronoi cells, and on sh ort inclusion-exclusion formulas derived from this complex. The algori thms are most relevant in R(3) where unions of finitely many balls are commonly used as models of molecules.