USING PIECEWISE-LINEAR INTERPOLATIONS IN SPHERICAL HARMONIC-ANALYSIS

In this paper an alternative approach to spherical harmonic analysis i s investigated which uses piecewise linear interpolations (PLIs) to re place conventional block mean values (BMVs). Detailed formulations for using PLIs in spherical harmonic analysis are systematically develope d. Research shows that BMVs give rise to larger errors than PLIs. Erro r estimations for the two approaches are given, convincingly showing t hat PLIs yield much better results than BMVs. Many numerical examples are illustrated and numerically show that PLIs are more reliable and a pplicable than BMVs.