We address the problem of simplifying Morse–Smale complexes computed on volume
datasets based on discrete Morse theory. Two approaches have been proposed in the
literature based on a graph representation of the Morse–Smale complex (explicit approach)
and on the encoding of the discrete Morse gradient (implicit approach). It has been shown
that this latter can generate topologically-inconsistent representations of the Morse–Smale
complex with respect to those computed through the explicit approach. We propose a new …