A new approach to point-pattern matching
Fionn Murtagh · Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific · 1992
We describe a new algorithm for matching star lists, given by their 2-dimensional coordinates. Such matching should be unaffected by translation, rotation, rescaling, random perturbations, and some random additions and deletions of coordinate couples in one list relative to another. The first phase of the algorithm is based on a characterization of a set of coordinate couples, relative to each individual coordinate couple. In the second phase of the algorithm, the matching of stars in different lists is based on proximity of feature vectors associated with coordinate couples in the two lists. The order of magnitude computational complexity of the overall algorithm is n 2 , for O n coordinate couples in the coordinate lists.