Kernel based approximation in Sobolev spaces with radial basis functions

In this paper, we study several radial basis function approximation schemes in Sobolev spaces. We obtain an optional error estimate by using a class of smoothing operators. We also discussed sufficient conditions for the smoothing operators to attain the desired approximation order. We then construct the smoothing operators by some compactly supported radial kernels, and use them to approximate Sobolev space functions with optimal convergence order. These kernels can be simply constructed and readily applied to practical problems. The results show that the approximation power depends on the precision of the sampling instrument and the density of the available data. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc.