In this paper the expansion of a polynomial into Bernstein polynomials over an interval
I is considered. The convex hull of the control points associated with the coefficients of this expansion encloses the graph
of the polynomial over
I. By a simple proof it is shown that this convex hull is inclusion isotonic, i.e. if one shrinks
I then the convex hull of the control points on the smaller interval is contained in the convex hull of the control points
on
I. From this property it follows that the so-called Bernstein form is inclusion isotone, which was shown by a longish proof
in 1995 in this journal by Hong and Stahl. Inclusion isotonicity also holds for multivariate polynomials on boxes. Examples
are presented which document that two simpler enclosures based on only a few control points are in general not inclusion isotonic.
AMS Subject Classifications: 65G30 (primary), 65D17 (secondary)
Keywords: Bernstein polynomials, control points, convex hull, inclusion isotonicity, bound functions.
Received September 12, 2002; revised February 5, 2003
Published online: April 7, 2003