Mathematica ListcontourPlot3D

Question

I have data in the form { {x,y,z,f}...} I am using ListContourPlot3D but all I get is an empty box with dimensions -1,1 in each direction. Here is my code: ListContourPlot3D[data5, PlotRange -> All, AxesLabel -> {"[Beta]", "[Omega]", "Vo"}, Contours -> {1500}]. These are the first 5 points of my data:( the whole set has 55 points) {{200, 20000 10^(1/3), 2000, 1226}, {200, 20000 10^(1/3), 2600, 1422}, {200, 20000 10^(1/3), 3200, 1581}, {200, 20000 10^(1/3), 3800, 1761}, {200, 20000 10^(1/3), 4400, 1872}}

Dimensions[data5] returns {55,4} If I do IntegerPart[data5] it does it correctly so it must recognize the numbers in my data.

I appreciate any ideas. Thank you.

Answer 1

It's hard to tell without having the entire dataset, but I am betting there is a problem with your Contours -> {1500} setting. What happens if you omit it altogether or use a different value?

Answer 2

Contours -> num Plots num equally spaced levels contours. Contours -> {num} Plots the f[x,y,z] = num contour.

Did you mean the former? I doubt ListContourPlot3D can plot your data if it is too sparse or to localized. For the data sample you gave us x and y do not vary at all. Does x and y vary enough in you final data set to well populate coordinate space?

Answer 3

@Davorak's suggestion that the data set, as written, does not seem to vary may be the cause of the problem. Assuming that is not the case, try rotating the resulting graphic, and if you see a black plane appear, then it is the color scheme that is off. By default, ListContourPlot3D produces an opaque white surface, and I've had issues where it did not seem to produce anything, but it was just invisible. The solution: add a ContourStyle option, and set it to something like Red.

Answer 4

The problem is using the {x,y,z,f} form of ListContourPlot3D at low resolution. I stumbled over this a few weeks ago as well, here is a minimal example of the bug:

xyzfdata[r_] := Flatten[#, 2] &@Table[{x, y, z, x^2 + y^2 + z^2 - 1}, 
  {x, -2, 2, r}, {y, -2, 2, r}, {z, -2, 2, r}];
(* Low resolution {x,y,z,f} fails *) 
ListContourPlot3D[xyzfdata[1], Contours -> {0}]

The solution in my case (I had my data on a grid) was to use the grid form and DataRange:

fdata[r_] := Table[x^2 + y^2 + z^2 - 1, 
  {z, -2, 2, r}, {y, -2, 2, r}, {x, -2, 2, r}];
(* Low resolution works ok for array data *)
ListContourPlot3D[fdata[1], Contours -> {0}, 
  DataRange -> 2 {{-1, 1}, {-1, 1}, {-1, 1}}]

I think the issue is that for the {x,y,z,f} form, the implementation uses interpolation in a way that fails at low resolution. Upping the resolution in the first example, everything works:

(* Higher resolution {x,y,z,f} works *)
ListContourPlot3D[xyzfdata[.2], Contours -> {0}]