# A Stack-Free Traversal Algorithm for Left-Balanced k-d Trees

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.12859 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.12859/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 23 Oct 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Photon Field Networks for Dynamic Real-Time Volumetric Global Illumination](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07338/) (2023)
- [GraphGP: Scalable Gaussian Processes with Vecchia's Approximation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.11402/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present an algorithm that allows for find-closest-point and kNN-style traversals of left-balanced k-d trees, without the need for either recursion or software-managed stacks; instead using only current and last previously traversed node to compute which node to traverse next.