Highly Nonlinear Approximations for Sparse Signal Representation
A dedicated codec for compression of Gravitational Waves Sound
After the celebrated first detection of a gravitational wave (GW) on Sep 2015, five more detections have confirmed Einstein's theory of general relativity. Predictions from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo Scientific Collaboration assert that weekly or even more often detections can be expected in the near future. Scientists envisage the prospect as the beginning of a new era in astronomy, whereby the very early Universe will be studied by the sound that was made in its formation.
This site is devoted to disseminating a codec for compression of gravitational waves sound with high quality recovery. The power of the proposed format to store this type of sound stems from the mathematical model for representing the signal. The performance is tested on the available gravitational waves sound signals which have been theoretically generated by the group of Prof Scott Hughes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Comparisons with the compression standard MP3 demonstrate the suitability of the proposed format for compression of this type of sound. As a byproduct, the codec generates a condensed digital summary of the sound which could be of assistance for identification tasks.
by Laura Rebollo-Neira and Angel Plastino
