Localized Transforms

An Enveloping Framework for the Windowed Fourier, Continuous Wavelet and S-Transforms
There are some crib-sheet notes that Ive compiled on a general class of transforms that includes the spectrograph (=
windowed Fourier transform = Gabor transform), -transform and continuous wavelet transforms as special cases! In
this general famil" include transforms from the
x
line to the ( ) , q p
plane whose inverse consist of simpl" integrating
over the fre#uencies
p
(these are not in the literature$) uch spectra can be arbitraril" moved up or down along the
p

a%is without affecting the inverse! &e can ta'e advantage of that fact to relocate ever" part of the spectrum to its
(instantaneous fre#uenc") * as discussed below at the end!
Note: The continuous wavelet transform, which wor's with an uncountable +ilbert space frame ( )
, ,
qp
q p R ,
should be distinguished from the better-'nown discrete wavelet transform, which uses onl" a countable frame arranged
on a h"perbolic lattice ( ) ( )
- -
, . , . , ,
s s
qp
q q t p p s t

+
s
Z
, usuall" restricted to
- p >
!
* /ar' +op'ins

General Framework
The general transform and its inverse are, respectivel",
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
, , , ,
, ,
qp qp
qp
f q p f f x x dx q p
f x f q p x dqdp x

%
%
R
R
and are defined in terms of a +ilbert space frame ( )
, ,
qp
q p R and a dual frame ( )
, ,
qp
q p R ! &e assume that
each famil" is defined as the translations of
p
-parametri0ed class of functions,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , !
qp p
qp p
x x q x x q
For the following we will use the Fourier transform, adopting the following conventions,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
.
1 cos . sin . ,
2 2
1 , 1 ,
x ix
x x
e x i x
f f x dx f x f d

+


where the relation
.
1
i
e

is generali0ed to provide a convenient wa" to denote arbitrar" powers of unit
1
x
! The delta
function ma" then be characteri0ed b" the following identit"
( ) 1 !
x
x d

3f particular note is the transform of a unimodular signal ( ) 1

x
f x
+
,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 2 , 1 1 !
x q
p p p
f q p x q dx f q
+ +

%
The original signal is recovered with the same phase, differing from the original onl" in the rescaling of the amplitude
b" the factor ( )
2
p
! If
p
is plotted verticall",
q
hori0ontall", with the amplitude displa"ed as brightness and the
phase color-coded, then the phase will show up as vertical color-bands that will fade in and out as "ou run over a range
of heights!
4 similar relation will hold for (chirps), i!e! signals ( ) ( ) cos . t whose instantaneous frequen! ( ) ( ) t t
changes with time, provided the change is not too rapid! Thus, with the phase color-coded, if the original waveform
decomposes into a superposition of chirps, one will see the signature pattern of each component chirp across a broad
range of fre#uencies (i!e! for all
p
where ( ) ( )
2 -
p
t > > ) in which each 56- degree c"cle in the phase has a spacing
given b" ( ) 1 t t !
This is illustrated as follows,
with transform (b), (c) and (d) being respectivel" the -transform with a Gaussian window, windowed Fourier
transform with Gaussian and rectangular windows! The echoes in (d) occur because the Fourier transform of the
rectangular bo% function * the characteristic function of the interval [ ] 1 ., 1 . + * is ( ) ( ) sinc sin ! 7oth
sets of transforms will be described below! The e%ample is the same as the one used in figure 1 of toc'wells paper
89:, e%cept that the phase is displa"ed here (so his (phase correction), discussed below, is not used)!
Admissibility Condition
The re#uirement that the inverse relation hold places restrictions on the frame;dual-frame pair * admissi"ilit
!onditions! These conditions ma" be wor'ed out as follows,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
,
2 2 1 1
2 2 1 1
2 2 1
2 2 1 !
qp p
p
x q x q p
p
q p x x
p
p x x
p
x x p
p
f q p x dqdp f x x q x q dx dqdp
f x d d dx dqdp
f x dq d d dx dp
f x d d dx dp
f x dp d dx

%
The condition that this "ields the inverse thus reduces to the following,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
,
2 2 1
2 2 1
2 2 1!
qp
x x p
p
x x p
p
p
p
f x f q p x dqdp f x
f x f x dp d dx f x
x x dp d x x
dp

%
Windowed Fourier Transforms
These transforms use comple% e%ponentials combined with windowing functions ( ) g x
and ( ) h x
that are fre#uenc"-
independent,
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
1 , 1 !
p x q p x q qp
qp
x g x q x h x q


In the literature one ma" see
1
px
in place of
( )
1
p x q
! If both g h , with both functions being a Gaussian, the transform
is the Gabor transform, developed (along with the idea of spectrographs and coherent states) b" <enis Gabor, thus
launching the entire field of digital signal processing!
=sing the Fourier transforms,
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
2 2 2 1 1 1 1 !
p x q x q qp q
qp
g x q dx g p h p

Thus, the admissibilit" relation reduces to the following,

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
-
-
2 2
2 2 2 2 1 , , !
p
p
dp g p h p dp g h g h

In particular, if one chooses
h g
, then it follows that ( )
.
g # R
! 4lternativel", if one chooses ( ) 1 h x
, then one
has ( )
1
g # R
! Im not aware of an" choice in the literature for h besides these two!
Linear Versus Logaritmic !cales
These transforms wor' with the time-frequen! plane, which is associated with the +eisenberg group
[ ] [ ] [ ]
2 2 2 2 , , , -, , -, q p $ q $ p $
with the standard representations
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )

( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )

( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )

( ) ( )
1 1
2 2 , , >
. .
1 1
2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 , , !
. .
qf x xf x pf x f x $f x f x
i i
qf qf f pf pf f $f $f f
i i




4ssociated with this are the translational s"mmetries in "oth the
p
and
q
directions generated, respectivel", b"
2 q

and
2 p
,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2 2
2 2
1 , 1 1 ,
2 2 2 2 2
1 1 , 1 ,
%p %d dx &q &x
%p % &q &d d
f x e f x f x % f x f x
f f f e f f &


+

and the e%ponential form of the +eisenberg relations
1
2 2 2 2 2 2 .
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 !
%p &q i$&% &q %p &% &q %p

+owever, the translation s"mmetr" for
p
is not well-founded in an"thing corresponding to the natural world, and this
creates a ma?or problem for this transform!
The main shortfall is this, one normall" chooses the windowing function with a support of si0e T ! @orrespondingl" (b"
the +eisenberg relation), this leads to a resolution of
1 T
in the fre#uenc" domain! +owever, at low fre#uencies, there
is ver" little change, which ma'es the time resolution overl"-restrictive! 4t the same time, the greatest degree of
distinction between fre#uencies in natural sounds ta'es place at lower fre#uencies, which ma'es the fre#uenc"
1
A which is the underl"ing reason different variants of the transforms discussed ma" differ b" a phase factor
1
pq
!
resolution too low! 3n the opposite end, at high fre#uencies, where there is the most rapid change, the time resolution is
now too large, while the fre#uenc" resolution now becomes too narrow! For instance the difference between an 4 and
7 note at 99- +0 is about B9 +0, while B octaves up, at 19-C- +0, the two notes differ b" about 1D.9 +0!
&hen Gabor wrote his landmar' paper on the windowed Fourier transform, the functions he chose were dictated b" the
re#uirement that the" minimi0e the +eisenberg relation
( )
( )
.
1
e%p 1
.
p x q
qp
x q
x
x

_
_

,
,
The two parameters
p
and
q
were noted, but x was ignored! This is the parameter which controls the si0e of the
windowing!
+e not onl" failed to notice the importance of this parameter, he #uite literall" went out of his wa" to ignore it$ For, the
second part of his paper was devoted to discussion of the phenomenon of hearing! 4nd the biggest hint provided b" the
phenomenon of hearing is that we hear fre#uencies on a logarithmi! s!ale, not on a linear scale!
In retrospect, this should be obvious that things should be this wa", the amount action that ta'es place at a given
fre#uenc" is proportional to the number of c"cles that pass during a given time! If one adapts a +eisenberg window to
this spacing, one has
q &
, where the period
1 & p
! Therefore, since
1 q p
, one should have
p p
> thus
placing
p
on a logarithmi! s!ale! 7iological s"stems have adapted themselves to this optimi0ation!
Therefore, in place of the time-fre#uenc" plane, one has the time-s!ale plane, which is associated with a time
translation operator
2 p
and dilation operator
2 2 qp
,
[ ]
22 2 2 , ! qp p $p
The corresponding actions and their e%ponential forms
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
22 2
1
2 2 2 , ,
. .
1 , 1 ,
qp xd dx %p
x
qpf x f x pf x f x
i i
f x e f x f e x f x f x %



+
generate from each function ( ) f x a famil" ( ) ( ) ( )
%
f x f e x %

+ , consisting of translations b"

%
and dilations b"
e

! This is the underpinning to the wavelet transform!

The wavelet idea, b" the wa", can be generali0ed to the homogeneous spaces of other s"mmetr" groups, notabl"
including the 1--parameter inhomogeneous Galilei group, after adding the dilation operator! In the case of the Galilei
group, the most important feature that emerges is that since the group is not simpl"-connected, it has a non-trivial
central e%tension to the larger 11-parameter group, 'nown as the 7argmann group!
The order in which (add dilation) E (centrall" e%tend) are applied matters, Galilei E dilation has no non-trivial central
e%tension, so it does not "ield the same result as 7argmann E dilation!
Wa"elet and !#Transforms
=sing a logarithmic scale dictates that the windowing functions should have the form ( ) ( ) ( )
p
g q g p x q , thus
leading to the relation
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
1 !
A A p x q
qp p
x x q p p x q p g p x q


@orrespondingl", for the dual frame, we adopt the following form,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
1 !
' ' p x q qp
x p p x q p h p x q


The function

is the mother wavelet and the famil" is normall" written as

1 1 1
, , ,
.
x
q p A
s s
s
_ _


, ,
with a s!ale parameter
s
in place of
p
and time center

in place of
q
!
=sing the respective Fourier transforms
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
1 1 1
2
2 2 2 1 1 , !

A A A '
x p p
p
p px dx p d p p
p p

_ _


, ,

The admissibilit" condition reduces to the following,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
1
.
2 2
2 2 2 2 1 !
A '
A '
p
p
d$
dp p dp $ $
p p $ $
+
+ _ _


, ,

This re#uires 1! A ' +
The case
1
.
A ' and

"ields the standard formulation for the wavelet transform (although other values ma"
be chosen for A , with 1 ' A )! The admissibilit" condition for the wavelet transform does not permit the Gaussian
to be used as a windowing function ( ) g x
!
This deficienc" leads to the alternate, 'nown as the -transform, given b",
( ) ( ) ( ) 1 , 1 , 1 -
px p px
p
x p g px x A '
with
g
normall" set to a Gaussian! +ere, the Fourier transforms are
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 2 2 1 1 1 , 1 1 !
p

px x p px x p
p
p
p g px dx g d g dx p
p


_


,

@onse#uentl", the admissibilit" relation reduces to,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
1
2 2 2 2 1 - !
p
p
p
dp p g dp g g
p
_


,

This onl" re#uires that
g
has a finite non-0ero
1
# norm!
Note: toc'well, the originator of the transform, actuall" uses
( ) ( ) ( ) 1
px
qp
x p g p x q
with the phase factor
( )
1
p x q
replaced b"
1
px
, and claims that this somehow distinguishes the -transform from the
wavelet and that it ma'es subse#uent discussion of the instantaneous fre#uenc" more transparent! 7oth claims are false,
the 'e" features of a transform (li'e the admissibilit" condition) are not affected b" the phase factor, while the
discussion of instantaneous fre#uenc" leads to the appearance of the (phase bands) seen above onl with the use of the
phase factor
( )
1
p x q
instead of
1
px
! Thus, we adopt a choice of ( )
qp
x
that respects covariance ( ) ( )
qp p
x x q
!
The e%plicit form of the inverse transform is
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
, 1
2
, 1 1 , 1 , 1 !
p x q
p x q x pq q
f x f q p dqdp
f f q p dxdqdp f q p p dqdp f q dq

%
% % %
&ith toc'wells choice of ( ) ( ) ( ) 1
px
qp
x p g p x q
and ( ) 1
qp px
x , the
1
q
factor would be absent, and the
inverse relation would simpl" be an integral over all times
q
!
$ter %escalings
Finall", one might consider the #uestion of whether other scalings along the
p
a%is are possible b" loo'ing for frames
of the following forms
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
-
-
, ,
2
2 2 2 , !
qp
qp
p
p
x p p x q x p p x q
p p
p p p p

_ _





, ,
=pon substitution into the admissibilit" relations, this "ields the following e#uation
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
-
-
.
2 2
2 2 2 2 1 !
p
p
p p p p
d$
dp dp $ $
p p $ p p
p
_ _





, ,

This can onl" be independent of

if

is a constant! This includes, as special cases, the following choices,
( ) ( ) ( ) , , , 1 . !
A '
A '
p p p p p p A ' C
+
+ +
4lternativel", one ma" consider frames of the following form
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
-
-
1 , 1 ,
2
2 2 2 , ,
p x q p x q qp
qp
p
p
x p g p x q x p h p x q
p p
p p
g h
p p p p


_ _





, ,
where onl" the windowing function is placed on a different scale! +ere, the admissibilit" condition reduces to the form
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
-
-
.
2 2
2 2 2 2 1 !
1
p
p
p p p p
p p
dp h g dp $ $ d$
p p
p $ p
p
_ _




+
, ,

This re#uires that the factor ( ) ( ) 1 $ + be independent of

for all choices of $ ! This can onl" occur if

( )
( )
1
$
$
$


+
+
which, in turn, ma" onl" occur if
is constant! For monotonic scale factors ( ) p , this ma" onl" occur if we have
( ) p a "p + , which - " , which "ields a famil" of scales that bridges the gap between the linear and logarithmic
scales!
A !im&ler 'n"erse and %elocation
toc'wells idea can also be applied in the time domain to "ield an inverse of the form
( ) ( ) ( ) , f q f q p p dp

%
with the following choice,
( ) ( ) ( )
p
x q p x q
For the two cases discussed, the measure ( ) p
is set as follows,
Finear Fre#uenc", &indowed Fourier, ( ) 1 p
,
Fogarithmic Fre#uenc", &avelet;-Transform,
( )
1
p
p

!
=sing the Fourier transform
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 1 ,
p x
p x dx p

the admissibilit" condition reduces to,

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
2 - Finear
2 2 2 1
2 2 Fogarithmic
p
p p
g p dp g
dp p dp
dp d

p p

'
_

4 conforming e%ample of such a function in the logarithmic case is ?ust the cosine window with a . octave range,
( )
.
.
1
cos log , . ,
. .
2
1
- , . !
.

_ _ 1

1
, ] ,

'
_ 1

] ,
This inverse ma'es it possible to change the spectrum ( ) ( ) , , q p f q p
%
a b" moving each part of the graph of ( ) , f q p
%

at each
q
up or down from
p
to the natural fre#uenc"
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
G
.
, ,
1
, arg ,
.
9 ,
f
f q p f q p
q q
q p f q p
i q
i f q p
_

% %
%
%
where the ad?oint operator
G
q applies on the right to
( ) , f q p
%
! The resulting spectrum is,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , , , !
( f
f q f q p q p p dp

% %
It has a similar inversion formula,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , , , , !
( f
f q d f q p q p p d dp f q p p dp f q

% % %
For instance, one could envisage a graph of a 1;1- second segment of the opening (There is nothing wrong with "our
television set) to The )uter #imits (in place of the waveform depicted in its opening screen of the TH series)
arranged here b" its component waveforms with amplitude depicted as brightness, phase as color, fre#uenc" b" vertical
position, with e#uall" spaced octaves ranging from BB +0 on the top to 5B.- +0 on the bottom (i!e! middle 4 plus or
minus 5 octaves)! 3ne clearl" sees the voice intoning its 3rwellian pronouncements about controlling all that we see
and hear in the lower registers near the top with the shrill warbling 1IC9 +0 beacon tone near the bottom! imilarl",
one could have a segment of the Thus Spake *arathrustra theme to +,,- (released ?ust a few "ears later)
similarl" arranged with the bassinet on the top ?oined in b" the multiple (and rapidl" shifting) harmonics of the trumpet
on the bottom and in the middle, or a segment
showing a portion of a 5-9 minute drum solo (from the late Fela Jutis Kigerian band), covering the fre#uencies
ranging from 11 to 5B. +0, with the mid-level bass drum and the onset of the snare drums clearl" manifest!
The following graphic illustrates the 'inds of results which, li'e those above, were obtained on a logarithmic scale with
a 1-c"cle long rectangular window for ( ) g
combined with relocation (the graphic and ad?oining videos mista'enl"
refer to these as (-transforms)),
The videos these snapshots are derived from ma" be found on Lou Tube at the following sites,
<emo1 http,;;www!"outube!com;watchMv=6oro0N1G<1w
-Transform with Instantaneous Fre#uenc" http,;;www!"outube!com;watchMv=it==au6<O/
calogram with Fre#uenc" Pelocation! Trial 5! http,;;www!"outube!com;watchMv=g</i%bD-QF/
<emo9 http,;;www!"outube!com;watchMv=iH3I-
LQ<g%w
Rreliminar" tests have alread" been carried out using the (?ust add them up) method for converting such graphs bac' to
signals * all with a fair degree of success!
.
Time permitting, further results will be displa"ed and discussed!
%eferences and %elated %eading
81: @! Pobert Rinnegar and Falu /ansinha, (The -Transform with &indows of 4rbitrar" and Har"ing hape),
.eophsi!s () (1) (Oanuar"-Februar" .--5)> pp! 5C1-5CB!
8.: T! O! Gardner and /! 3! /agnasco, (Instantaneous Fre#uenc" <ecomposition, 4n 4pplication to pectrall"
parse ounds with Fast Fre#uenc" /odulations), /0 A!oust0 So!0 Am0 **+ (B), /a" .--B, .CI6-.I-5!
85: /ichael Jatele" Jlingbeil, Spe!tral Analsis, Editing, and (esnthesis1 2ethods and Appli!ations, Rh< Thesis,
@olumbia =niversit" .--I!
.
4liasing is present in the trials carried out so far, partl" because the methods used for rescaling the graphs and sound have been confined to the
most basic interpolation algorithms!
89: P! G! toc'well, F! /ansinha, and P! R! Fowe , (Focali0ation of the @omple% pectrum, The Transform),
3EEE Transa!tions on Signal &ro!essing ,, (9), 4pril 1II6, IIC-1--1!
8B: <! Gabor, <r! Ing!, Theor of Communi!ation, 7ritish Thomson-+ouston @o!, Ftd!, Pesearch Faborator"! pp!
9.I-9BD!
86: 7oualem 7oashash, (Sstimating and Interpreting The Instantaneous Fre#uenc" of a ignal * Rart 1,
Fundamentals), &ro!eedings of the 3EEE, Holume C-, Ko! 9, 4pril 1II., pp! B.--B5C!
8D: Gerald Jaiser, A Friendl .uide to Wavelets, (1II9) 7ir'hTuser!
8C: O!-R! 4ntoine and I! /ahara, (Galilean wavelets, @oherent states of the affine Galilei group), /0 2ath0 &hs0 ,-,
BIB6 (1III), http,;;d%!doi!org;1-!1-65;1!B55-69