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๐ŸงFunctional Analysis Unit 14 Review

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14.4 Wavelets and frames in Hilbert spaces

14.4 Wavelets and frames in Hilbert spaces

Written by the Fiveable Content Team โ€ข Last updated August 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team โ€ข Last updated August 2025
๐ŸงFunctional Analysis
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Wavelets and frames are powerful tools for analyzing signals and functions in Hilbert spaces. They provide flexible ways to decompose and represent complex data, offering unique insights into signal characteristics at different scales and positions.

These techniques have revolutionized signal processing, image compression, and numerical analysis. By exploiting the sparsity and multi-resolution nature of wavelet representations, we can efficiently solve problems in various fields of mathematics and engineering.

Wavelets and Frames in Hilbert Spaces

Wavelets and frames in Hilbert spaces

  • Wavelets are functions ฯˆโˆˆL2(R)\psi \in L^2(\mathbb{R}) used to decompose and analyze signals or functions
    • Obtained by translating and dilating a mother wavelet ฯˆ\psi
      • Translation shifts the wavelet: ฯˆa,b(x)=ฯˆ(xโˆ’b)\psi_{a,b}(x) = \psi(x-b)
      • Dilation scales the wavelet: ฯˆa,b(x)=1โˆฃaโˆฃฯˆ(xโˆ’ba)\psi_{a,b}(x) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{|a|}}\psi(\frac{x-b}{a}), where a,bโˆˆR,aโ‰ 0a,b \in \mathbb{R}, a \neq 0
    • Must satisfy admissibility condition: โˆซโˆ’โˆžโˆžโˆฃฯˆ^(ฯ‰)โˆฃ2โˆฃฯ‰โˆฃdฯ‰<โˆž\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \frac{|\hat{\psi}(\omega)|^2}{|\omega|} d\omega < \infty, where ฯˆ^\hat{\psi} is the Fourier transform of ฯˆ\psi
      • Ensures wavelet can be used for signal reconstruction
  • Frames are a sequence {fn}n=1โˆž\{f_n\}_{n=1}^{\infty} in a Hilbert space HH that provide stable, redundant representations
    • Exist constants A,B>0A, B > 0 such that for all fโˆˆHf \in H: Aโˆฅfโˆฅ2โ‰คโˆ‘n=1โˆžโˆฃโŸจf,fnโŸฉโˆฃ2โ‰คBโˆฅfโˆฅ2A\|f\|^2 \leq \sum_{n=1}^{\infty} |\langle f, f_n \rangle|^2 \leq B\|f\|^2
      • AA and BB are frame bounds that quantify stability and redundancy
    • Tight frames have equal frame bounds A=BA = B
    • Parseval frames are tight frames with A=B=1A = B = 1, behave like orthonormal bases
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Construction of wavelets and frames

  • Haar wavelet is a simple example of an orthonormal wavelet basis for L2(R)L^2(\mathbb{R})
    • Mother wavelet: ฯˆ(x)={1,0โ‰คx<12โˆ’1,12โ‰คx<10,otherwise\psi(x) = \begin{cases} 1, & 0 \leq x < \frac{1}{2} \\ -1, & \frac{1}{2} \leq x < 1 \\ 0, & \text{otherwise} \end{cases}
    • Haar wavelets: ฯˆj,k(x)=2j/2ฯˆ(2jxโˆ’k)\psi_{j,k}(x) = 2^{j/2}\psi(2^jx-k), where j,kโˆˆZj,k \in \mathbb{Z}
      • jj controls scale (dilation) and kk controls position (translation)
  • Gabor frames are constructed from a window function gโˆˆL2(R)g \in L^2(\mathbb{R}) and lattice parameters a,b>0a,b > 0
    • Gabor atoms: gm,n(x)=e2ฯ€ibnxg(xโˆ’am)g_{m,n}(x) = e^{2\pi ibnx}g(x-am), where m,nโˆˆZm,n \in \mathbb{Z}
      • mm and nn control time and frequency shifts, respectively
    • The set {gm,n}m,nโˆˆZ\{g_{m,n}\}_{m,n \in \mathbb{Z}} forms a frame for L2(R)L^2(\mathbb{R}) if ab<1ab < 1
      • Oversampling in time-frequency plane ensures completeness and stability
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Convergence of wavelet expansions

  • For fโˆˆL2(R)f \in L^2(\mathbb{R}), the wavelet expansion is given by f=โˆ‘j,kโˆˆZโŸจf,ฯˆj,kโŸฉฯˆj,kf = \sum_{j,k \in \mathbb{Z}} \langle f, \psi_{j,k} \rangle \psi_{j,k}
    • Wavelet coefficients โŸจf,ฯˆj,kโŸฉ\langle f, \psi_{j,k} \rangle capture signal information at different scales and positions
  • Convergence in L2(R)L^2(\mathbb{R}) norm: limโกNโ†’โˆžโˆฅโˆ‘j,kโˆˆZ,โˆฃjโˆฃ,โˆฃkโˆฃโ‰คNโŸจf,ฯˆj,kโŸฉฯˆj,kโˆ’fโˆฅ=0\lim_{N \to \infty} \|\sum_{j,k \in \mathbb{Z}, |j|,|k| \leq N} \langle f, \psi_{j,k} \rangle \psi_{j,k} - f\| = 0
    • Partial sums converge to the original signal as more terms are included
  • Wavelet coefficients are stable, bounded by the L2L^2 norm of the signal: โˆฃโŸจf,ฯˆj,kโŸฉโˆฃโ‰คCโˆฅfโˆฅ|\langle f, \psi_{j,k} \rangle| \leq C\|f\|
  • Frame expansions converge in Hilbert space norm: limโกNโ†’โˆžโˆฅโˆ‘n=1NโŸจf,Sโˆ’1fnโŸฉfnโˆ’fโˆฅ=0\lim_{N \to \infty} \|\sum_{n=1}^{N} \langle f, S^{-1}f_n \rangle f_n - f\| = 0
    • SS is the frame operator, Sโˆ’1S^{-1} is its inverse
    • Frame coefficients โŸจf,Sโˆ’1fnโŸฉ\langle f, S^{-1}f_n \rangle are stable, bounded by the Hilbert space norm of ff

Applications of wavelets and frames

  • Signal processing uses wavelet transforms for:
    1. Denoising: Thresholding wavelet coefficients to remove noise
    2. Compression: Exploiting sparsity of wavelet coefficients to reduce data size
    3. Feature extraction: Identifying important signal characteristics at different scales
  • Image compression algorithms (JPEG2000) use wavelets to:
    1. Decompose image into wavelet coefficients
    2. Threshold and quantize coefficients to achieve high compression ratios
    3. Reconstruct image with minimal perceptual loss
  • Numerical analysis employs wavelets and frames for:
    • Adaptive mesh refinement in finite element methods
      • Wavelets identify regions requiring higher resolution
    • Efficient representation and computation of operators and functions
      • Wavelet bases can diagonalize certain operators
    • Discretization and solution of partial differential equations
      • Frames provide stable, flexible discretizations of function spaces