Nonlinear Elements

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Physical Audio Signal Processing

Digital Waveguide Models

Longitudinal Waves

Memoryless Nonlinearities

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The topic of linear systems theory is primarily about linear, time-invariant (LTI) filters. A linear filter is characterized by the property that its output-signal amplitude is linearly proportional to its input-signal amplitude. A time-invariant filter, or 'constant-coefficient' filter, performs the same filtering operation at all times. Only LTI filters can be characeterized by their impulse response, or their frequency response, or their poles and zeros plus a gain, or the like. Also, only LTI filters have the superposition property for audio signals, in which the filtering of an audio mix can be obtained alternatively by filtering each channel separately and adding the filtered channels together. Equivalently, only LTI filters exhibit no intermodulation distortion for audio signals. — Click for https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/filters/Linear_Time_Invariant_Digital_Filters.html

The transfer function is defined for LTI filters as the z transform of the filter output signal, divided by the z transform of the filter input signal — Click for https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/filters/Transfer_Function_Analysis.html

The frequency response is defined for LTI filters as the Fourier transform of the filter output signal divided by the Fourier transform of the filter input signal — Click for https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/filters/Frequency_Response_I.html

The impulse response of a system is its output signal in response to the impulse signal. For discrete time (digital) systems, the impulse is a 1 followed by zeros. In continuous time, the impulse is a narrow, unit-area pulse (ideally infinitely narrow). — Click for https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/filters/Impulse_Response_Representation.html

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A feedback signal creates a loop. That is, the term 'feedback' refers to when an output signal is 'fed back' to an input of the same system. — Click for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feedback

Any function that is not linear is nonlinear. There are no general methods for solving nonlinear equations or nonlinear differential equations. This is why it is usually easier, although generally less accurate, to approximate a nonlinear function by a linear function if possible. — Click for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinear

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The size of the passband, typically expressed in Hz. — Click for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandpass

A signal is typically a real-valued function of time. A discrete-time signal is typically a real-valued function of discrete time, and is therefore a time-ordered sequence of real numbers. — Click for http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/filters/Definition_Signal.html

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Index: Physical Audio Signal Processing

Physical Audio Signal Processing

Digital Waveguide Models

Longitudinal Waves

Memoryless Nonlinearities

Nonlinear Elements

Many musical instrument models require nonlinear elements, such as

Amplifier distortion (electric guitar)
Reed model (woodwinds)
Bowed string contact friction

Since a nonlinear element generally expands signal bandwidth, it can cause aliasing in a discrete-time implementation. In the above examples, the nonlinearity also appears inside a feedback loop. This means the bandwidth expansion compounds over time, causing more and more aliasing.

The topic of nonlinear systems analysis is vast, in part because there is no single analytical approach which is comprehensive. The situation is somewhat analogous to an attempt to characterize ``all non-bacterial life''. As a result, the only practical approach is to identify useful classes of nonlinear systems which are amenable to certain kinds of analysis and characterization. In this chapter, we will look at certain classes of memoryless and passive nonlinear elements which are often used in digital waveguide modeling.

It is important to keep in mind that a nonlinear element may not be characterized by its impulse response, frequency response, transfer function, or the like. These concepts are only defined, in general, for linear time-invariant systems. However, it is possible to generalize these notions for nonlinear systems using constructs such as Volterra series expansions [52]. However, rather than getting involved with fairly general analysis tools, we will focus instead on approaching each class of nonlinear elements in the manner that best fits that class, with the main goal being to understand its audible effects on discrete-time signals.

Subsections

Memoryless Nonlinearities

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``Physical Audio Signal Processing'', by Julius O. Smith III, W3K Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9745607-2-4
Copyright © 2024-06-28 by Julius O. Smith III
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University

Nonlinear Elements

``Physical Audio Signal Processing'', by Julius O. Smith III, W3K Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9745607-2-4 Copyright © 2024-06-28 by Julius O. Smith III Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University

``Physical Audio Signal Processing'', by Julius O. Smith III, W3K Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9745607-2-4
Copyright © 2024-06-28 by Julius O. Smith III
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University