Linear perturbations of the Wigner distribution and the Cohen class

The Wigner distribution is a milestone of Time-frequency Analysis. In order to cope with its drawbacks while preserving the desirable features that made it so popular, several kinds of modifications have been proposed. This contribution fits into this perspective. We introduce a family of phase-space representations of Wigner type associated with invertible matrices and explore their general properties. As a main result, we provide a characterization for the Cohen's class [L. Cohen, Generalized phase-space distribution functions, J. Math. Phys. 7 (1996) 781-786; Time-frequency Analysis (Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1995)]. This feature suggests to interpret this family of representations as linear perturbations of the Wigner distribution. We show which of its properties survive under linear perturbations and which ones are truly distinctive of its central role

Linear perturbations of the Wigner transform and the Weyl quantization

We study a class of quadratic time-frequency representations that, roughly speaking, are obtained by linear perturbations of the Wigner transform. They satisfy Moyal's formula by default and share many other properties with the Wigner transform, but in general they do not belong to Cohen's class. We provide a characterization of the intersection of the two classes. To any such time-frequency representation, we associate a pseudodifferential calculus. We investigate the related quantization procedure, study the properties of the pseudodifferential operators, and compare the formalism with that of the Weyl calculus.Comment: 38 pages. Contributed chapter for volume on the occasion of Luigi Rodino's 70th birthda

Generalized Born--Jordan Distributions and Applications

The quadratic nature of the Wigner distribution causes the appearance of unwanted interferences. This is the reason why engineers, mathematicians and physicists look for related time-frequency distributions, many of them are members of the Cohen class. Among them, the Born-Jordan distribution has recently attracted the attention of many authors, since the so-called ghost frequencies are damped quite well, and the noise is in general reduced. The very insight relies on the kernel of such a distribution, which contains the sinus cardinalis (sinc), which can be viewed as the Fourier transform, of the first B-Spline. Replacing the function B-Spline with the spline or order n, on the Fourier side we obtain the n-th power of sinc, whose decay at infinity increases with n. We introduce the corresponding Cohen's Kernel and study the properties of the related time-frequency distribution which we call generalized Born--Jordan distribution

Mixed-state localization operators: Cohen's class and trace class operators

We study mixed-state localization operators from the perspective of Werner's operator convolutions which allows us to extend known results from the rank-one case to trace class operators. The idea of localizing a signal to a domain in phase space is approached from various directions such as bounds on the spreading function, probability densities associated to mixed-state localization operators, positive operator valued measures, positive correspondence rules and variants of Tauberian theorems for operator translates. Our results include a rigorous treatment of multiwindow-STFT filters and a characterization of mixed-state localization operators as positive correspondence rules. Furthermore, we provide a description of the Cohen class in terms of Werner's convolution of operators and deduce consequences on positive Cohen class distributions, an uncertainty principle, uniqueness and phase retrieval for general elements of Cohen's class.Comment: We call generalized localization operators now mixed-state localization operators. In addition to a change of title and other parts involving generalized localization operators. We did a major revision of the manuscript incorporating suggestions by reviewer

Decoherence and entropy of primordial fluctuations. I: Formalism and interpretation

We propose an operational definition of the entropy of cosmological perturbations based on a truncation of the hierarchy of Green functions. The value of the entropy is unambiguous despite gauge invariance and the renormalization procedure. At the first level of truncation, the reduced density matrices are Gaussian and the entropy is the only intrinsic quantity. In this case, the quantum-to-classical transition concerns the entanglement of modes of opposite wave-vectors, and the threshold of classicality is that of separability. The relations to other criteria of classicality are established. We explain why, during inflation, most of these criteria are not intrinsic. We complete our analysis by showing that all reduced density matrices can be written as statistical mixtures of minimal states, the squeezed properties of which are less constrained as the entropy increases. Pointer states therefore appear not to be relevant to the discussion. The entropy is calculated for various models in paper II.Comment: 23 page

Wigner analysis of operators. Part I: pseudodifferential operators and wave fronts

We perform Wigner analysis of linear operators. Namely, the standard time-frequency representation \emph{Short-time Fourier Transform} (STFT) is replaced by the $\mathcal{A}$-\emph{Wigner distribution} defined by $W_{\mathcal A} (f)=\mu({\mathcal A})(f\otimes\bar{f})$, where ${\mathcal A}$ is a $4d\times 4d$ symplectic matrix and $\mu({\mathcal A})$ is an associate metaplectic operator. Basic examples are given by the so-called $\tau$-Wigner distributions. Such representations provide a new characterization for modulation spaces when $\tau\in (0,1)$. Furthermore, they can be efficiently employed in the study of the off-diagonal decay for pseudodifferential operators with symbols in the Sj\"ostrand class (in particular, in the H\"{o}rmander class $S^0_{0,0}$). The novelty relies on defining time-frequency representations via metaplectic operators, developing a conceptual framework and paving the way for a new understanding of quantization procedures. We deduce micro-local properties for pseudodifferential operators in terms of the Wigner wave front set. Finally, we compare the Wigner with the global H\"{o}rmander wave front set and identify the possible presence of a ghost region in the Wigner wave front. \par In the second part of the paper applications to Fourier integral operators and Schr\"{o}dinger equations will be given.Comment: Improved version. 43 page