The Ghost of Stochastic Resonance: An Introductory Review

TL;DR

This paper reviews Ghost Stochastic Resonance, a phenomenon where nonlinear systems with noise produce a 'ghost' frequency absent in the input, elucidating its mechanisms and diverse applications across fields.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of GSR, highlighting its underlying simple mechanism and its manifestation in various physical, biological, and climate systems.

Findings

GSR explains perception phenomena in biology.

GSR accounts for climate cycle patterns.

A simple two-ingredient mechanism underlies GSR.

Abstract

Nonlinear systems driven by noise and periodic forces with more than one frequency exhibit the phenomenon of Ghost Stochastic Resonance (GSR) found in a wide and disparate variety of fields ranging from biology to geophysics. The common novel feature is the emergence of a "ghost" frequency in the system's output which it is absent in the input. As reviewed here, the uncovering of this phenomenon helped to understand a range of problems, from the perception of pitch in complex sounds or visual stimuli, to the explanation of climate cycles. Recent theoretical efforts show that a simple mechanism with two ingredients are at work in all these observations. The first one is the linear interference between the periodic inputs and the second a nonlinear detection of the largest constructive interferences, involving a noisy threshold. These notes are dedicated to review the main aspects of this phenomenon, as well as its different manifestations described on a bewildering variety of systems ranging from neurons, semiconductor lasers, electronic circuits to models of glacial climate cycles.