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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Chris HarrisonORCiD, Rose Hinz, Sean Dougherty, Aishwarya Girdhar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2023. We present a novel approach to inspecting galaxy spectra using sound, via their direct audio representation (‘spectral audification’). We discuss the potential of this as a complement to (or stand-in for) visual approaches. We surveyed 58 respondents who use the audio representation alone to rate 30 optical galaxy spectra with strong emission lines. Across three tests, each focusing on different quantities measured from the spectra (signal-to-noise ratio, emission-line width, and flux ratios), we find that user ratings are well correlated with measured quantities. This demonstrates that physical information can be independently gleaned from listening to spectral audifications. We note the importance of context when rating these sonifications, where the order examples are heard can influence responses. Finally, we adapt the method used in this promising pilot study to spectral datacubes. We suggest that audification allows efficient exploration of complex, spatially resolved spectral data.
Author(s): Trayford JW, Harrison CM, Hinz RC, Blatt MK, Dougherty S, Girdhar A
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: RAS Techniques and Instruments
Year: 2023
Volume: 2
Issue: 1
Pages: 387-392
Online publication date: 28/06/2023
Acceptance date: 07/06/2023
Date deposited: 15/08/2024
ISSN (electronic): 2752-8200
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/rasti/rzad021
DOI: 10.1093/rasti/rzad021
Data Access Statement: A survey transcript and all of the audio files used during the tutorials and testing, along with our animated prototype of a sonified IFU datacube, can be found here: https://doi.org/10.25405/data.ncl.22816442.
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