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Towards an Auditory Observatory
A Psychoacoustic Investigation of Gravitational Wave Data through Sonification and Spatialisation Experimental Studies  

2025

Towards an Auditory Observatory explored the application of data sonification for Gravitational Wave (GW) analysis. This approach is expanding, however the current GW sonification models are acoustically limited in perceptibility. This limitation is addressed in this research by studying the effect of timbre by varying noise levels and the influence of masking on signal detectability through designed and executed participatory experiments. Two GW data sonification paradigms are proposed in this study. The first approach involved timbre-based GW sonification analysis, which explored the effect of timbre by varying noise levels on simulated GW signal detection in experiment 1. Combinations of 3 timbres and 6 noise levels were displayed under two conditions: the signal is either present or it is absent. Pseudo-GW150819 signal was synthesised in sonifications containing the stimuli. The assessment involved detecting its presence and absence across trials.

The second approach was developed by audifying three instrumental noise categories of real GW data derived from LIGO to examine the effect of masking of concurrent noise on GW signal perception and whether spatialisation of these noise sources may contribute to sensitivity to the stimulus. The second experiment examined the effect of auditory masking through real-time interaction by defining the lowest threshold at which the GW170817 signal was perceptible alongside the concurrent display of the three specified noise categories spatialised in both monophonic and quadrophonic installations.

 

The results from experiment 1 remained limited in identifying the timbre-NF combination that allows for signal detectability. Furthermore, observations from experiment 2 also indicated no evident effects of spatialisation on signal perceptibility and distinguishing between diverse sound sources. Although the results from the presented analysis revealed no significant effect, this study identified and reflected on the discovered limitations of the experiment setup and provided promising opportunities to facilitate sound-based GW data analysis using the proposed GW data sonification paradigms, paving the ground for further research.

Images from the artist residency: Auditory Observatory installation (left) and interactive lecture on Jain Cosmology at the concluding event of the residency(right).

The development of this study yielded alternative outputs, further complementing to the process of this research. These experiences included an interactive installation piece exhibited at the Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, as a part of a six-month artist residency. The residency initiated with exploring the boundary between a scientific experiment and an interactive artistic installation, investigating the role of the observer and the operator/the experimentee. Further examining these agents' positionalities and modes of interaction as well as perception in relation to the curated auditory environment. In the second half of the residency, the research transitioned beyond the paradigm of multisensorial to multicultural astronomy, leading to compelling exchanges cross-pollinating notions about non/human sensorial experiences in relation to astronomical phenomena. Examining this emergence through the lens of traditional astronomical knowledge cultures such as Inca Cosmovision and Jain Cosmology.  

Auditory Observatory demonstration at the 75th International Astronautical Congress, with young enthusiasts’ participation shown on left and experts’ in the middle, and the researcher on the right. 

Our proposed GW data sonification paradigms, Timbre-based GW simulation-sonification and Audification-based GW spatialisation sonification, were demonstrated at the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, hosted by the Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIDAA). Our demonstration, Towards an Auditory Observatory, exhibited developed sound-based GW data analysis paradigms, alongside the presentation on multisensorial astronomy by Prof. Wanda L. Diaz Merced (second advisor to this study). Both sonification approaches were presented as an interactive installation in a dedicated space at the event, inviting experts in space sciences to participate and share insights. Our demonstration was well received by both experts as well as non-experts, fostering discussions about the ever-present challenge of signal-to-noise in astronomical data analysis, as well as exploring the potential of sound and its multidimensional features in examining other astrophysical data, such as the composition of galaxies and dark matter from the Euclid mission.

 

Furthermore, this work was invited to the Breakfast Seminar series at ESTEC, European Space Agency, in the Netherlands. This opportunity offered a variety of critical aspects involved in GW data analysis, addressed by the mission specialists from ESA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, which will be the first space-based GW observatory. This transition from ground to space-based instrumentation presents enormous challenges for data analysis but also numerous opportunities, including the prospect of incorporating the paradigm of data sonification as a potential approach towards the GW analysis in adjunct with existing visual-based models.

Defence presentation of Towards an Auditory Observatory, Edwin van der Heide (first advisor) and Wanda L. Diaz Merced (second advisor) with Dan Xu and Martyna Chruslinska as invited critics.

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