---
title: "electroacoustics.frequency_response"
description: "Public API of phonometry.electroacoustics.frequency_response (auto-generated)."
sidebar:
  label: "frequency_response"
---

> Auto-generated from the source docstrings by `scripts/generate_api_docs.py` (`make api-docs`). Do not edit by hand.

Frequency-response and coherence estimators (Bendat & Piersol).

Two-channel (input/output) system identification from measured signals, using
the Welch-averaged cross- and auto-spectral densities. Following Bendat &
Piersol, *Random Data: Analysis and Measurement Procedures* (4th ed., 2010):

* the **H1** estimator `H1 = Gxy / Gxx` (unbiased when the noise is on the
  output),
* the **H2** estimator `H2 = Gyy / Gyx` (unbiased when the noise is on the
  input),
* the **ordinary coherence** `γ² = |Gxy|² / (Gxx · Gyy)` ∈ [0, 1], the
  fraction of the output power linearly explained by the input.

For a noiseless linear time-invariant path both estimators recover the true
transfer function and the coherence is unity; additive output noise biases H2
but not H1 and pulls the coherence down to `SNR / (1 + SNR)`, which is the
analytic oracle used to verify the implementation.

## coherence

```python
coherence(
    x: NDArray[np.float64] | list[float],
    y: NDArray[np.float64] | list[float],
    fs: float,
    *,
    nperseg: int | None = None,
    overlap: float = 0.5,
) -> tuple[NDArray[np.float64], NDArray[np.float64]]
```

Ordinary coherence `γ²(f)` between `x` and `y` (Bendat & Piersol).

`γ² = |Gxy|² / (Gxx·Gyy)` ∈ [0, 1]: unity for a noiseless linear path and
`SNR/(1+SNR)` with additive output noise. Averaging over several segments
is required for a meaningful estimate (a single segment gives `γ² ≡ 1`).

**Parameters**

| Name | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `x` | First signal, 1-D. |
| `y` | Second signal, 1-D, same length as `x`. |
| `fs` | Sample rate, in Hz. |
| `nperseg` | Welch segment length; `None` picks a default. |
| `overlap` | Segment overlap fraction (default 0.5). |

**Returns:** `(frequencies, gamma_squared)`.

**Raises**

| Exception | When |
| :--- | :--- |
| ValueError | If the inputs or parameters are invalid. |

## FrequencyResponseResult

```python
FrequencyResponseResult(
    frequencies: NDArray[np.float64],
    response: NDArray[np.complex128],
    magnitude_db: NDArray[np.float64],
    phase: NDArray[np.float64],
    coherence: NDArray[np.float64],
    estimator: str,
)
```

Estimated frequency response of an input/output path (Bendat & Piersol).

**Attributes**

| Name | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `frequencies` | Frequency axis, in Hz. |
| `response` | Complex frequency-response estimate `H(f)`. |
| `magnitude_db` | Magnitude `20·lg\|H\|`, in dB. |
| `phase` | Phase of `H`, in radians (unwrapped). |
| `coherence` | Ordinary coherence `γ²(f)` ∈ [0, 1]. |
| `estimator` | Estimator used (`'H1'` or `'H2'`). |

### FrequencyResponseResult.plot()

```python
FrequencyResponseResult.plot(
    ax: Axes | None = None,
    *,
    language: str = 'en',
    **kwargs: Any,
) -> Axes | NDArray[Any]
```

Plot the Bode magnitude/phase and the coherence.

**Parameters**

| Name | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `language` | Label language, `"en"` (default) or `"es"`. |

## transfer_function

```python
transfer_function(
    x: NDArray[np.float64] | list[float],
    y: NDArray[np.float64] | list[float],
    fs: float,
    *,
    estimator: Literal['H1', 'H2'] = 'H1',
    nperseg: int | None = None,
    overlap: float = 0.5,
) -> FrequencyResponseResult
```

Estimate the frequency response from input `x` to output `y`.

`H1 = Gxy / Gxx` (the default; unbiased for output noise) or
`H2 = Gyy / Gyx` (unbiased for input noise), from Welch-averaged Hann
segments. The ordinary coherence `γ² = |Gxy|² / (Gxx·Gyy)` is returned
alongside as a data-quality indicator.

**Parameters**

| Name | Description |
| :--- | :--- |
| `x` | Input (reference) signal, 1-D. |
| `y` | Output (response) signal, 1-D, same length as `x`. |
| `fs` | Sample rate, in Hz. |
| `estimator` | `'H1'` (default) or `'H2'`. |
| `nperseg` | Welch segment length; `None` picks a length targeting about 4 Hz resolution (as in [`intensity`](/phonometry/reference/api/power/intensity/)). |
| `overlap` | Segment overlap fraction (default 0.5). |

**Returns:** A [`FrequencyResponseResult`](/phonometry/reference/api/electroacoustics/frequency-response/#frequencyresponseresult).

**Raises**

| Exception | When |
| :--- | :--- |
| ValueError | If the inputs or parameters are invalid. |
