Fast τ-p transforms by chirp modulation

Abstract

We have developed simple, fast, and accurate algorithms for the linear Radon ([Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]) transform and its inverse. The algorithms have an [Formula: see text] computational complexity in contrast to the [Formula: see text] cost of a direct implementation in 2D and an [Formula: see text] computational complexity compared to the [Formula: see text] cost of a direct implementation in 3D. The methods use Bluestein’s algorithm to evaluate discrete nonstandard Fourier sums, and they need, apart from the fast Fourier transform (FFT), only multiplication of chirp functions and their Fourier transforms. The computational cost and accuracy are thus reduced to that inherited by the FFT. Fully working algorithms can be implemented in a couple of lines of code. Moreover, we find that efficient graphics processing unit (GPU) implementations could achieve processing speeds of approximately [Formula: see text], implying that the algorithms are I/O bound rather than compute bound.