superoscillation means the phenomenon by which a globally band-limited signal can contain local segments that oscillate faster than its fastest Fourier components. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
Why “superoscillation” is a great word
SUPEROSCILLATION — [Noun] The physical phenomenon by which a signal globally constrained to a maximum frequency can, within a sharply bounded local region, oscillate faster than its highest Fourier component. From the Latin prefix super- ("above, beyond") and oscillation, from Latin oscillatio ("a swinging"). Unlike "aliasing" (a phantom artifact of inadequate sampling) or a "harmonic" (a true integer-multiple component of the spectrum), superoscillation is a contained rebellion within the rules—a quiet defiance of a global bound. It is a placid lake producing a momentary patch of ripples finer than any wave allowed across its entire surface; a hushed orchestra whose violins, in a single bar, play a note beyond the range of their instruments; a field of wheat whose stalks, in one conspiratorial circle, sway at a rhythm the prevailing wind cannot muster. It is nature permitting a local miracle that does not violate its global truth.
noun
- The phenomenon by which a globally band-limited signal can contain local segments that oscillate faster than its fastest Fourier components.“We conclude that, either superoscillations really can beat the bandlimit and achieve superresolution (`kinematic superresolution') or the superoscillating high frequency is absorbed and we gain dynamical access to the physics of high frequency processes with low frequency signals (`dynamical superresolution')..”