Excitable systems as robust event trigger generators in noisy detectors

We study the response of a stochastic FitzHugh-Nagumo model to weak external forcing with the aim of implementing a nonlinear algorithm, devised for the robust detection of transient signals such as gravitational wave bursts. In order to test the performance of the algorithm, we exploited the ensemble of maximum entropy signals known as chirplets. In particular, we investigated the chirplet parameter subspace representing the gravitational wave bursts within range of nowadays interferometric detectors. We found that the false alarm rate can be controlled by changing the constant term in the equation of the slow variable while the detection efficiency is completely insensitive to the kind of injected chirplet. The receiver operating characteristic curves have been evaluated and compared with the performance of power detectors (threshold crossing of local power), which are commonly used for the burst detection.