In mathematics, a Walsh matrix is a specific square matrix with dimensions of some power of 2, entries of ±1, and the property that the dot product of any two distinct rows (or columns) is zero. The Walsh matrix was proposed by Joseph L. Walsh in 1923. Each row of a Walsh matrix corresponds to a Walsh function.
The naturally ordered Hadamard matrix is defined by the recursive formula below, and the sequency-ordered Hadamard matrix is formed by rearranging the rows so that the number of sign changes in a row is in increasing order. Confusingly, different sources refer to either matrix as the Walsh matrix.
The Walsh matrix (and Walsh functions) are used in computing the Walsh transform and have applications in the efficient implementation of certain signal processing operations.
The Hadamard matrices of dimension 2k for k ∈ N are given by the recursive formula (the lowest order of Hadamard matrix is 2):
and in general
for 2 ≤ k ∈ N, where denotes the Kronecker product.
Rearrange the rows of the matrix according to the number of sign change of each row. For example, in
the successive rows have 0, 3, 1, and 2 sign changes. If we rearrange the rows in sequency ordering:
then the successive rows have 0, 1, 2, and 3 sign changes.
The sequency ordering of the rows of the Walsh matrix can be derived from the ordering of the Hadamard matrix by first applying the bit-reversal permutation and then the Gray-code permutation: