 Raman spectral rebinning with conserved integrated counts

Raman spectral rebinning with conserved integrated counts redistributes finite-bin measurements onto a new spectral grid while preserving their summed quantity over the same covered range. It is different from relabeling bin centres or interpolating peak heights. The parent spectral-density conversion between wavelength and Raman shift derives the continuous Jacobian; finite bins require a stated assumption about unresolved variation inside each bin.

For an original piecewise-constant wavelength-density model, let old bin $I_i$ have width $\Delta {\lambda }_i$ and count $N_i$. Invert the new Raman-shift edges to wavelength intervals $J_j$. Define the overlap matrixWhen the new bins partition the old covered range, ${\sum }_j{A}_{ji}=1$, hence ${\sum }_j{N}_j^{\prime }={\sum }_i{N}_i$. Clipping the new range instead excludes the corresponding counts and must be reported.

For original old wavelength bins $[600,602]$ and $[602,604]\mathrm{nm}$ with counts $100$ and $300$, choose new edges corresponding to wavelengths $600$, $601$, $603$ and $604\mathrm{nm}$. ThenThe total remains $400$. A different within-bin model can distribute that total differently; the original measurements do not resolve every sub-bin feature.

Covariance of count-conserving rebinned Raman channels transforms as $C^{\prime }=AC{A}^T$ for this fixed linear operation. Fractional rebinned estimates are therefore not automatically independent Poisson photon counts. Splitting one measured bin among neighbours creates shared uncertainty; finer output pixels do not create additional spectral resolution.

The primary FSRS instrument records a dispersed spectrum on an array and calibrates its Raman-shift axis.^[ref] The overlap algorithm above is an original illustrative reconstruction, not a claim about that instrument's published processing. Apply radiometric response and background corrections consistently with the quantity whose integral is being conserved.