A musical instrument called a hyperbolic marimba allows you to hear the actual shape of a curved geometric space.
This project turns the abstract math of spectral geometry into literal melodies. The creators used the movement of particles on a hyperbolic surface to generate specific musical notes. This experiment tests the famous mathematical question of whether one can hear the shape of a drum. By listening to the resulting sound, researchers can identify the unique geometry of the surface. It transforms complex physics into a sensory experience that even a non-scientist can perceive.
Can You Hear the Shape of a Hyperbolic Surface? Now for Real
arXiv · 2604.27990
We associate a musical instrument, a "hyperbolic marimba", to every pair $(X,\Gamma)$ where $X$ is a hyperbolic surface and $\Gamma\subset X$ a simple multicurve labeled with musical keys. It works as follows: take a geodesic and every time it hits $\Gamma$, play the corresponding note. In this paper we investigate to which extent the so-produced melodies characterize $(X,\Gamma)$ up to isometry.In the accompanying website "HyperMarimba" (available atthis https URL), the reader can actually list