What is sparse signal?

A sparse signal is a signal that contains a significant amount of zeros or negligible values, with only a few non-zero or significant components. In various contexts, such as in signal processing or machine learning, sparsity implies that the signal can be effectively represented with fewer parameters or features than its dimension suggests. This property allows for more efficient storage, transmission, and processing of the signal. Sparsity is often leveraged in techniques like compressed sensing and feature selection.