Recurrence plots in nonlinear time series analysis: Free software

Abstract

Recurrence plots are graphical devices specially suited to detect hidden dynamical patterns and nonlinearities in data. However, there are few programs available to apply such a mehodology. This paper reviews one of the best free programs to apply nonlinear time series analysis: Visual Recurrence Analysis (VRA). This program is targeted to recurrence analysis and the so-called Recurrence Quantitative Analysis (RQA, the quantitative counterpart of recurrence plots), although it includes many procedures in a friendly visual environment. Comparisons with alternative programs are performed.