The Gaussian wavelet is defined as the derivative of the Gaussian probability density function. It belongs to a family of Hermitian wavelets used in continuous wavelet transforms. The nth Gaussian wavelet is the nth derivative of the Gaussian function. Gaussian wavelets have no scaling function and are not orthogonal or compactly supported, making the discrete wavelet transform and perfect reconstruction impossible. However, the continuous wavelet transform can be used to detect discontinuities in signals using Gaussian wavelets.