Moving Targets Processing in SAR Spatial Domain

This paper presents a novel technique to estimate the initial coordinates and velocity vector of moving targets, including those with velocities above the Nyquist limit, using a single synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor without increasing the pulse repetition frequency (PRF). The basic reasoning is that, although the returned echoes may be undersampled in the azimuth direction, their phase and amplitude are informative with respect to the moving target trajectory parameters. Therefore, the so-called blind angle ambiguity, inherent to systems using a single SAR sensor, is overcome. The proposed method samples the data in the spatial domain, along the signature curve which depends on the moving target trajectory parameters. The resulting algorithm is a highly efficient (from the computational point of view) ID matched filter. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is illustrated using simulated SAR data and real data from the MSTAR public release data set, corresponding to a static SAR scene and a static BTR-60 with simulated motion.     

GPS code and carrier multipath mitigation using a multiantennasystem

Multipath is a major source of error in high precision Global Positioning System (GPS) static and kinematic differential positioning. Multipath accounts for most of the total error budget in carrier phase measurements in a spacecraft attitude determination system. It is a major concern in reference stations, such as in Local Area Augmentation Systems (LAAS), whereby corrections generated by a reference station, which are based on multipath corrupted measurements, can significantly influence the position accuracy of differential users. Code range, carrier phase, and signal-to-noise (SNR) measurements are all affected by multipath, and the effect is spatially correlated within a small area. In order to estimate and remove code and carrier phase multipath, a system comprising a cluster of five GPS receivers and antennas is used at a reference station location. The spatial correlation of the receiver data, and the known geometry among the antennas, are exploited to estimate multipath for each satellite in each antenna in the system. Generic receiver code and carrier tracking loop discriminator functions are analyzed, and relationships between receiver data, such as code range, carrier phase, and SNR measurements, are formulated and related to various multipath parameters. A Kalman filter is described which uses a combination of the available information from the antennas (receivers) in the multiantenna cluster to estimate various multipath parameters. From the multipath parameters, the code range and carrier phase multipath is estimated and compensated. The technique is first tested on simulated data in a controlled multipath environment. Results are then presented using field data and show a significant reduction in multipath error     

A High-Resolution Radar Detection Strategy

A comparison of single range cell detection and integrated contiguous range cell detection for a high range resolution radar is presented. A simulation was used to generate probability of detection curves for the two detection strategies using 10 target models with different target scattering characteristics. The integrated range cell detection strategy was found to be superior in all cases except when the target is composed of a single strong flare point.     

Adaptive cell-averaging CFAR detection in distributed sensornetworks

The problem of adaptive cell-averaging constant false-alarm rate (CFAR) detection is considered for two distributed sensor network topologies, namely the parallel and the tandem topologies. The compressed data transmitted amongst the detectors is assumed to be in the form of decisions. The overall systems are optimized to yield the maximum probability of detection for a fixed probability of false alarm. The performance of the systems is also analyzed     

Power-line harmonic radiation and the electron slot

World maps of the occurrence of VLF emissions obtained by the satellites Ariel 3 and 4 reveal maxima above industrial regions of high power consumption in North America and Euro-Asia. A study of the generation and radiation of power line harmonics indicates that these may be a major source of the observed signals. The latter propagate in the whistler mode into the geomagnetically conjugate regions in the southern hemisphere. A particularly prominent zone of emission is obtained at VLF (3.2 kHz) over North America where frequent magnetospheric wave amplification/stimulated emission, up to 50 dB and typically 10 to 20 dB above a baseline level that we ascribe to power harmonic radiation (PLHR), is obtained at invariant latitudes 45 to 55° (2 < L < 3) centred on the electron slot. It appears that PLHR may be responsible for pitch angle diffusion of energetic electrons (E 100 keV) at large pitch angles by first-order resonance and thereby contribute to the formation of the electron slot. There is a strong seasonal variation in wave-amplification/stimulated emission which we suggest may be due to a variation in the ability of the waves to become entrapped in ducts where wave-amplification occurs through a phase-bunching process. There is a strong correlation between D _ST and signal intensity, the latter lagging by 1–5 hr in the morning and 10 hr in the evening; here again wave-amplification appears to depend on duct formation and wave trapping therein. One or two (or multi) hop emissions occur with about equal probability at 3.2 kHz; at 9.6 kHz one hop are predominant.Paper presented at the Fifth International Wrocaw Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Wroclaw (Poland), 17–19 September, 1980. Sci. Rpt. 1978 (1), Sheffield Univ. Space Physics Grp.     

The effect of rotation on the hydrodynamics of stellar collapse

Summary Using values of d, _min, and _max that Van Riper (1978) has found most promising for a hydrodynamic envelope ejection, we have shown that even a small amount of rotation in the initial core can stop its collapse before nuclear densities are reached. We expected _i > 0.02 to produce significant deviations from a spherically symmetric collapse, but have found that _i as much as ten times smaller than this will not allow the core to reach densities as high as in the spherical collapse. In no case, however, does the core flatten very much, nor does the value of become very large. Low final 's preclude the formation of an axisymmetric torus. They also indicate that deformation of an iron core into a triaxial configuration or fragmentation of the core during its collapse is an extremely unlikely event. (Note: Classically, must exceed 0.27 before a dynamic instability to non-axisymmetric perturbations is encountered.)The small degree of flattening of the core also suggests that the reduced moment of inertia I of the core will always be relatively small in magnitude and hence that the third time derivative of I, which is proportional to the energy emitted in gravity wave radiation, will not be very significant. Numerically calculated estimates of I- during some of these model evolutions supports this suspicion. If the _min and used here are found to be realistic values after the detailed physics of the core collapse is well understood, it is clear that gravitational radiation from a core collapse will be difficult to measure.Finally, we should point out that it is the relatively large values of Y_min (near 4/3) combined with values of d near unity that (a) prevented the core from flattening significantly in these models and (b) prevented the core from reaching high configurations. If realistic values of either one (or both) of these parameters are found to be much smaller in more complete models of the core collapse, then the core will have to become flatter (and denser) before pressure gradients will support it along the rotation axis. All of the conclusions drawn here would be modified accordingly under those circumstances. It should also be noted that in general relativistic models, the critical for spherical collapse is somewhat larger than 4/3 (Van Riper, 1979). Therefore, we predict that when fully general relativistic core collapses are performed including rotation, a given choice of _min and _i will produce a slightly flatter and slightly denser core than the corresponding model that has been presented here.     

Distributed binary integration

A distributed radar detection system that employs binary integration at each local detector is studied. Local decisions are transmitted to the fusion center where they are combined to yield a global decision. The optimum values of the two thresholds at each local processor are determined so as to maximize the detection probability under a given probability of false alarm constraint. Using an important channel model, performance comparisons are made to determine the integration loss     

The Electron and ion Plasma Experiment for Fast

The ion and electron plasma experiment on the Fast Auroral Snapshot satellite (FAST) is designed to measure pitch-angle distributions of suprathermal auroral electrons and ions with high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, good energy and angular resolution, and exceptional time resolution. These measurements support the primary scientific goal of the FAST mission to understand the physical processes responsible for auroral particle acceleration and heating, and associated wave-particle interactions. The instrument includes a complement of 8 pairs of `Top Hat' electrostatic analyzer heads with microchannel plate (MCP) electron multipliers and discrete anodes to provide angle resolved measurements. The analyzers are packaged in four instrument stacks, each containing four analyzers. These four stacks are equally spaced around the spacecraft spin plane. Analyzers mounted on opposite sides of the spacecraft operate in pairs such that their individual 180° fields of view combine to give an unobstructed 360° field of view in the spin plane. The earth's magnetic field is within a few degrees of the spin plane during most auroral crossings, so the time resolution for pitch-angle distribution measurements is independent of the spacecraft spin period. Two analyzer pairs serve as electron and ion spectrometers that obtain distributions of 48 energies at 32 angles every 78 ms. Their standard energy ranges are 4 eV to 32 keV for electrons and 3 eV to 24 keV for ions. These sensors also have deflection plates that can track the magnetic field direction within 10° of the spin plane to resolve narrow, magnetic field-aligned beams of electrons and ions. The remaining six analyzer pairs collectively function as an electron spectrograph, resolving distributions with 16 contiguous pitch-angle bins and a selectable trade-off of energy and time resolution. Two examples of possible operating modes are a maximum time resolution mode with 16 angles and 6 energies every 1.63 ms, or a maximum energy resolution mode with 16 angles and 48 energies every 13 ms. The instrument electronics include mcp pulse amplifiers and counters, high voltage supplies, command/data interface circuits, and diagnostic test circuits. All data formatting, commanding, timing and operational control of the plasma analyzer instrument are managed by a central instrument data processing unit (IDPU), which controls all of the FAST science instruments. The IDPU creates slower data modes by averaging the high rate measurements collected on the spacecraft. A flexible combination of burst mode data and slower `survey' data are defined by IDPU software tables that can be revised by command uploads. Initial flight results demonstrate successful achievement of all measurement objectives.     

SNR-based multipath error correction for GPS differential phase

Carrier phase multipath is currently the limiting error source for high precision Global Positioning System (GPS) applications such as attitude determination and short baseline surveying. Multipath is the corruption of the direct GPS signal by one or more signals reflected from the local surroundings. Multipath reflections affect both the carrier phase measured by the receiver and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A technique is described which uses the SNR information to correct multipath errors in differential phase observations. The potential of the technique to reduce multipath to almost the level of receiver noise was demonstrated in simulations. The effectiveness on real data was demonstrated with controlled static experiments. Small errors remained, predominantly from high frequency multipath. The low frequency multipath was virtually eliminated. The remaining high frequency receiver noise can be easily removed by smoothing or Kalman filtering     

Synchrotron Radiation from Galactic Sources: What We Can Learn About Particle Acceleration

I review the observations of galactic synchrotron sources, focusing on shell supernova remnants (SNRs), with particular attention to attributes that constrain the properties of electron acceleration. Radio observations provide information on source fluxes, spectral index, morphology, and polarization. Recent observations give us strong reason to believe that several young SNRs show synchrotron X-ray emission. Even if X-rays are thermal, however, limits can be set on the maximum energy to which electrons can be accelerated without a spectral break, since no galactic SNR is observed to have X-ray emission (due to any source) as bright as the extrapolation from radio frequencies of radio synchrotron emission. If synchrotron X-rays are detected or inferred, their morphology and spectrum provide important information on mechanisms governing acceleration to the highest energies. I describe models of synchrotron emission from SNRs and their comparison with observations. Finally, I describe the tasks ahead for both observers and theoreticians, to make better use of what SNR synchrotron emission tells us about particle acceleration.