Wave Propagation and Source Localization in Random and Refracting Media

This thesis focuses on understanding the way that acoustic and electromagnetic waves propagate through an inhomogeneous or turbulent environment, and analyzes the effect that this uncertainty has on signal processing algorithms. These methods are applied to determining the effectiveness of matched-field style source localization algorithms in uncertain ocean environments, and to analyzing the effect that random media composed of electrically large scatterers has on propagating waves. The first half of this dissertation introduces the frequency-difference autoproduct, a surrogate field quantity, and applies this quantity to passive acoustic remote sensing in waveguiding ocean environments. The frequency-difference autoproduct, a quadratic product of frequency-domain complex measured field values, is demonstrated to retain phase stability in the face of significant environmental uncertainty even when the related pressure field’s phase is as unstable as noise. This result demonstrates that a measured autoproduct (at difference frequencies less than 5 Hz) that is associated with a pressure field (measured in the hundreds of Hz) and which has propagated hundreds of kilometers in a deep ocean sound channel can be consistently cross-correlated with a calculated autoproduct. This cross-correlation is shown to give a cross-correlation coefficient that is more than 10 dB greater than the equivalent cross-correlation coefficient of the measured pressure field, demonstrating that the autoproduct is a stable alternative to the pressure field for array signal processing algorithms. The next major result demonstrates that the frequency-difference autoproduct can be used to passively localize remote unknown sound sources that broadcast sound hundreds of kilometers to a measuring device at hundreds of Hz frequencies. Because of the high frequency content of the measured pressure field, an equivalent conventional localization result is not possible using frequency-domain methods. These two primary contributions, recovery of frequency-domain phase stability and robust source localization, represent unique contributions to existing signal processing techniques. The second half of this thesis focuses on understanding electromagnetic wave propagation in a random medium composed of metallic scatterers placed within a background medium. This thesis focuses on developing new methods to compute the extinction and phase matrices, quantities related to Radiative Transfer theory, of a random medium composed of electrically large, interacting scatterers. A new method is proposed, based on using Monte Carlo simulation and full-wave computational electromagnetics methods simultaneously, to calculate the extinction coefficient and phase function of such a random medium. Another major result of this thesis demonstrates that the coherent portion of the field scattered by a configuration of the random medium is equivalent to the field scattered by a homogeneous dielectric that occupies the same volume as the configuration. This thesis also demonstrates that the incoherent portion of the field scattered by a configuration of the random medium, related to the phase function of the medium, can be calculated using buffer zone averaging. These methods are applied to model field propagation in a random medium, and propose an extension of single scattering theory that can be used to understand mean field propagation in relatively dense (tens of particles per cubic wavelength) random media composed of electrically large (up to 3 wavelengths long) conductors and incoherent field propagation in relatively dense (up to 5 particles per cubic wavelength) media composed of electrically large (up to two wavelengths) conductors. These results represent an important contribution to the field of incoherent, polarimetric remote sensing of the environment.PHDApplied PhysicsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/169886/1/geroskdj_1.pd

Magnetoencephalography

This is a practical book on MEG that covers a wide range of topics. The book begins with a series of reviews on the use of MEG for clinical applications, the study of cognitive functions in various diseases, and one chapter focusing specifically on studies of memory with MEG. There are sections with chapters that describe source localization issues, the use of beamformers and dipole source methods, as well as phase-based analyses, and a step-by-step guide to using dipoles for epilepsy spike analyses. The book ends with a section describing new innovations in MEG systems, namely an on-line real-time MEG data acquisition system, novel applications for MEG research, and a proposal for a helium re-circulation system. With such breadth of topics, there will be a chapter that is of interest to every MEG researcher or clinician

A Statistical Approach to Characterize and Detect Degradation Within the Barabasi-Albert Network

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is widely used by the intelligence community when analyzing the relationships between individuals within groups of interest. Hence, any tools that can be quantitatively shown to help improve the analyses are advantageous for the intelligence community. To date, there have been no methods developed to characterize a real world network as a Barabasi-Albert network which is a type of network with properties contained in many real-world networks. In this research, two newly developed statistical tests using the degree distribution and the L-moments of the degree distribution are proposed with application to classifying networks and detecting degradation within a network. The feasibility of these tests is shown by using the degree distribution for network and sub-network characterization of a selected scale-free real world networks. Further, sensitivity to the level of network degradation, via edge or node deletion, is examined with recommendation made as to the detectable size of degradation achievable by the statistical tests. Finally, the degree distribution of simulated Barabasi-Albert networks is investigated and results demonstrate that the theoretical distribution derived previously in the literature is not applicable to all network sizes. These results provide a foundation on which a statistically driven approach for network characterization can be built for network classification and monitoring

Spatial Filtering of Magnetoencephalographic Data in Spherical Harmonics Domain

We introduce new spatial filtering methods in the spherical harmonics domain for constraining magnetoencephalographic (MEG) multichannel measurements to user-specified sphericalregions of interests (ROI) inside the head. The main idea of the spatial filtering is to emphasize those signals arising from an ROI, while suppressing the signals coming from outsidethe ROI. We exploit a well-known method called the signal space separation (SSS), whichcan decompose MEG data into a signal component generated by neurobiological sourcesand a noise component generated by external sources outside the head. The novel methodspresented in this work, expanded SSS (exSSS) and generalized expanded SSS (genexSSS)utilize a beamspace optimization criterion in order to linearly transform the inner signal SSScoefficients to represent the sources belonging to the ROI. The filters mainly depend on theradius and the center of the ROI. The simplicity of the derived formulations of our methodsstems from the natural appropriateness to spherical domain and orthogonality properties ofthe SSS basis functions that are intimately related to the vector spherical harmonics. Thus,unlike the traditional MEG spatial filtering techniques, exSSS and genexSSS do not needany numerical computation procedures on discretized headspace. The validation and performance of the algorithms are demonstrated by experiments utilizing both simulated and realMEG data

Multivariate Analysis in Management, Engineering and the Sciences

Recently statistical knowledge has become an important requirement and occupies a prominent position in the exercise of various professions. In the real world, the processes have a large volume of data and are naturally multivariate and as such, require a proper treatment. For these conditions it is difficult or practically impossible to use methods of univariate statistics. The wide application of multivariate techniques and the need to spread them more fully in the academic and the business justify the creation of this book. The objective is to demonstrate interdisciplinary applications to identify patterns, trends, association sand dependencies, in the areas of Management, Engineering and Sciences. The book is addressed to both practicing professionals and researchers in the field

Connected Attribute Filtering Based on Contour Smoothness

A new attribute measuring the contour smoothness of 2-D objects is presented in the context of morphological attribute filtering. The attribute is based on the ratio of the circularity and non-compactness, and has a maximum of 1 for a perfect circle. It decreases as the object boundary becomes irregular. Computation on hierarchical image representation structures relies on five auxiliary data members and is rapid. Contour smoothness is a suitable descriptor for detecting and discriminating man-made structures from other image features. An example is demonstrated on a very-high-resolution satellite image using connected pattern spectra and the switchboard platform