278 research outputs found
A Geometric Approach to Covariance Matrix Estimation and its Applications to Radar Problems
A new class of disturbance covariance matrix estimators for radar signal
processing applications is introduced following a geometric paradigm. Each
estimator is associated with a given unitary invariant norm and performs the
sample covariance matrix projection into a specific set of structured
covariance matrices. Regardless of the considered norm, an efficient solution
technique to handle the resulting constrained optimization problem is
developed. Specifically, it is shown that the new family of distribution-free
estimators shares a shrinkagetype form; besides, the eigenvalues estimate just
requires the solution of a one-dimensional convex problem whose objective
function depends on the considered unitary norm. For the two most common norm
instances, i.e., Frobenius and spectral, very efficient algorithms are
developed to solve the aforementioned one-dimensional optimization leading to
almost closed form covariance estimates. At the analysis stage, the performance
of the new estimators is assessed in terms of achievable Signal to Interference
plus Noise Ratio (SINR) both for a spatial and a Doppler processing assuming
different data statistical characterizations. The results show that interesting
SINR improvements with respect to some counterparts available in the open
literature can be achieved especially in training starved regimes.Comment: submitted for journal publicatio
Covariance Estimation in Elliptical Models with Convex Structure
We address structured covariance estimation in Elliptical distribution. We
assume it is a priori known that the covariance belongs to a given convex set,
e.g., the set of Toeplitz or banded matrices. We consider the General Method of
Moments (GMM) optimization subject to these convex constraints. Unfortunately,
GMM is still non-convex due to objective. Instead, we propose COCA - a convex
relaxation which can be efficiently solved. We prove that the relaxation is
tight in the unconstrained case for a finite number of samples, and in the
constrained case asymptotically. We then illustrate the advantages of COCA in
synthetic simulations with structured Compound Gaussian distributions. In these
examples, COCA outperforms competing methods as Tyler's estimate and its
projection onto a convex set
Tyler's Covariance Matrix Estimator in Elliptical Models with Convex Structure
We address structured covariance estimation in elliptical distributions by
assuming that the covariance is a priori known to belong to a given convex set,
e.g., the set of Toeplitz or banded matrices. We consider the General Method of
Moments (GMM) optimization applied to robust Tyler's scatter M-estimator
subject to these convex constraints. Unfortunately, GMM turns out to be
non-convex due to the objective. Instead, we propose a new COCA estimator - a
convex relaxation which can be efficiently solved. We prove that the relaxation
is tight in the unconstrained case for a finite number of samples, and in the
constrained case asymptotically. We then illustrate the advantages of COCA in
synthetic simulations with structured compound Gaussian distributions. In these
examples, COCA outperforms competing methods such as Tyler's estimator and its
projection onto the structure set.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1311.059
Knowledge-aided STAP in heterogeneous clutter using a hierarchical bayesian algorithm
This paper addresses the problem of estimating the covariance matrix of a primary vector from heterogeneous samples and some prior knowledge, under the framework of knowledge-aided space-time adaptive processing (KA-STAP). More precisely, a Gaussian scenario is considered where the covariance matrix of the secondary data may differ from the one of interest. Additionally, some knowledge on the primary data is supposed to be available and summarized into a prior matrix. Two KA-estimation schemes are presented in a Bayesian framework whereby the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimates are derived. The first scheme is an extension of a previous work and takes into account the non-homogeneity via an original relation. {In search of simplicity and to reduce the computational load, a second estimation scheme, less complex, is proposed and omits the fact that the environment may be heterogeneous.} Along the estimation process, not only the covariance matrix is estimated but also some parameters representing the degree of \emph{a priori} and/or the degree of heterogeneity. Performance of the two approaches are then compared using STAP synthetic data. STAP filter shapes are analyzed and also compared with a colored loading technique
A bayesian approach to adaptive detection in nonhomogeneous environments
We consider the adaptive detection of a signal of interest embedded in colored noise, when the environment is nonhomogeneous, i.e., when the training samples used for adaptation do not share the same covariance matrix as the vector under test. A Bayesian framework is proposed where the covariance matrices of the primary and the secondary data are assumed to be random, with some appropriate joint distribution. The prior distributions of these matrices require a rough knowledge about the environment. This provides a flexible, yet simple, knowledge-aided model where the degree of nonhomogeneity can be tuned through some scalar variables. Within this framework, an approximate generalized likelihood ratio test is formulated. Accordingly, two Bayesian versions of the adaptive matched filter are presented, where the conventional maximum likelihood estimate of the primary data covariance matrix is replaced either by its minimum mean-square error estimate or by its maximum a posteriori estimate. Two detectors require generating samples distributed according to the joint posterior distribution of primary and secondary data covariance matrices. This is achieved through the use of a Gibbs sampling strategy. Numerical simulations illustrate the performances of these detectors, and compare them with those of the conventional adaptive matched filter
Regularized Covariance Matrix Estimation in Complex Elliptically Symmetric Distributions Using the Expected Likelihood Approach - Part 1: The Over-Sampled Case
In \cite{Abramovich04}, it was demonstrated that the likelihood ratio (LR) for multivariate complex Gaussian distribution has the invariance property that can be exploited in many applications. Specifically, the probability density function (p.d.f.) of this LR for the (unknown) actual covariance matrix does not depend on this matrix and is fully specified by the matrix dimension and the number of independent training samples . Since this p.d.f. could therefore be pre-calculated for any a priori known , one gets a possibility to compare the LR of any derived covariance matrix estimate against this p.d.f., and eventually get an estimate that is statistically ``as likely'' as the a priori unknown actual covariance matrix. This ``expected likelihood'' (EL) quality assessment allows for significant improvement of MUSIC DOA estimation performance in the so-called ``threshold area'' \cite{Abramovich04,Abramovich07d}, and for diagonal loading and TVAR model order selection in adaptive detectors \cite{Abramovich07,Abramovich07b}. Recently, a broad class of the so-called complex elliptically symmetric (CES) distributions has been introduced for description of highly in-homogeneous clutter returns. The aim of this series of two papers is to extend the EL approach to this class of CES distributions as well as to a particularly important derivative of CES, namely the complex angular central distribution (ACG). For both cases, we demonstrate a similar invariance property for the LR associated with the true scatter matrix \mSigma_{0}. Furthermore, we derive fixed point regularized covariance matrix estimates using the generalized expected likelihood methodology. This first part is devoted to the conventional scenario () while Part 2 deals with the under-sampled scenario ()
Robust Multiple Signal Classification via Probability Measure Transformation
In this paper, we introduce a new framework for robust multiple signal
classification (MUSIC). The proposed framework, called robust
measure-transformed (MT) MUSIC, is based on applying a transform to the
probability distribution of the received signals, i.e., transformation of the
probability measure defined on the observation space. In robust MT-MUSIC, the
sample covariance is replaced by the empirical MT-covariance. By judicious
choice of the transform we show that: 1) the resulting empirical MT-covariance
is B-robust, with bounded influence function that takes negligible values for
large norm outliers, and 2) under the assumption of spherically contoured noise
distribution, the noise subspace can be determined from the eigendecomposition
of the MT-covariance. Furthermore, we derive a new robust measure-transformed
minimum description length (MDL) criterion for estimating the number of
signals, and extend the MT-MUSIC framework to the case of coherent signals. The
proposed approach is illustrated in simulation examples that show its
advantages as compared to other robust MUSIC and MDL generalizations
MIMO Radar Target Localization and Performance Evaluation under SIRP Clutter
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar has become a thriving subject of
research during the past decades. In the MIMO radar context, it is sometimes
more accurate to model the radar clutter as a non-Gaussian process, more
specifically, by using the spherically invariant random process (SIRP) model.
In this paper, we focus on the estimation and performance analysis of the
angular spacing between two targets for the MIMO radar under the SIRP clutter.
First, we propose an iterative maximum likelihood as well as an iterative
maximum a posteriori estimator, for the target's spacing parameter estimation
in the SIRP clutter context. Then we derive and compare various
Cram\'er-Rao-like bounds (CRLBs) for performance assessment. Finally, we
address the problem of target resolvability by using the concept of angular
resolution limit (ARL), and derive an analytical, closed-form expression of the
ARL based on Smith's criterion, between two closely spaced targets in a MIMO
radar context under SIRP clutter. For this aim we also obtain the non-matrix,
closed-form expressions for each of the CRLBs. Finally, we provide numerical
simulations to assess the performance of the proposed algorithms, the validity
of the derived ARL expression, and to reveal the ARL's insightful properties.Comment: 34 pages, 12 figure
Covariance matrix estimation with heterogeneous samples
We consider the problem of estimating the covariance matrix Mp of an observation vector, using heterogeneous training samples, i.e., samples whose covariance matrices are not exactly Mp. More precisely, we assume that the training samples can be clustered into K groups, each one containing Lk, snapshots sharing the same covariance matrix Mk. Furthermore, a Bayesian approach is proposed in which the matrices Mk. are assumed to be random with some prior distribution. We consider two different assumptions for Mp. In a fully Bayesian framework, Mp is assumed to be random with a given prior distribution. Under this assumption, we derive the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) estimator of Mp which is implemented using a Gibbs-sampling strategy. Moreover, a simpler scheme based on a weighted sample covariance matrix (SCM) is also considered. The weights minimizing the mean square error (MSE) of the estimated covariance matrix are derived. Furthermore, we consider estimators based on colored or diagonal loading of the weighted SCM, and we determine theoretically the optimal level of loading. Finally, in order to relax the a priori assumptions about the covariance matrix Mp, the second part of the paper assumes that this matrix is deterministic and derives its maximum-likelihood estimator. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the performance of the different estimation schemes
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