Sampling and Super-resolution of Sparse Signals Beyond the Fourier Domain

Recovering a sparse signal from its low-pass projections in the Fourier domain is a problem of broad interest in science and engineering and is commonly referred to as super-resolution. In many cases, however, Fourier domain may not be the natural choice. For example, in holography, low-pass projections of sparse signals are obtained in the Fresnel domain. Similarly, time-varying system identification relies on low-pass projections on the space of linear frequency modulated signals. In this paper, we study the recovery of sparse signals from low-pass projections in the Special Affine Fourier Transform domain (SAFT). The SAFT parametrically generalizes a number of well known unitary transformations that are used in signal processing and optics. In analogy to the Shannon's sampling framework, we specify sampling theorems for recovery of sparse signals considering three specific cases: (1) sampling with arbitrary, bandlimited kernels, (2) sampling with smooth, time-limited kernels and, (3) recovery from Gabor transform measurements linked with the SAFT domain. Our work offers a unifying perspective on the sparse sampling problem which is compatible with the Fourier, Fresnel and Fractional Fourier domain based results. In deriving our results, we introduce the SAFT series (analogous to the Fourier series) and the short time SAFT, and study convolution theorems that establish a convolution--multiplication property in the SAFT domain.Comment: 42 pages, 3 figures, manuscript under revie

SAR-Based Vibration Estimation Using the Discrete Fractional Fourier Transform

A vibration estimation method for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is presented based on a novel application of the discrete fractional Fourier transform (DFRFT). Small vibrations of ground targets introduce phase modulation in the SAR returned signals. With standard preprocessing of the returned signals, followed by the application of the DFRFT, the time-varying accelerations, frequencies, and displacements associated with vibrating objects can be extracted by successively estimating the quasi-instantaneous chirp rate in the phase-modulated signal in each subaperture. The performance of the proposed method is investigated quantitatively, and the measurable vibration frequencies and displacements are determined. Simulation results show that the proposed method can successfully estimate a two-component vibration at practical signal-to-noise levels. Two airborne experiments were also conducted using the Lynx SAR system in conjunction with vibrating ground test targets. The experiments demonstrated the correct estimation of a 1-Hz vibration with an amplitude of 1.5 cm and a 5-Hz vibration with an amplitude of 1.5 mm

Coupled oscillators with power-law interaction and their fractional dynamics analogues

The one-dimensional chain of coupled oscillators with long-range power-law interaction is considered. The equation of motion in the infrared limit are mapped onto the continuum equation with the Riesz fractional derivative of order $\alpha$, when $0<\alpha<2$. The evolution of soliton-like and breather-like structures are obtained numerically and compared for both types of simulations: using the chain of oscillators and using the continuous medium equation with the fractional derivative.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure