Detection of atomic clock frequency jumps with the Kalman filter

Abstract

Frequency jumps are common anomalies in atomic clocks aboard navigation system satellites. These anomalous behaviors must be detected quickly and accurately to minimize the impact on user positioning. We develop a detector for frequency jumps based on the Kalman filter. Numerical simulations show that the detector is fast, with high probability of detection and low probability of false alarms. It also has a low computational cost because it takes advantage of the recursive nature of the Kalman filter. Therefore, it can be used in applications in which little computational power is available, such as aboard navigation system satellites.