Functional inputs to passive correlation detectors for oscillatory transient signals

Abstract

This research investigates whether passive detection of transient signals can be improved by replacing received signals with functionals of the received signals in correlation detectors. Specifically, this paper assesses the impact of using energy spectrum and autocorrelation functional inputs to the cross-correlation (energy), bicorrelation, and tricorrelation detectors. Test signals with differing autocorrelation and energy spectrum properties are used in computer simulations with independent Gaussian noise to evaluate detector performance. Detection results are presented for the case when only two channels of input data are available to form the correlations, as well as the case when three and four channels of input data are available to form the higher order correlations. In the former case, it is shown that detection performance can be improved for the narrow-band signals by using the energy spectrum and autocorrelation functional inputs rather than the original received signal. In the latter case, it is shown that detection performance can be improved by using the autocorrelation input for the broadband signal and the energy spectrum input for the narrow-band signals, and that the tricorrelation detector performs best for the signals tested.