Eigendecomposition of the multi-channel covariance matrix with applications to SAR-GMTI

This paper investigates ground moving target indication using a multiaperture synthetic aperture radar. Target detectors based on an eigendecomposition of the multi-channel covariance matrix are presented. Comparisons of the proposed detectors with classical methods, such as displaced phase centre antenna, or along track interferometry, show increased capability in heterogeneous terrain. By decomposing the complex Wishart probability distribution of the sample covariance matrix into probability distributions of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors, we calculate the probability of moving target detection vs. the signal to clutter plus noise ratio for a fixed false alarm rate in homogeneous and heterogeneous terrain. The probability distributions allow implementation of a constant false alarm rate detector. The complete analysis is presented for a two-channel system. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.