Efficient cumulant-based methods for joint angle and frequency estimation using spatia-temporal smoothing

Abstract

Most non-Gaussian signals in wireless communication array systems contain temporal correlation under a high sampling rate, which can offer more accurate direction of arrival (DOA) and frequency estimates and a larger identifiability. However, in practice, the estimation performance may severely degrade in coloured noise environments. To tackle this issue, we propose real-valued joint angle and frequency estimation (JAFE) algorithms for non-Gaussian signals using fourth-order cumulants. By exploiting the temporal correlation embedded in signals, a series of augmented cumulant matrices is constructed. For independent signals, the DOA and frequency estimates can be obtained, respectively, by leveraging a dual rotational invariance property. For coherent signals, the dual rotational invariance is constructed to estimate the generalized steering vectors, which associates the coherent signals into different groups. Then, the coherent signals in each group can be resolved by performing the forward-backward spatial smoothing. The proposed schemes not only improve the estimation accuracy, but also resolve many more signals than sensors. Besides, it is computationally efficient since it performs the estimation by the polynomial rooting in the real number field. Simulation results demonstrate the superiorities of the proposed estimator to its state-of-the-art counterparts on identifiability, estimation accuracy and robustness, especially for coherent signals.