RFI excision using a higher order statistics analysis of the power spectrum

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel RFI suppression method in radio astronomy that analyzes the probability distribution of the instantaneous spectrum to effectively distinguish and remove non-gaussian interference signals.

Contribution

The paper presents a new technique based on higher order statistics for separating RFI from natural radio sources in spectral data, demonstrated through simulations and real observations.

Findings

Effective RFI suppression demonstrated in simulations

Successful application to WSRT observational data

Method improves spectral data quality in noisy environments

Abstract

A method of radio frequency interference (RFI) suppression in radio astronomy spectral observations is described based on the analysis of the probability distribution of an instantaneous spectrum. This method allows the separation of the gaussian component due to the natural radio source and the non-gaussian RFI signal. Examples are presented in the form of %computer simulations of this method of RFI suppression and of WSRT observations with this method applied. The application %of real time digital signal processing for RFI suppression is found to be effective for radio astronomy telescopes %operating in a worsening spectral environment.