Radar target detection in chaotic clutter

The detection of targets in chaotic clutter is considered. Of particular interest in target detection is one of weak signal detection. The usual approach to signal detection amidst clutter is to model the clutter as a stochastic process with a certain probability distribution, for example, the K-distribution. The Bayesian approach to decision theory is then used to detect the presence of targets. It is assumed that sea clutter is a result of chaotic dynamics. This assumption leads to significant improvements in the processing gain of the receiver. The reason for this is that chaos has an underlying deterministic dynamics. Therefore, it permits a cancellation of the clutter at the receiver before performing target detection. The fundamental limit on performance is thus determined only by thermal noise and the accurate estimation of the underlying dynamical model. Results are shown for simple cases and the problem is discussed at length.