Detection and estimation of multiplexed soliton signals

Solitons are eigenfunction solutions to certain nonlinear wave equations that arise in a variety of natural and man-made systems. Their rich properties and tractability make them an intriguing component of such systems, often describing the large-scale or long-term behavior of natural systems, or the information content in certain communication or signal processing systems. However, it is often difficult to detect or estimate the parameters of solitons in such systems due to the presence of strong nonsoliton components or the nonlinear interaction of multiple solitons. The objective of this paper is to develop and investigate the detection and estimation of soliton signals. As a framework for this study, we consider using these nonlinear systems as both signal generators and signal processors in a form of multiplexed soliton communication. In contrast to more conventional uses of solitons in a communications context, our communication system uses soliton systems for signal generation and multiplexing for transmission over traditional linear channels. In addition to their mathematical tractability and the simplicity of the analog circuits used to generate and process them, we show that the soliton signal dynamics may also provide a mechanism for decreasing transmitted signal energy while enhancing signal detection and parameter estimation performance.