Detection of sources in array processing using the bootstrap

A hypothesis testing methodology for determining the number of narrowband sources impinging on an array is presented. Using multiple hypothesis tests the multiplicity of the smallest ordered eigenvalues of the sample correlation matrix and hence the number of sources, is determined. The finite sample null distributions of the test statistics are estimated using bootstrap resampling. By removing the assumption of Gaussianity and large sample size that the traditional MDL approach is based on, we are able to gain improvements in the small sample case or when there are deviations from Gaussianity.