Detection of the number of coherent signals by the MDL principle

An approach is presented to the problem of detecting the number of sources impinging on a passive sensor array that is based on J. Rissanen's (1983) minimum description length (MDL) principle. The approach is applicable to any type of sources, including the case of sources which are fully correlated, referred to as the coherent signals case. Two slightly different detection criteria are derived, both requiring the estimation of the locations of the sources. The first is tailored to the detection problem per se, whereas the second is tailored to the combined detection/estimation problem. Consistency of the two criteria is proved and their performance is demonstrated by computer simulations.<>