arXiv subjects

Steven W. Ellingson

Publications and source records attributed to Steven W. Ellingson.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

RIS-Aided Spatial Nulling: Algorithms, Analysis, and Nulling Limits

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) have recently gained attention as a means to dynamically shape the wireless propagation environment through programmable reflection control. Among the numerous applications, an important emerging use case is employing RIS as an auxiliary mechanism for spatial interference nulling, particularly in large ground-based reflector antennas where sidelobe interference can significantly degrade the system performance. With the growing density of satellites and terrestrial emitters, algorithms with faster convergence speed and better performance are needed. This work investigates RIS-equipped reflector antennas as a representative example of RIS-assisted spatial nulling and develop algorithms for sidelobe cancellation at specific directions and frequencies under various constraints. For the continuous-phase case, we adapt the gradient projection (GP) and alternating projection (AP) algorithms for scalability and propose a closed-form near-optimal solution that achieves satisfactory nulling performance with significantly reduced complexity. For the discrete-phase case, we reformulate the problem using a penalty method and solve it via majorization-minimization, outperforming the heuristic methods from our earlier work. Further, we analyze the electric field characteristics across multiple interference directions and frequencies to quantify the nulling capability of the RIS-aided reflectors, and identify a simple criterion for the existence of unimodular weights enabling perfect nulls. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods and confirm the theoretical nulling limits.

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arXiv2025

A Method for Localization of Cellular Users from Call Detail Records

A common problem in justice applications is localization of a user of a cellular network using a call detail record (CDR), which typically reveals only the base station and sector to which the user was connected. This precludes precise estimation of location. Instead, one is limited to estimating a region of plausible locations (RPL) using static information such as sector antenna orientation, beamwidth, and locations of nearby base stations. In this paper, we propose a method for RPL estimation in which the shape bounding the RPL is derived from a model of the antenna pattern via the Friis Transmission Equation, and the size of the RPL is determined by mean distance to nearby base stations. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by "best server" analysis of measurements acquired from drive testing in the vicinity of Winter Garden, Florida, observing three 700 MHz-band LTE cellular networks serving this area. Of the 16 sectors evaluated, the aggregate error rate (i.e., fraction of users located outside the RPL estimated for the associated sector) is found to be 1.3%, with worst per-sector error rate of about 13.3% and error rates below 1.8% for 13 of the 16 sectors. The principal difficulty is shown to be estimation of RPL size, which entails a tradeoff between minimizing RPL area (yielding the "tightest" localization) and minimizing error rate.

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arXiv2021

Path Loss in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface-Enabled Channels

A reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) employs an array of individually-controllable elements to scatter incident signals in a desirable way; for example, to facilitate links between base stations and mobile stations that would otherwise be blocked. A principal consideration in the study of RIS-enabled propagation channels is path loss. This paper presents a simple yet broadly-applicable method for calculating the path loss of a channel consisting of a passive reflectarray-type RIS. This model is then used to characterize path loss as a function of RIS size, link geometry, and the method used to set the element states. Whereas previous work presumes either (1) an array of parameterizable element patterns and spacings (most useful for analysis of specific designs) or (2) a continuous electromagnetic surface (most useful for determining scaling laws and theoretical limits), this work begins with (1) and is then shown to be consistent with (2), making it possible to identify specific practical designs and scenarios that exhibit the performance predicted using (2). This model is used to further elucidate the matter of path loss of the RIS-enabled channel relative to that of the free space direct and specular reflection channels, which is an important consideration in the design of networks employing RIS technology.

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arXiv2019

GBTrans: A commensal search for radio pulses with the Green Bank twenty metre telescope

We describe GBTrans, a real-time search system designed to find fast radio bursts (FRBs) using the 20-m radio telescope at the Green Bank Observatory. The telescope has been part of the Skynet educational program since 2015. We give details of the observing system and report on the non-detection of FRBs from a total observing time of 503 days. Single pulses from four known pulsars were detected as part of the commensal observing. The system is sensitive enough to detect approximately half of all currently known FRBs and we estimate that our survey probed redshifts out to about 0.3 corresponding to an effective survey volume of around 124,000~Mpc$^3$. Modeling the FRB rate as a function of fluence, $F$, as a power law with $F^{-α}$, we constrain the index $α< 2.5$ at the 90% confidence level. We discuss the implications of this result in the context of constraints from other FRB surveys.

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arXiv2017

The Radio Sky at Meter Wavelengths: m-Mode Analysis Imaging with the Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array

A host of new low-frequency radio telescopes seek to measure the 21-cm transition of neutral hydrogen from the early universe. These telescopes have the potential to directly probe star and galaxy formation at redshifts $20 \gtrsim z \gtrsim 7$, but are limited by the dynamic range they can achieve against foreground sources of low-frequency radio emission. Consequently, there is a growing demand for modern, high-fidelity maps of the sky at frequencies below 200 MHz for use in foreground modeling and removal. We describe a new widefield imaging technique for drift-scanning interferometers, Tikhonov-regularized $m$-mode analysis imaging. This technique constructs images of the entire sky in a single synthesis imaging step with exact treatment of widefield effects. We describe how the CLEAN algorithm can be adapted to deconvolve maps generated by $m$-mode analysis imaging. We demonstrate Tikhonov-regularized $m$-mode analysis imaging using the Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA) by generating 8 new maps of the sky north of $δ=-30^\circ$ with 15 arcmin angular resolution, at frequencies evenly spaced between 36.528 MHz and 73.152 MHz, and $\sim$800 mJy/beam thermal noise. These maps are a 10-fold improvement in angular resolution over existing full-sky maps at comparable frequencies, which have angular resolutions $\ge 2^\circ$. Each map is constructed exclusively from interferometric observations and does not represent the globally averaged sky brightness. Future improvements will incorporate total power radiometry, improved thermal noise, and improved angular resolution -- due to the planned expansion of the OVRO-LWA to 2.6 km baselines. These maps serve as a first step on the path to the use of more sophisticated foreground filters in 21-cm cosmology incorporating the measured angular and frequency structure of all foreground contaminants.

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arXiv2016

Constraining the Rate of Primordial Black-Hole Explosions and Extra Dimension Scale using a Low-Frequency Radio Antenna Array

An exploding primordial black-hole (PBH) may produce a single pulse of electromagnetic radiation detectable at the low-frequency end of the radio spectrum. Furthermore, a radio transient from an exploding PBH could be a signature of an extra spatial dimension. We describe here an approach for searching for PBH explosions using a low-frequency radio antenna array, and as a practical example, the results of a such a search using the Eight-meter-wavelength Transient Array (ETA). No compelling astrophysical signal was detected in $\approx 4$ hours of data implying an observational upper limit on the rate of exploding PBHs is $4.2 \times 10^{-7} \,\rm{pc}^{-3}\,\rm{yr}^{-1}$ for an exploding PBH with a fireball Lorentz factor of $10^{4.5}$ for the standard scenario of Page and Hawking. This rate limit is the strongest constraint yet set for PBH explosions with this fireball Lorentz factor. Observations ($\sim300$ hours) using the Arecibo Observatory were used to set a stronger constraint on the rate of PBH explosions for a fireball Lorentz factor of $10^{4.6}$ but the limit set by those observations for the fireball Lorentz factor considered here are less stringent by more than an order of magnitude. The limits considered here are applicable to exploding PBHs in the halo of the Galaxy. These observations also imply an upper limit of $2.0 \times 10^{-4} \,\rm{pc}^{-3}\,\rm{yr}^{-1}$ on the rate of PBH explosions in the context of certain extra dimension models as described by Kavic et al. This rate limit is for a fireball Lorentz factor of $10^{4.3}$ which corresponds to an extra dimension compactification scale of $3.0 \times 10^{-18}$m.

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arXiv2010

The First Station of the Long Wavelength Array

The Long Wavelength Array (LWA) will be a new multi-purpose radio telescope operating in the frequency range 10-88 MHz. Upon completion, LWA will consist of 53 phased array "stations" distributed over a region about 400 km in diameter in the state of New Mexico. Each station will consist of 256 pairs of dipole-type antennas whose signals are formed into beams, with outputs transported to a central location for high-resolution aperture synthesis imaging. The resulting image sensitivity is estimated to be a few mJy (5 sigma, 8 MHz, 2 polarizations, 1 hr, zenith) in 20-80 MHz; with resolution and field of view of (8", 8 deg) and (2",2 deg) at 20 MHz and 80 MHz, respectively. All 256 dipole antennas are in place for the first station of the LWA (called LWA-1), and commissioning activities are well underway. The station is located near the core of the EVLA, and is expected to be fully operational in early 2011.

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arXiv2010

Sensitivity of Antenna Arrays for Long-Wavelength Radio Astronomy

A number of new and planned radio telescopes will consist of large arrays of low-gain antennas operating at frequencies below 300 MHz. In this frequency regime, Galactic noise can be a significant or dominant contribution to the total noise. This, combined with mutual coupling between antennas, makes it difficult to predict the sensitivity of these instruments. This paper describes a system model and procedure for estimating the system equivalent flux density (SEFD) - a useful and meaningful metric of the sensitivity of a radio telescope - that accounts for these issues. The method is applied to LWA-1, the first "station" of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) interferometer. LWA-1 consists of 512 bowtie-type antennas within a 110 x 100 m elliptical footprint, and is designed to operate between 10 MHz and 88 MHz using receivers having noise temperature of about 250 K. It is shown that the correlation of Galactic noise between antennas significantly desensitizes the array for beam pointings which are not close to the zenith. It is also shown that considerable improvement is possible using beamforming coefficients which are designed to optimize signal-to-noise ratio under these conditions. Mutual coupling is found to play a significant role, but does not have a consistently positive or negative influence. In particular, we demonstrate that pattern multiplication (assuming the behavior of single antennas embedded in the array is the same as those same antennas by themselves) does not generate reliable estimates of SEFD.

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arXiv2008

Transient Pulses from Exploding Primordial Black Holes as a Signature of an Extra Dimension

An evaporating black hole in the presence of an extra spatial dimension would undergo an explosive phase of evaporation. We show that such an event, involving a primordial black hole, can produce a detectable, distinguishable electromagnetic pulse, signaling the existence of an extra dimension of size $L\sim10^{-18}-10^{-20}$ m. We derive a generic relationship between the Lorentz factor of a pulse-producing "fireball" and the TeV energy scale. For an ordinary toroidally compactified extra dimension, transient radio-pulse searches probe the electroweak energy scale ($\sim$0.1 TeV), enabling comparison with the Large Hadron Collider.

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arXiv2008

Searching for Transient Pulses with the ETA Radio Telescope

Array-based, direct-sampling radio telescopes have computational and communication requirements unsuited to conventional computer and cluster architectures. Synchronization must be strictly maintained across a large number of parallel data streams, from A/D conversion, through operations such as beamforming, to dataset recording. FPGAs supporting multi-gigabit serial I/O are ideally suited to this application. We describe a recently-constructed radio telescope called ETA having all-sky observing capability for detecting low frequency pulses from transient events such as gamma ray bursts and primordial black hole explosions. Signals from 24 dipole antennas are processed by a tiered arrangement of 28 commercial FPGA boards and 4 PCs with FPGA-based data acquisition cards, connected with custom I/O adapter boards supporting InfiniBand and LVDS physical links. ETA is designed for unattended operation, allowing configuration and recording to be controlled remotely.

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