RCS characterization using the alpha-stable distribution

The radar backscatter from complex sources, such as ships and ocean waves, can vary rapidly with target aspect or time. The radar cross section (RCS) of such targets is usually described in statistical terms using one of the many statistical models that are available. These models, however, tend to fit less well when the amplitude fluctuations begin to vary over wider extremes and become impulsive in nature. To better handle this condition, the alpha-stable distribution is shown to model RCS over a wide range of amplitudes. The alpha-stable distribution is derived from the generalized central limit theorem and contains the Gaussian (or Rayleigh) distribution as a subset. The alpha-stable distribution is shown to fit examples of ship RCS as well as sea clutter examples. The performance of various envelope detectors including the maximum likelihood detector for the alpha-stable distribution is shown for a low signal-to-noise (SNR) case