A class of singular Fourier integral operators in Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging

In this article, we analyze the microlocal properties of the linearized forward scattering operator F and the normal operator F ∗ F (where F ∗ is the L2 adjoint of F) which arises in Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging for the common midpoint acquisition geometry. When F ∗ is applied to the scattered data, artifacts appear. We show that F ∗ F can be decomposed as a sum of four operators, each belonging to a class of distributions associated to two cleanly intersecting Lagrangians, I p,l(Λ0,Λ1), thereby explaining the latter artifacts. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved