Estimation of number of signal sources in far separated sub-arrays

In this paper we study the estimation of the number of signal sources in a particular class of sparse linear array, characterized by several far separated sub-arrays. Since a large array aperture which is obtained with the sparse linear array can produces more robust reservation and very accurate angle estimates at a reasonable cost, but a key issue in these problems is the detection of the number of signals. We evaluate the performances of estimation and compare with the performances in a uniform linear array.