Subspace identification through blind source separation

Given a linear and instantaneous mixture model, we prove that for blind source separation (BSS) algorithms based on mutual information, only sources with non-Gaussian distribution are consistently reconstructed independent of initial conditions. This allows the identification of non-Gaussian sources and consequently the identification of signal and noise subspaces through BSS. The results are illustrated with a simple example, and the implications for a variety of signal processing applications, such as denoising and model identification, are discussed.