Radiation models using discrete radiator ensembles

In recent literature radiation emitted or reflected from a body or surface has been modeled as equivalent radiation from a collection of individual discrete radiators. This model has application to the analysis of forward and backscatter from rough surfaces, clutter and chaff models for radar, and cavity emissions at optical frequencies. In this paper we investigate radiation using a generalization of the above radiator ensemble. We allow some degree of coupling to exist between individual radiators, and we assume each radiator emits random energy bursts as a Poisson process. Analysis is confined to power spectral densities and first-order statistics of the resulting scalar radiation fieid. The results indicate that the pulsed radiator model can account for many properties of radiation. A by-product of the analysis is a filter model for dispersive channels, applicable to radar design problems. Theoretical results are compared with previously reported experimental results wherever possible. Some consideration is given to a relativistic interpretation of the radiator ensemble.