Radio Occultations Using Earth Satellites: A Wave Theory Treatment(JPL Deep-Space Communications and Navigation Series)

the wave theory foundations of today's radio occultation techniques Forty years ago, the premier radio occultation problem was how to profile the atmosphere and radius of Mars using signals sent by the Mariner 4 spacecraft. Researchers then could rely on ray theory-based techniques for accurate analysis of the thin, uniform Martian atmosphere. Today's radio occultation challenges mostly involve communications platforms-and related data, instrument systems, and applications-in the Earth's own atmosphere. To deal with the density and complexity of this multilayered medium, an analytical framework that goes beyond ray theory is needed. Setting the cutting edge for the field, Radio Occultations Using Earth Satellites: A Wave Theory Treatment develops a purely wave-theoretic approach to occultation analysis. This approach yields more nuanced results than either ray or hybrid (ray/wave) methodologies offer, and proves suitable for the many variables at work in today's problems. This groundbreaking text provides: * An introduction to the general theory of radio occultations * Development of ray theory and scalar diffraction treatments of radio propagation processes * Development of a wave theoretic treatment of the above wave propagation processes * The correspondence between wave and ray theories * A discussion of how to use a wave-theoretic approach to infer the refractive properties of the propagation medium from a time series set of observations of the propagated wave's phase and amplitude A comprehensive resource that clearly defines the latest topics and methodologies, Radio Occultations Using Earth Satellites is a must-have text for engineers, scientists, students, and managers in satellites communications, navigation, deep space and planetary exploration, aerospace, atmospheric science, physics, and engineering. The Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series is authored by scientists and engineers with extensive experience in astronautics, communications, and related fields. It lays the foundation for innovation in the areas of deep space navigation and communications by disseminating state-of-the-art knowledge in key technologies.

Table of Contents:
Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. Chapter 1. Radio Occultation Using Earth Satellites Background and Overview. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Information Content in GPS Occultation. 1.3 Scientific Applications of GPS Occultation Observations. 1.4 Problems from Multipath and Some Remedies. 1.5 Overview. 1.6 Limitations and Simplifications. 1.7 Recommendations for the Next Chapters. Chapter 2. Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves from a Spherical Boundary Using a Thin Phase Screen Model and Scalar Diffraction Theory. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Geometric Optics in a Spherical Medium. 2.3 Thin Phase Screen Models. 2.4 Multipath Using a Thin Phase Screen Model. 2.5 Scalar Diffraction: The Rayleigh-Sommerfeld Integral. 2.6 The Stationary-Phase Technique. 2.7 Numerical Results Using Thin Screen/Scalar Diffraction. 2.8 Sensing Boundary in the Ionosphere. 2.9 The Error in the Recovered Refractivity Resulting from Fresnel Phase Perturbations. 2.10 Fresnel Transform Techniques. Chapter 3. Scattering from a Large Transparent Sphere Based on Maxwell’s Equations: Mie Scattering Theory. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Scalar Potentials. 3.3 Multiple Internal Reflections. 3.4 Fresnel Formulas for Reflection and Transmission Amplitudes. 3.5 Mie Scattering Theory: Obtaining the Scattering Coefficients at a Boundary. 3.6 The Problem of Slow Convergence. 3.7 The Sommerfeld-Watson Transformation. 3.8 Evaluating Scattering Coefficients with Asymptotic Expansions. 3.9 Expressing Scattering Coefficients in Terms of Phasors. 3.10 Asymptotic Forms for the Hankel and Legendre Functions Evaluated at the LEO. 3.11 Geometric Optics Interpretation of Mie Scattering Theory. 3.12 Evaluating Mie Scattering by Integration of the Scattering Phasor. 3.13 Interpreting Scattering Using the Stationary-Phase Technique. 3.14 Duality Between Stationary-Phase Concepts in Electrodynamics and in Geometric Optics. 3.15 Diffraction from a Large, Transparent, Refracting Sphere Using Mie Scattering Theory. 3.16 Looking for Rainbows. 3.17 Limiting Cases. Chapter 4. Wave Propagation in a Stratified Medium: The Thin-Film Approach. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Thin-Film Concepts. 4.3 The Characteristic Matrix. 4.4 The Stratified Medium as a Stack of Discrete Layers. 4.5 The Characteristic Matrix for an Airy Layer. 4.6 Incoming and Outgoing Waves and Their Turning Points. 4.7 Concatenated Airy Layers. 4.8 Osculating Parameters. 4.9 Airy Functions as Basis Functions. 4.10 Wave Propagation in a Cylindrical Stratified Medium. 4.11 Wave Propagation in a Spherical Stratified Medium. 4.12 Correspondence Between Characteristic Matrices for Cartesian and Spherical Stratified Airy Layers. Chapter 5. Propagation and Scattering in a Spherical-Stratifield Refracting Medium. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Maxwell’s Equations in a Stratified Linear Medium. 5.3 Modified Spherical Bessel Functions. 5.4 Asymptotic Forms. 5.5 Modified Mie Scattering in a Spherical Stratified Medium. 5.6 More Geometric Optics: Cumulative Bending Angle, Bouguer’s Law, and Defocusing. 5.7 More Asymptotic Forms. 5.8 Spectral Representation of an Electromagnetic Wave in a Spherical Stratified Medium. 5.9 Interpreting Wave Theory in a Refracting Medium Using the Stationary Phase Technique. 5.10 Comparison of Geometric Optics and Wave Theory. 5.11 The Electric Field at a Turning Point. 5.12 Caustics and Multipath. 5.13 Spectral Coefficients in a Spherical Refracting Medium with an Embedded Discontinuity. 5.14 The Scattered Field from a Perfectly Reflecting Sphere Embedded in a Refracting Medium. Chapter 6. The Inverse Problem: Using Spectral Theory to Recover the Atmospheric Refractivity Profile. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 GPS Receiver Operations. 6.3 Spectral Representation of the Field of the LEO. 6.4 Refractivity Recovery. 6.5 Summary. Appendix A: Miscellaneous Derivations. Appendix B: Caustic Surfaces. Appendix C: Multiple Ray Path Separation Altitudes. Appendix D: Third-Order Stationary Phase Theory. Appendix E: Bending by a Gaussian Electron Density Distribution. Appendix F: The Effect of Cycle Slips on Recovered Refractivity. Appendix G: Using the Sommerfeld–Watson Transformation. Appendix H: Characteristic Matrix in a Stack of  Airy Layers. Appendix I: Field Equations in a Stratified Medium. Appendix J: Conditions for Near-Equivalence Between dG† (v)/dv and ã(v,v), and Between d2G† (v)/ dv2 and dã(v,v)/dv. Glossary of Terms. Acronyms.

About the Author :
WILLIAM G. MELBOURNE is a researcher at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where, for over forty years, he has led many research programs. He is also the former Deputy Manager of the Telecommunications Science and Engineering Division in that institution.