Adaptive signal detection for the optimal communications receiver

The problem of weak signal reception in non-Gaussian noise has been shown to have an optimal solution the structure of which involves a no-memory nonlinearity followed by a matched filter. The shape of the nonlinearity is completely determined by the noise amplitude probability density function. The assumptions underlying this theory are examined and applications to radio communication in atmospheric noise are considered. Since the likelihood ratio test on which the theory is based is not a robust procedure, the receiver system must adjust the shape of the nonlinearity to account for the statistics of the prevailing noise environment.