Minimum variance technique for the analysis of ionospheric data acquired in satellite retarding potential analyzer experiments

Abstract

A minimum variance iterative technique for the determination of ionospheric parameters, including electron and ion temperatures and densities, is presented. The method formally incorporates a priori information regarding the values of these parameters and, in particular, whatever information the experimenter has concerning the uncertainty associated with these values. With proper use of this additional information, convergence will be more rapid and more likely than would be the case were a priori information not employed. With certain mathematical models, singularities that occur in other techniques are avoided. In addition, procedures for generating nominal parameter estimates from the data have been devised. These techniques have been developed for, and lend themselves to, the automatic processing of large quantities of data. An example of the analysis of both ion and electron data is included for illustrative purposes.