A local split‐step wavelet method for the long range propagation simulation in 2D

Thomas Bonnafont (1) , Rémi Douvenot (1) , Alexandre Chabory (1)

1 ENAC - Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile

Modeling long‐range propagation of electromagnetic waves is necessary to study the performance of systems, for applications such as radar or navigation. Such models generally rely on split‐step Fourier (SSF) because large mesh sizes can be used. The split‐step wavelet method (SSW) is a recently developed method allowing to perform the same simulations as with SSF but in a shorter computation time. This method requires the pre‐computation of a free‐space propagator. Up to now, one limitation of SSW is that the steps must remain constant during the propagation. In this paper, we propose an improvement of SSW in terms of memory size and versatility. This improvement relies on the use of a set of propagators, i.e., the propagation of elementary wavelets. The limited support of wavelets renders the computation of the set of propagators fast, approximately as fast as one step of propagation with SSW. First, a numerical test shows the advantage in terms of computation time. Second, a numerical experience shows the advantage in terms of memory. Finally, the SSW method is applied as the direct method for a radio occultation configuration.

Mots clés: long‐range propagation; split‐step; wavelets; radio‐occultation

Domaines: Electromagnétisme

Thomas Bonnafont, Rémi Douvenot, Alexandre Chabory. A local split‐step wavelet method for the long range propagation simulation in 2D. Radio Science, 2021, 56 (2), ⟨10.1029/2020RS007114⟩. ⟨hal-03121383⟩