Method, computer program product and system for differentiating physical sources from second order nonlinear signal effects

1. A method for differentiating between a signal from a physical source and a nonlinear signal effect, the method comprising:

detecting a signal at a particular location using an initial time delay;

modifying the initial time delay by a selected value;

applying a phase delay in an amount equal to the selected value and at a frequency of the signal; and

determining whether the signal corresponds to one of a physical source or a nonlinear signal effect based on whether a shift in a perceived location of the signal occurs.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the initial time delay comprises selecting the selected value to shift the perceived location of the signal to a location where no other signals are located.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the initial time delay comprises selecting the selected value as one of:

an arbitrary value; or

a value determined following a scan of possible values.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining further comprises determining the signal to correspond to the physical source in response to the perceived location of the signal following the application of the phase delay being substantially the same as the particular location.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining further comprises determining the signal to correspond to the nonlinear signal effect in response to the perceived location of the signal following the application of the phase delay being substantially different than the particular location.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing resulting data points following determining whether the signal corresponds to one of the physical source or the nonlinear signal effect.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising analyzing a spatial direct current component across the data points to determine a probability that the signal corresponds to the physical source.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing one of:

selective time delay boresight adjustment;

spatial analysis of matched scans; or

quantized dithering.

9. A computer program product for differentiating between a signal from a physical source and a nonlinear signal effect, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:

a first executable portion for enabling detection of a signal at a particular location using an initial time delay;

a second executable portion for modifying the initial time delay by a selected value;

a third executable portion for applying a phase delay in an amount equal to the selected value and at a frequency of the signal; and

a fourth executable portion for determining whether the signal corresponds to one of a physical source or a nonlinear signal effect based on whether a shift in a perceived location of the signal occurs.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the second executable portion includes instructions for selecting the selected value to shift the perceived location of the signal to a location where no other signals are located.

11. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the second executable portion includes instructions for selecting the selected value as one of:

an arbitrary value; or

a value determined following a scan of possible values.

12. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the fourth executable portion includes instructions for determining the signal to correspond to the physical source in response to the perceived location of the signal following the application of the phase delay being substantially the same as the particular location.

13. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the fourth executable portion includes instructions for determining the signal to correspond to the nonlinear signal effect in response to the perceived location of the signal following the application of the phase delay being substantially different than the particular location.

14. The computer program product of claim 9 , further comprising a fifth executable portion for storing resulting data points following determining whether the signal corresponds to one of the physical source or the nonlinear signal effect.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 , further comprising a sixth executable portion for analyzing a spatial direct current component across the data points to determine a probability that the signal corresponds to the physical source.

16. A system for differentiating between a signal from a physical source and a nonlinear signal effect, the system comprising:

an array configured to detect a signal at a particular location using an initial time delay;

a delay control element configured to:

modify the initial time delay by a selected value; and

apply a phase delay in an amount equal to the selected value and at a frequency of the signal; and

a signal processing element configured to determine whether the signal corresponds to one of a physical source or a nonlinear signal effect based on whether a shift in a perceived location of the signal occurs.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the delay control element is configured to select the selected value to shift the perceived location of the signal to a location where no other signals are located.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the delay control element is configured to select the selected value as one of:

an arbitrary value; or

a value determined following a scan of possible values.

19. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a delay stage including a time delay element and a phase delay element disposed in series with the time delay element wherein the delay control element is configured to control the delay stage in order to control the time and phase delays.

20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the signal processing element is configured to determine the signal to correspond to the physical source in response to the perceived location of the signal following the application of the phase delay being substantially the same as the particular location.

21. The system of claim 16 , wherein the signal processing element is configured to determine the signal to correspond to the nonlinear signal effect in response to the perceived location of the signal following the application of the phase delay being substantially different than the particular location.

22. The system of claim 16 , wherein the signal processing element is configured to analyze a spatial direct current component across a plurality of stored data points to determine a probability that the signal corresponds to the physical source.