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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zschetzsche, J., Weimar, M., Lang, O., Schuster, S., Haberl, A., Schertler, S., Lehner, B., Reisinger, J., Huemer, M., Rotter, S.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.01737
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author Zschetzsche, J.
Weimar, M.
Lang, O.
Schuster, S.
Haberl, A.
Schertler, S.
Lehner, B.
Reisinger, J.
Huemer, M.
Rotter, S.
author_facet Zschetzsche, J.
Weimar, M.
Lang, O.
Schuster, S.
Haberl, A.
Schertler, S.
Lehner, B.
Reisinger, J.
Huemer, M.
Rotter, S.
contents Detecting weak signals buried in complex, non-Gaussian noise is a fundamental challenge in science and engineering, with applications ranging from radar systems and communications to industrial monitoring and gravitational wave detection. The Rao detector, a key concept in this domain, achieves asymptotically optimal performance as the number of measurements increases, but requires precise knowledge of the data's statistical properties, often relying on simplified noise models. We propose a hybrid framework that combines a lightweight neural network with the Rao detection framework to address this limitation. The neural network, trained on noise-only data, learns the optimal multivariate nonlinearity, transforming noisy data to enhance signal detectability. The newly introduced LRao detector then fully extracts the signal information, achieving asymptotically optimal performance even under challenging noise conditions. Validated on both simulated and real-world magnetic sensor data, our method significantly outperforms conventional approaches. By bridging data-driven techniques with model-based signal processing, it offers a robust and interpretable solution for signal detection across diverse applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_01737
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Detection of weak signals under arbitrary noise distributions
Zschetzsche, J.
Weimar, M.
Lang, O.
Schuster, S.
Haberl, A.
Schertler, S.
Lehner, B.
Reisinger, J.
Huemer, M.
Rotter, S.
Signal Processing
Statistics Theory
62F03 (Primary), 60G35 (Secondary)
Detecting weak signals buried in complex, non-Gaussian noise is a fundamental challenge in science and engineering, with applications ranging from radar systems and communications to industrial monitoring and gravitational wave detection. The Rao detector, a key concept in this domain, achieves asymptotically optimal performance as the number of measurements increases, but requires precise knowledge of the data's statistical properties, often relying on simplified noise models. We propose a hybrid framework that combines a lightweight neural network with the Rao detection framework to address this limitation. The neural network, trained on noise-only data, learns the optimal multivariate nonlinearity, transforming noisy data to enhance signal detectability. The newly introduced LRao detector then fully extracts the signal information, achieving asymptotically optimal performance even under challenging noise conditions. Validated on both simulated and real-world magnetic sensor data, our method significantly outperforms conventional approaches. By bridging data-driven techniques with model-based signal processing, it offers a robust and interpretable solution for signal detection across diverse applications.
title Detection of weak signals under arbitrary noise distributions
topic Signal Processing
Statistics Theory
62F03 (Primary), 60G35 (Secondary)
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.01737