A Sum-of-Squares and Semidefinite Programming Approach for Maximum Likelihood DOA Estimation

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation using a uniform linear array (ULA) is a classical problem in array signal processing. In this paper, we focus on DOA estimation based on the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion, transform the estimation problem into a novel formulation, named as sum-of-squares (SOS), and then solve it using semidefinite programming (SDP). We first derive the SOS and SDP method for DOA estimation in the scenario of a single source and then extend it under the framework of alternating projection for multiple DOA estimation. The simulations demonstrate that the SOS- and SDP-based algorithms can provide stable and accurate DOA estimation when the number of snapshots is small and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Moveover, it has a higher spatial resolution compared to existing methods based on the ML criterion.