The Nature of D-region Scattering of Vertical Incidence Radio Waves. I. Generalized Statistical Theory of Diversity Effects Between Spaced Receiving Antennas

Abstract

A theoretical basis for studying the nature of ionospherically reflected radio waves is described. The expected statistical properties of the amplitude and phase variations of the radio wave ground pattern sampled at a pair of paced receiving antennas are derived for general correlation conditions, assuming different models of the angular spectrum of reflected radio waves. The esults provide a basis for experimental measurements of the angular spread and coherence ratio of the angular spectrum of reflected waves.