A square root information filter for multi-GNSS real-time precise clock estimation

Real-time satellite orbit and clock estimations are the prerequisite for Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)real-time precise positioning services.To meet the high-rate update requirement of satellite clock corrections,the computational efficiency is a key factor and a challenge due to the rapid development of multi-GNSS constellations.The Square Root Information Filter(SRIF)is widely used in real-time GNSS data processing thanks to its high numerical stability and computational efficiency.In real-time clock estimation,the outlier detection and elimination are critical to guarantee the precision and stability of the product but could be time-consuming.In this study,we developed a new quality control procedure including the three standard steps:i.e.,detection,identification,and adaption,for real-time data processing of huge GNSS networks.Effort is made to improve the computational efficiency by optimizing the algorithm to provide only the essential information required in the processing,so that it can be applied in real-time and high-rate estimation of satellite clocks.The processing procedure is implemented in the PANDA(Positioning and Navigation Data Analyst)software package and evaluated in the operational generation of real-time GNSS orbit and clock products.We demonstrated that the new algorithm can efficiently eliminate outliers,and a clock precision of 0.06 ns,0.24 ns,0.06 ns,and 0.11 ns can be achieved for the GPS,GLONASS,Galileo,and BDS-2 IGSO/MEO satellites,respectively.The computation time per epoch is about 2 to 3 s depending on the number of existing outliers.Overall,the algorithm can satisfy the IGS real-time clock estimation in terms of both the computational efficiency and product quality.

Clock frequency estimation under spontaneous emission

We investigate the quantum dynamics of a driven two-level system under spontaneous emission and its application in clock frequency estimation. By using the Lindblad equation to describe the system, we analytically obtain its exact solutions, which show three different regimes： Rabi oscillation, damped oscillation, and overdamped decay. From the analytical solutions, we explore how the spontaneous emission affects the clock frequency estimation. We find that under a moderate spontaneous emission rate, the transition frequency can still be inferred from the Rabi oscillation. Our results enable potential practical applications in frequency measurement and quantum control under decoherence.

GSTAR:an innovative software platform for processing space geodetic data at the observation level

To meet the demands for the data combination with multiple space geodetic techniques at the observation level,we developed a new software platform with high extensibility and computation efficiency,named space Geodetic SpatioTemporal data Analysis and Research software(GSTAR).Most of the modules in the GSTAR are coded in C++with object-oriented programming.The layered modular theory is adopted for the design of the software,and the antenna-based data architecture is proposed for users to construct personalized geodetic application scenarios easily.The initial performance of the GSTAR software is evaluated by processing the Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)data collected from 315 globally distributed stations over two and a half years.The accuracy of GNSS-based geodetic products is evaluated by comparing them with those released by International GNSS Service(IGS)Analysis Centers(AC).Taking the products released by European Space Agency(ESA)as reference,the Three-Dimension(3D)Root-Mean-Squares(RMS)of the orbit differences are 2.7/6.7/3.3/7.7/21.0 cm and the STandard Deviations(STD)of the clock differences are 19/48/16/32/25 ps for Global Positioning System(GPS),GLObal NAvigation Satellite System(GLONASS),Galileo navigation satellite system(Galileo),BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS),Medium Earth Orbit(MEO),and BDS Inclined Geo-Synchronous Orbit(IGSO)satellites,respectively.The mean values of the X and Y components of the polar coordinate and the Length of Day(LOD)with respect to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service(IERS)14 C04 products are-17.6 microarc-second(μas),9.2μas,and 14.0μs/d.Compared to the IGS daily solution,the RMSs of the site position differences in the north/east/up direction are 1.6/1.5/3.9,3.8/2.4/7.6,2.5/2.4/7.9 and 2.7/2.3/7.4 mm for GPS-only,GLONASS-only,Galileo-only,and BDS-only solution,respectively.The RMSs of the differences of the tropospheric Zenith Path Delay(ZPD),the north gradients,and the east gradients are 5.8,0.9,and 0.9 mm with respect to the IGS products.The X and Y components of the geocenter motion estimated from GPS-only,Galileo-only,and BDS-only observations well agree with IGS products,while the Z component values are much nosier where anomalous harmonics in GNSS draconitic year can be found.The accuracies of the above products calculated by the GSTAR are comparable with those from different IGS ACs.Compared to the precise scientific orbit products,the 3D RMS of the orbit differences for the two Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on(GRACE-FO)satellites is below 1.5 cm by conducting Precise Point Positioning with Ambiguity Resolution(PPP-AR).In addition,a series of rapid data processing algorithms are developed,and the operation speed of the GSTAR software is 5.6 times faster than that of the Positioning and Navigation Data Analyst(PANDA)software for the quad-system precise orbit determination procedure.

Multi-GNSS products and services at iGMAS Wuhan Innovation Application Center:strategy and evaluation

Over the past years the International Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)Monitoring and Assessment System(iGMAS)Wuhan Innovation Application Center(IAC)dedicated to exploring the potential of multi-GNSS signals and providing a set of products and services.This contribution summarizes the strategies,achievements,and innovations of multi-GNSS orbit/clock/bias determination in iGMAS Wuhan IAC.Both the precise products and Real-Time Services(RTS)are evaluated and discussed.The precise orbit and clock products have comparable accuracy with the precise products of the International GNSS Service(IGS)and iGMAS.The multi-frequency code and phase bias products for Global Positioning System(GPS),BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS),Galileo navigation satellite system(Galileo),and GLObal NAvigation Satellite System(GLONASS)are provided to support multi-GNSS and multi-frequency Precise Point Positioning(PPP)Ambiguity Resolution(AR).Compared with dual-frequency PPP AR,the time to first fix of triple-frequency solution is improved by 30%.For RTS,the proposed orbit prediction strategy improves the three dimensional accuracy of predicted orbit by 1 cm.The multi-thread strategy and high-performance matrix library are employed to accelerate the real-time orbit and clock determination.The results with respect to the IGS precise products show the high accuracy of RTS orbits and clocks,4–9 cm and 0.1–0.2 ns,respectively.Using real-time satellite corrections,real-time PPP solutions achieve satisfactory performance with horizontal and vertical positioning errors within 2 and 4 cm,respectively,and convergence time of 16.97 min.