Precision, volume and eigenspectra for GPS ambiguity estimation based on the time-averaged satellite geometry

Abstract

In this contribution we consider the time-averaged GPS single-baseline model and study in a qualitative sense its relation with the geometry-free model and the geometry-based model. The least-squares estimators of the model are derived and their properties discussed. Special attention is given to the ambiguity search space, since it plays such a crucial role in the problem of integer ambiguity estimation and validation. Easy-to-evaluate, closed-form expressions are presented for the volumes of the ambiguity search spaces that belong to the geometry-free model, the single-epoch geometry-based model and the time-averaged model. By means of an eigenvalue analysis, the geometry of the ambiguity search spaces is revealed and its impact on the search for the integer least-squares ambiguities discussed.