Detecting unresolved moving sources in a diffuse background

Understand

We present a statistical technique which can be used to detect the presence and properties of moving sources contributing to a diffuse background.

• The method is a generalization of the 2-point correlation function to include temporal as well as spatial information.
• We develop a formalism which allows for a derivation of the spacetime 2-point function in terms of the properties of the contributing sources.
• We test this technique in simulated sky maps, and demonstrate its robustness in identifying the presence of moving and stationary sources.