Time delay velocity estimation from a superposition of localized and uncorrelated pulses

This study investigates a method for estimating two-dimensional velocities from coarse-grained imaging data tailored for plasma diagnostics. The method utilizes measurements from three non-collinear points, and it is based on a stochastic model. The method yields exact time delay estimates for symmetric Gaussian pulse functions. We performed extensive simulations to evaluate the method's performance under varying process durations, degrees of pulse overlap, resolution, additive noise, and linear damping, including analysis of the barber pole effect. We propose safeguards to anticipate the applicability of the method based on parameters of the measurement data. Overall, this technique enhances precise velocity estimation in fusion plasma diagnostics and similar applications.