Multidimensional maximum-entropy covariance extension

A universal characterization of maximum-entropy covariances for multidimensional signals is presented. It is shown that the maximum-entropy extension of an arbitrary partial covariance of a nonstationary multidimensional signal always has a banded inverse, i.e the inverse is sparse and has the same support as the given partial covariance. A dual formulation of the problem that makes it possible to approximate maximum-entropy extensions with models selected from suitably constrained model sets is introduced. It is proved that the best approximation in terms of multidimensional recursible autoregressive models can be determined by solving a set of linear equations. A simple graph-theoretic criterion is introduced to characterize those partial covariances whose maximum-entropy extension coincides with its autoregressive approximation, as in the conventional (one-dimensional stationary) maximum-entropy problem