Source separation via SVD-free rank minimization in the hierarchical semi-separable representation

Recent developments in matrix rank optimization have allowed for new computational approaches in the field of source separation or deblending. In this paper, we propose a source separation algorithm for blended marine acquisition, where two sources are deployed at different depths (over/under acquisition). The separation method incorporates the Hierarchical Semi-Separable structure (HSS) inside rank-regularized least-squares formulations. The proposed approach is suitable for large scale problems, since it avoids SVD computations and uses a low-rank factorized formulation instead. We illustrate the performance of the new HSS-based deblending approach by simulating an over/under blended acquisition, wherein uniformly random time delays (of < 1 second) are applied to the one of the sources.