The Burg algorithm for segments

In many applications, the duration of an uninterrupted measurement of a time series is limited. However, it is often possible to obtain several separate segments of data. The estimation of an autoregressive model from this type of data is discussed. A straightforward approach is to take the average of models estimated from each segment separately. In this way, the variance of the estimated parameters is reduced. However, averaging does not reduce the bias in the estimate. With the Burg algorithm for segments, both the variance and the bias in the estimated parameters are reduced by fitting a single model to all segments simultaneously. As a result, the model estimated with the Burg algorithm for segments is more accurate than models obtained with averaging. The new weighted Burg algorithm for segments allows combining segments of different amplitudes.