Representations of Noisy $N$-Ports

Abstract

Much has been written about the representation of noisy linear 2-ports. Here we present a theory of noisy $N$-ports. We show how in the general case there are $(2N)!/(N!)^2$ equivalent representations and give the transformations relating them. We also discuss singular cases in which some of the transformations are not possible as well as how to measure the noise properties of an $N$-port. This work is motivated by the REACH experiment to observe the global 21 cm signal for which modelling noise with exquisite precision is essential for a reliable calibration.