Properties of optimum binary message-passing decoders

We consider a class of message-passing decoders for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes whose messages are binary valued. We prove that if the channel is symmetric and all codewords are equally likely to be transmitted, an optimum decoding rule (in the sense of minimizing message error rate) should satisfy certain symmetry and isotropy conditions. Using this result, we prove that Gallager's Algorithm B achieves the optimum decoding threshold among all binary message-passing decoding algorithms for regular codes. For irregular codes, we argue that when the nodes of the message-passing decoder do not exploit knowledge of their decoding neighborhood, optimality of Gallager's Algorithm B is preserved. We also consider the problem of designing irregular LDPC codes and find a bound on the achievable rates with Gallager's Algorithm B. Using this bound, we study the case of low error-rate channels and analytically find good degree distributions for them.     

Threshold values and convergence properties of majority-based algorithms for decoding regular low-density parity-check codes

This work presents a detailed study of a family of binary message-passing decoding algorithms for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, referred to as "majority-based algorithms." Both Gallager's algorithm A (G/sub A/) and the standard majority decoding algorithm belong to this family. These algorithms, which are, in fact, the building blocks of Gallager's algorithm B (G/sub B/), work based on a generalized majority-decision rule and are particularly attractive for their remarkably simple implementation. We investigate the dynamics of these algorithms using density evolution and compute their (noise) threshold values for regular LDPC codes over the binary symmetric channel. For certain ensembles of codes and certain orders of majority-based algorithms, we show that the threshold value can be characterized as the smallest positive root of a polynomial, and thus can be determined analytically. We also study the convergence properties of majority-based algorithms, including their (convergence) speed. Our analysis shows that the stand-alone version of some of these algorithms provides significantly better performance and/or convergence speed compared with G/sub A/. In particular, it is shown that for channel parameters below threshold, while for G/sub A/ the error probability converges to zero exponentially with iteration number, this convergence for other majority-based algorithms is super-exponential.     

Bounds on the performance of belief propagation decoding

We consider Gallager's (1963) soft-decoding (belief propagation) algorithm for decoding low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, when applied to an arbitrary binary-input symmetric-output channel. By considering the expected values of the messages, we derive both lower and upper bounds on the performance of the algorithm. We also derive various properties of the decoding algorithm, such as a certain robustness to the details of the channel noise. Our results apply both to regular and irregular LDPC codes     

Asymptotic enumeration methods for analyzing LDPC codes

We show how asymptotic estimates of powers of polynomials with nonnegative coefficients can be used in the analysis of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. In particular, we show how these estimates can be used to derive the asymptotic distance spectrum of both regular and irregular LDPC code ensembles. We then consider the binary erasure channel (BEC). Using these estimates we derive lower bounds on the error exponent, under iterative decoding, of LDPC codes used over the BEC. Both regular and irregular code structures are considered. These bounds are compared to the corresponding bounds when optimal (maximum-likelihood (ML)) decoding is applied.     

Bounds on achievable rates of LDPC codes used over the binary erasure channel

We derive upper bounds on the maximum achievable rate of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes used over the binary erasure channel (BEC) under Gallager's decoding algorithm, given their right-degree distribution. We demonstrate the bounds on the ensemble of right-regular LDPC codes and compare them with an explicit left-degree distribution constructed from the given right degree.     

Correcting capabilities of binary irregular LDPC code under low-complexity iterative decoding algorithm

This paper deals with the irregular binary low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and two iterative low-complexity decoding algorithms. The first one is the majority error-correcting decoding algorithm, and the second one is iterative erasure-correcting decoding algorithm. The lower bounds on correcting capabilities (the guaranteed corrected error and erasure fraction respectively) of irregular LDPC code under decoding (error and erasure correcting respectively) algorithms with low-complexity were represented. These lower bounds were obtained as a result of analysis of Tanner graph representation of irregular LDPC code. The numerical results, obtained at the end of the paper for proposed lower-bounds achieved similar results for the previously known best lower-bounds for regular LDPC codes and were represented for the first time for the irregular LDPC codes.     

An analysis of the block error probability performance of iterative decoding

Asymptotic iterative decoding performance is analyzed for several classes of iteratively decodable codes when the block length of the codes N and the number of iterations I go to infinity. Three classes of codes are considered. These are Gallager's regular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, Tanner's generalized LDPC (GLDPC) codes, and the turbo codes due to Berrou et al. It is proved that there exist codes in these classes and iterative decoding algorithms for these codes for which not only the bit error probability P/sub b/, but also the block (frame) error probability P/sub B/, goes to zero as N and I go to infinity.     

Expander graph arguments for message-passing algorithms

We show how expander-based arguments may be used to prove that message-passing algorithms can correct a linear number of erroneous messages. The implication of this result is that when the block length is sufficiently large, once a message-passing algorithm has corrected a sufficiently large fraction of the errors, it will eventually correct all errors. This result is then combined with known results on the ability of message-passing algorithms to reduce the number of errors to an arbitrarily small fraction for relatively high transmission rates. The results hold for various message-passing algorithms, including Gallager's hard-decision and soft-decision (with clipping) decoding algorithms. Our results assume low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes based on an irregular bipartite graph     

Improved low-density parity-check codes using irregular graphs

We construct new families of error-correcting codes based on Gallager's (1973) low-density parity-check codes. We improve on Gallager's results by introducing irregular parity-check matrices and a new rigorous analysis of hard-decision decoding of these codes. We also provide efficient methods for finding good irregular structures for such decoding algorithms. Our rigorous analysis based on martingales, our methodology for constructing good irregular codes, and the demonstration that irregular structure improves performance constitute key points of our contribution. We also consider irregular codes under belief propagation. We report the results of experiments testing the efficacy of irregular codes on both binary-symmetric and Gaussian channels. For example, using belief propagation, for rate 1/4 codes on 16000 bits over a binary-symmetric channel, previous low-density parity-check codes can correct up to approximately 16% errors, while our codes correct over 17%. In some cases our results come very close to reported results for turbo codes, suggesting that variations of irregular low density parity-check codes may be able to match or beat turbo code performance     

Low-density parity check codes over GF(q)

Gallager's (1962) low-density binary parity check codes have been shown to have near-Shannon limit performance when decoded using a probabilistic decoding algorithm. We report the empirical results of error-correction using the analogous codes over GF(q) for q>2, with binary symmetric channels and binary Gaussian channels. We find a significant improvement over the performance of the binary codes, including a rate 1/4 code with bit error probability <10^-5 at E_b/N₀=0.2 dB     

On decoding of low-density parity-check codes over the binary erasure channel

This paper investigates decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes over the binary erasure channel (BEC). We study the iterative and maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding of LDPC codes on this channel. We derive bounds on the ML decoding of LDPC codes on the BEC. We then present an improved decoding algorithm. The proposed algorithm has almost the same complexity as the standard iterative decoding. However, it has better performance. Simulations show that we can decrease the error rate by several orders of magnitude using the proposed algorithm. We also provide some graph-theoretic properties of different decoding algorithms of LDPC codes over the BEC which we think are useful to better understand the LDPC decoding methods, in particular, for finite-length codes.     

Hybrid hard-decision iterative decoding of regular low-density parity-check codes

Hybrid decoding means to combine different iterative decoding algorithms with the aim of improving error performance or decoding complexity. In this work, we introduce "time-invariant" hybrid (H/sub TI/) algorithms, and using density evolution show that for regular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and binary message-passing algorithms, H/sub TI/ algorithms perform remarkably better than their constituent algorithms. We also show that compared to "switch-type" hybrid (H/sub ST/) algorithms, such as Gallager's algorithm B, where a comparable improvement is obtained by switching between different iterative decoding algorithms, H/sub TI/ algorithms are far less sensitive to channel conditions and thus can be practically more attractive.     

Degree-Matched Check Node Decoding for Regular and Irregular LDPCs

This brief examines different parity-check node decoding algorithms for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, seeking to recoup the performance loss incurred by the min-sum approximation compared to sum-product decoding. Two degree-matched check node decoding approximations that depend on the check node degree d_c are presented. Both have low complexity and can be applied to any degree distribution. Simulation results show near sum-product decoding performance for both degree-matched check node approximations for regular and irregular LDPCs     

A high‐performance belief propagation decoding algorithm for codes with short cycles

The simplicity of decoding is one of the most important characteristics of the low density parity check (LDPC) codes. Belief propagation (BP) decoding algorithm is a well‐known decoding algorithm for LDPC codes. Most LDPC codes with long lengths have short cycles in their Tanner graphs, which reduce the performance of the BP algorithm. In this paper, we present 2 methods to improve the BP decoding algorithm for LDPC codes. In these methods, the calculation of the variable nodes is controlled by using “multiplicative correction factor” and “additive correction factor.” These factors are obtained for 2 separate channels, namely additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and binary symmetric channel (BSC), as 2 functions of code and channel parameters. Moreover, we use the BP‐based method in the calculation of the check nodes, which reduces the required resources. Simulation results show the proposed algorithm has better performance and lower decoding error as compared to BP and similar methods like normalized‐BP and offset‐BP algorithms.     

Error rate estimation of low-density parity-check codes on binary symmetric channels using cycle enumeration

The performance of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes decoded by hard-decision iterative decoding algorithms can be accurately estimated if the weight J and the number |E_J| of the smallest error patterns that cannot be corrected by the decoder are known. To obtain J and |E_J|, one would need to perform the direct enumeration of error patterns with weight ι ⩽ J. The complexity of enumeration increases exponentially with J, essentially as η^J, where η is the code block length. This limits the application of direct enumeration to codes with small η and J. In this letter, we approximate J and |E_J | by enumerating and testing the error patterns that are subsets of short cycles in the code's Tanner graph. This reduces the computational complexity by several orders of magnitude compared to direct enumeration, making it possible to estimate the error rates for almost any practical LDPC code. To obtain the error rate estimates, we propose an algorithm that progressively improves the estimates as larger cycles are enumerated. Through a number of examples, we demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately estimate both the bit error rate (BER) and the frame error rate (FER) of regular and irregular LDPC codes decoded by a variety of hard-decision iterative decoding algorithms.     

Estimation of Bit and Frame Error Rates of Finite-Length Low-Density Parity-Check Codes on Binary Symmetric Channels

A method for estimating the performance of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes decoded by hard-decision iterative decoding algorithms on binary symmetric channels (BSCs) is proposed. Based on the enumeration of the smallest weight error patterns that cannot be all corrected by the decoder, this method estimates both the frame error rate (FER) and the bit error rate (BER) of a given LDPC code with very good precision for all crossover probabilities of practical interest. Through a number of examples, we show that the proposed method can be effectively applied to both regular and irregular LDPC codes and to a variety of hard-decision iterative decoding algorithms. Compared with the conventional Monte Carlo simulation, the proposed method has a much smaller computational complexity, particularly for lower error rates.     

Design of serial concatenated MSK schemes based on density evolution

We consider the design of convolutional codes and low density parity check (LDPC) codes with minimum-shift keying (MSK) when the receiver employs iterative decoding and demodulation. The main idea proposed is the design of coded schemes that are well matched to the iterative decoding algorithm being used rather than to hypothetical maximum-likelihood decoding. We first show that the design is crucially dependent on whether the continuous phase encoder (CPE) is realized in recursive form or in nonrecursive form. We then consider the design of convolutionally coded systems and low density parity check codes with MSK to obtain near-capacity performance. With convolutional codes, we show that it is possible to improve the performance significantly by using a mixture of recursive and nonrecursive realizations for the CPE. For low density parity check codes, we show that codes designed for binary phase shift keying are optimal for MSK only if the nonrecursive realization is used; for the recursive realization, we design new LDPC codes based on the concept of density evolution. We show that these codes outperform the best known codes for MSK and have lower decoding complexity.     

Efficient GPU and CPU-based LDPC decoders for long codewords

The next generation DVB-T2, DVB-S2, and DVB-C2 standards for digital television broadcasting specify the use of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with codeword lengths of up to 64800 bits. The real-time decoding of these codes on general purpose computing hardware is useful for completely software defined receivers, as well as for testing and simulation purposes. Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) are capable of massively parallel computation, and can in some cases, given carefully designed algorithms, outperform general purpose CPUs (central processing units) by an order of magnitude or more. The main problem in decoding LDPC codes on GPU hardware is that LDPC decoding generates irregular memory accesses, which tend to carry heavy performance penalties (in terms of efficiency) on GPUs. Memory accesses can be efficiently parallelized by decoding several codewords in parallel, as well as by using appropriate data structures. In this article we present the algorithms and data structures used to make log-domain decoding of the long LDPC codes specified by the DVB-T2 standard??at the high data rates required for television broadcasting??possible on a modern GPU. Furthermore, we also describe a similar decoder implemented on a general purpose CPU, and show that high performance LDPC decoders are also possible on modern multi-core CPUs.     

Results on the Improved Decoding Algorithm for Low-Density Parity-Check Codes Over the Binary Erasure Channel

In this correspondence, we first investigate some analytical aspects of the recently proposed improved decoding algorithm for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes over the binary erasure channel (BEC). We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for the improved decoding algorithm to successfully complete decoding when the decoder is initialized to guess a predetermined number of guesses after the standard message-passing terminates at a stopping set. Furthermore, we present improved bounds on the number of bits to be guessed for successful completion of the decoding process when a stopping set is encountered. Under suitable conditions, we derive a lower bound on the number of iterations to be performed for complete decoding of the stopping set. We then present a superior, novel improved decoding algorithm for LDPC codes over the binary erasure channel (BEC). The proposed algorithm combines the observation that a considerable fraction of unsatisfied check nodes in the neighborhood of a stopping set are of degree two, and the concept of guessing bits to perform simple and intuitive graph-theoretic manipulations on the Tanner graph. The proposed decoding algorithm has a complexity similar to previous improved decoding algorithms. Finally, we present simulation results of short-length codes over BEC that demonstrate the superiority of our algorithm over previous improved decoding algorithms for a wide range of bit error rates     

Generalized IRA Erasure Correcting Codes for Hybrid Iterative/Maximum Likelihood Decoding

The design of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes under hybrid iterative / maximum likelihood decoding is addressed for the binary erasure channel (BEC). Specifically, we focus on generalized irregular repeat-accumulate (GeIRA) codes, which offer both efficient encoding and design flexibility. We show that properly designed GeIRA codes tightly approach the performance of an ideal maximum distance separable (MDS) code, even for short block sizes. For example, our (2048,1024) code reaches a codeword error rate of 10^-5 at channel erasure probability isin= 0.450, where an ideal (2048,1024) MDS code would reach the same error rate at isin = 0.453.