Performance of Space–Time Codes: Gallager Bounds and Weight Enumeration

Since the standard union bound for space-time codes may diverge in quasi-static fading channels, the limit-before-average (LBA) technique has been exploited to derive tight performance bounds. However, it suffers from the computational burden arising from a multidimensional integral. In this paper, efficient bounding techniques for space-time codes are developed in the framework of Gallager bounds. Two closed-form upper bounds, the ellipsoidal bound and the spherical bound, are proposed that come close to simulation results within a few tenths of a decibel. In addition, two novel methods of weight enumeration operating on a further reduced state diagram are presented, which, in conjunction with the bounding techniques, give a thorough treatment of performance bounds for space-time codes.     

Performance bounds for turbo-coded multiple antenna systems

We derive performance bounds for turbo-coded systems with transmit and receive antenna diversity. The bounds are derived by limiting the conditional union bound before averaging over the fading process. It is demonstrated that this approach provides a tight upper bound on the error probability of the turbo-coded multiple antenna systems. We also describe a method for deriving the weight-enumerating function of turbo-coded multiple antenna systems in order to take into account the presence of transmit and receive antenna diversity. Examples of the bounds are presented to illustrate their usefulness.     

On performance bounds for space-time codes on fading channels

We evaluate truncated union bounds on the frame-error rate (FER) performance of space-time (ST) codes operating over the quasi-static fading channel and compare them with computer simulation results. We consider both ST trellis and block codes. We make the following contributions. For the case of ST trellis codes, we develop a general method, which we denote as measure spectrum analysis, that characterizes ST codeword differences and accommodates the combined influences of the ST code and channel scenario. We propose a numerical bounding method that converges in the measure spectrum to within a very small fraction of a decibel to the simulated FER over the full range of signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, we demonstrate the existence of dominant quasi-static fading error events and detail a method for predicting them. Using only this set of dominant measure spectrum elements, very rapid and tight numerical estimation of FER performance is attained.     

Analysis of Single-Symbol Detectable Space-Time Block Codes With COD and GCIOD

In this paper, we present a simplified maximum likelihood detection metric for the newly emerging space-time block codes (STBCs) with generalized coordinate interleaved orthogonal design (GCIOD). We also derive the symbol pairwise error probability (PEP) and the union bound on symbol error rate (SER) for a space-time block coded (STBCed) system with single-symbol detection and rotated QAM scheme over flat Rayleigh fading channels. In particular, linear STBCs with complex orthogonal design (COD) and GCIOD are considered. Based on the theoretical analysis, the symbol PEP of the GCIOD codes is related to the transmit power, signal-to-noise ratio, and the rotated angle of the rotated QAM scheme. However, the symbol PEP of the COD code is irrelevant to the rotated angle. It is shown that simulation results match well with our analysis. Thus, the union bounds on SER can be applied to predict the performance of a STBCed system with adaptive code selection between the full-rate COD and GCIOD codes.     

Performance analysis of convolutionally coded systems over quasi-static fading channels

This paper presents an improved upper bound on the performance of convolutionally coded systems over quasi-static fading channels (QSFC). The bound uses a combination of a classical union bound when the fading channel is in a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) state together with a new upper bound for the low SNR state. This new bounding approach is applied to both BPSK convolutional and turbo codes, as well as serially concatenated BPSK convolutional/turbo and space-time block codes. The new analytical technique produces bounds which are usually about 1 dB tighter than existing bounds. Finally, based on the proposed bound, we introduce an improved design criterion for convolutionally coded systems in slow flat fading channels. Simulation results are included to confirm the improved ability of the proposed criterion to search for convolutional codes with good performance over a QSFC.     

Generalized Union Bound for Space–Time Codes

Gallager's second bounding technique, also known as the generalized union bound, is employed to derive a new upper bound on the error probability of space-time codes (STCs) with maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding on quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels. The new bound is distinguished by two characteristics: unlike the classical union bound, the new bound is rapidly convergent and is only a few decibels away from simulation results; and compared with Gallager's first bound, it has better computational efficiency and numerical stability. Hence, the new bound is a useful tool for performance analysis and computer search of good STCs. Moreover, the correlation between fading coefficients is easily accommodated by the new bound. The application of the new bound to convolutional coding on block-fading channels is also demonstrated, and an improved version is derived for the bit-error probability of maximum a posteriori probability decoding     

Performance and distance spectrum of space-time codes in fast rayleigh fading channels

In this paper, we analyze the performance of spacetime codes and propose a distance spectrum computation method in fast Rayleigh fading channels. We first derive a new FER upper bound using the union bound and the PEP upper bound in the fast fading environment. The derived FER upper bound is very accurate, requires only the distance spectrum of the spacetime code, and takes a closed-form expression. Then we propose a distance spectrum computation method of space-time codes in fast fading channels, which exploits the symmetric property of the error state diagram in space-time trellis coded MPSK modulation to reduce the computation complexity. Numerical results illustrate that the derived FER bound is tight enough to estimate the performance of space-time codes in fast fading channels with sufficient accuracy.     

On improved bounds on the decoding error probability of block codesover interleaved fading channels, with applications to turbo-like codes

We derive here improved upper bounds on the decoding error probability of block codes which are transmitted over fully interleaved Rician fading channels, coherently detected and maximum-likelihood (ML) decoded. We assume that the fading coefficients during each symbol are statistically independent (due to a perfect channel interleaver), and that perfect estimates of these fading coefficients are provided to the receiver. The improved upper bounds on the block and bit error probabilities are derived for fully interleaved fading channels with various orders of space diversity, and are found by generalizing some previously introduced upper bounds for the binary-input additive white Gaussian nose (AWGN) channel. The advantage of these bounds over the ubiquitous union bound is demonstrated for some ensembles of turbo codes and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, and it is especially pronounced in a portion of the rate region exceeding the cutoff rate. Our generalization of the Duman and Salehi bound (Duman and Salehi 1998, Duman 1998) which is based on certain variations of Gallager's (1965) bounding technique, is demonstrated to be the tightest reported upper bound. We therefore apply it to calculate numerically upper bounds on the thresholds of some ensembles of turbo-like codes, referring to the optimal ML decoding. For certain ensembles of uniformly interleaved turbo codes, the upper bounds derived here also indicate good match with computer simulation results of efficient iterative decoding algorithms     

On the error performance analysis of space-time trellis codes

We present analytical performance results for space-time trellis codes over spatially correlated Rayleigh fading channels. Bit-error-probability estimates are obtained based on the derivation of an exact pairwise error probability expression using a residue technique combined with a characteristic function approach. We investigate both quasi-static and interleaved channels and demonstrate how the spatial fading correlation affects the performance of space-time codes over these two different channel models. Simulation results are also included to confirm the accuracy of analytical estimates.     

Exact expression and tight bound on pairwise error probability for performance analysis of turbo codes over nakagami-m fading channels

This letter presents derivation for an exact and efficient expression on pairwise error probability over fully interleaved Nakagami-m fading channels under ideal channel state information at the decoder. As an outcome, this derivation also leads to a tight upper bound on pairwise error probability which is close to the exact expression. Pairwise error probability plots for different values of Nakagami parameter m along with an already existing numerically computable expression are provided. As an application of pairwise error probability, average union upper bounds for turbo codes having (1,7/5,7/5) and (1,5/7,5/7) generator polynomials employing transfer function approach are presented to illustrate the usefulness of the new efficient results     

Performance analysis on LDPC-Coded systems over quasi-static (MIMO) fading channels

In this paper, we derive closed form upper bounds on the error probability of low-density parity-check (LDPC) coded modulation schemes operating on quasi-static fading channels. The bounds are obtained from the so-called Fano- Gallager?s tight bounding techniques, and can be readily calculated when the distance spectrum of the code is available. In deriving the bounds for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, we assume the LDPC code is concatenated with the orthogonal space-time block code as an inner code. We obtain an equivalent single-input single-output (SISO) channel model for this concatenated coded-modulation system. The upper bounds derived here indicate good matches with simulation results of a complete transceiver system over Rayleigh and Rician MIMO fading channels in which the iterative detection and decoding algorithm is employed at the receiver.     

An upper bound on turbo codes performance over quasi-static fading channels

This letter proposes an upper bound on the performance of turbo-codes over quasi-static fading channels. First an upper bound is derived for the case of a single-input single-output channel. The result is then extended to the case of a serial concatenation of a turbo-code and a space-time block code. Unlike a simple extension of the union bound, the derived upper bounds are shown to converge for all signal-to-noise ratios. Additionally the closed form upper bounds obtained confirm analytically that, unlike over additive white Gaussian noise channels, turbo-code performance does not improve by increasing frame length over quasi-static fading channels.     

A New Union Bound on the Error Probability of Binary Coded OFDM Systems in Wireless Environments

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems are commonly used to mitigate frequency-selective multipath fading and provide high-speed data transmission. In this paper, we derive new union bounds on the error probability of a coded OFDM system in wireless environments. In particular, we consider convolutionally coded OFDM systems employing single and multiple transmit antennas over correlated block fading (CBF) channels with perfect channel state information (CSI). Results show that the new union bound is tight to simulation results. In addition, the bound accurately captures the effect of the correlation between sub-carriers channels. It is shown that as the channel becomes more frequency-selective, the performance get better due to the increased frequency diversity. Moreover, the bound also captures the effect of multi-antenna as space diversity. The proposed bounds can be applied for coded OFDM systems employing different coding schemes over different channel models.     

Chernoff bounds on pairwise error probabilities of space-time codes

We derive Chernoff bounds on pairwise error probabilities of coherent and noncoherent space-time signaling schemes. First, general Chernoff bound expressions are derived for a correlated Ricean fading channel and correlated additive Gaussian noise. Then, we specialize the obtained results to the cases of space-time-separable noise, white noise, and uncorrelated fading. We derive approximate Chernoff bounds for high and low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and propose optimal signaling schemes. We also compute the optimal number of transmitter antennas for noncoherent signaling with unitary mutually orthogonal space-time codes.     

Tight exponential upper bounds on the ML decoding error probability of block codes over fully interleaved fading channels

We derive tight exponential upper bounds on the decoding error probability of block codes which are operating over fully interleaved Rician fading channels, coherently detected and maximum-likelihood decoded. It is assumed that the fading samples are statistically independent and that perfect estimates of these samples are provided to the decoder. These upper bounds on the bit and block error probabilities are based on certain variations of the Gallager bounds. These bounds do not require integration in their final version and they are reasonably tight in a certain portion of the rate region exceeding the cutoff rate of the channel. By inserting interconnections between these bounds, we show that they are generalized versions of some reported bounds for the binary-input additive white Gaussian noise channel.     

The Performance of Space-Time Block Codes from Coordinate Interleaved Orthogonal Designs over Nakagami-m Fading Channels

Space-time block codes (STBCs) from coordinate interleaved orthogonal designs (CIODs) offer several advantages including full-diversity and single-symbol decodability. In an effort to assess their performance in quasi-static frequencynonselective i.i.d. Nakagami-m fading channels, we analyze the error rate, outage capacity, and information outage probability. First, based on an accurate closed-form formula for the average symbol pairwise error rate (SPER), we derive tight union upper and lower bounds on the symbol-error rate (SER). Second, we apply Gaussian and Gamma approximations to provide closedform expressions for the outage capacity. Third, using high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and moment-matching approximation techniques, we also derive accurate closed-form approximations for the information outage probability (IOP). Finally, we show that STBCs from CIODs provide full-diversity by deriving SERbased and IOP-based asymptotic and instantaneous diversity orders. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the analytical results agree with simulation experiments.     

Gallager Bounds for Noncoherent Decoders in Fading Channels

Recently, Gallager's bounding techniques have been used to derive tight performance bounds for coded systems in fading channels. Most works in this field have thus far dealt with coherent decoding. This paper develops Gallager bounds for noncoherent systems in fading channels. Unlike coherent decoding, the exact error probability of a noncoherent decoder/detector conditioned on the fading coefficients does not admit a closed-form expression. This difficulty is overcome in this paper by employing the Chernoff technique. Although it weakens the bounds to some extent, the Chernoff technique enables the derivations of the limit-before-average (LBA) bound and Gallager bounds in closed form for noncoherent fading channels. Numerical examples show that the proposed bounds are convergent and are tighter than the conventional union bound.      

Performance bounds for trellis-coded modulation on time-dispersivechannels

The performance of trellis-coded modulation (TCM) on additive white Gaussian noise channels is well understood, and tight analytical bounds exist on the probability of the Viterbi decoder making a decision error. When a channel is also time-dispersive, the performance of TCM systems has been studied mainly by simulation. However, simulation is limited to symbol error probabilities greater than 10^-6 and is not a particularly useful tool for designing codes. Tight analytical bounds on the error probability of TCM on time-dispersive channels are required for a more thorough study of performance. Moreover, the design of good codes and optimum metrics for time-dispersive channels requires tight analytical bounds. In this paper we derive analytical upper bounds, which, although requiring numerical techniques for tractable evaluation, are tight for a wide range of time-dispersive channel conditions. The bounds are based on a union bound of error events that leads to a summation of pairwise error probabilities, which are themselves upper bounded     

Variations on the Gallager bounds, connections, and applications

There has been renewed interest in deriving tight bounds on the error performance of specific codes and ensembles, based on their distance spectrum. We discuss many reported upper bounds on the maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding error probability and demonstrate the underlying connections that exist between them. In addressing the Gallager bounds and their variations, we focus on the Duman and Salehi (see IEEE Trans. Commun., vol.46, p.717-723, 1998)variation, which originates from the standard Gallager bound. A large class of efficient bounds (or their Chernoff versions) is demonstrated to be a special case of the generalized second version of the Duman and Salehi bounds. Implications and applications of these observations are pointed out, including the fully interleaved fading channel, resorting to either matched or mismatched decoding. The proposed approach can be generalized to geometrically uniform nonbinary codes, finite-state channels, bit interleaved coded modulation systems, and it can be also used for the derivation of upper bounds on the conditional decoding error probability.     

On the performance of space-time codes over spatially correlated Rayleigh fading channels

We derive the exact pairwise error probability (PEP) for space-time coding over quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels in the presence of spatial fading correlation. We show that receive correlation always degrades the PEP for all signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). We quantify the effect of receive correlation by employing the notion of "majorization". We show that the stronger the receive correlation, the worse the PEP for all SNRs. We show that at low SNR, depending on the codes, transmit correlation can either improve or degrade the PEP performance. We show that to guarantee robust performance for arbitrary transmit correlation, the minimum eigenvalue of the codeword pair difference matrix should be maximized among all codeword pairs.