Linear Transceiver Design for an Amplify-and-Forward Relay Based on the MBER Criterion

A design methodology based on the Minimum Bit Error Ratio (MBER) framework is proposed for a non-regenerative Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) relay-aided system to determine various linear parameters. We consider both the Relay-Destination (RD) as well as the Source-Relay-Destination (SRD) link design based on this MBER framework, including the pre-coder, the Amplify-and-Forward (AF) matrix and the equalizer matrix of our system. It has been shown in the previous literature that MBER based communication systems are capable of reducing the Bit-Error-Ratio (BER) compared to their Linear Minimum Mean Square Error (LMMSE) based counterparts. We design a novel relay-aided system using various signal constellations, ranging from QPSK to the general M-QAM and M-PSK constellations. Finally, we propose its sub-optimal versions for reducing the computational complexity imposed. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme indeed achieves a significant BER reduction over the existing LMMSE scheme.

Performance Analysis of Space-Shift Keying in Decode-and-Forward Multihop MIMO Networks

In this paper, space-shift keying (SSK) is considered for multihop multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) networks. In SSK, only one among n(s) = 2(m) available transmit antennas, chosen on the basis of m information bits, is activated during transmission. We consider two different systems of multihop co-operation, where each node has multiple antennas and employs SSK. In system I, a multihop diversity relaying scheme is considered. In system II, a multihop multibranch relaying scheme is considered. In both systems, we adopt decode-and-forward (DF) relaying, where each relay forwards the signal only when it correctly decodes. We analyze the end-to-end bit error rate (BER) and diversity order of both the systems with SSK. For binary SSK (n(s) = 2), our analytical BER expression is exact, and our numerical results show that the BERs evaluated through the analytical expression overlap with those obtained through Monte Carlo simulations. For nonbinary SSK (n(s) > 2), we derive an approximate BER expression, where the analytically evaluated BER results closely follow the simulated BER results. We show the comparison of the BERs of SSK and conventional phase-shift keying (PSK) and also show the instances where SSK outperforms PSK. We also present the diversity analyses for SSK in systems I and II, which predict the achievable diversity orders as a function of system parameters.

Secure Compute-and-Forward in a Bidirectional Relay

We consider the basic bidirectional relaying problem, in which two users in a wireless network wish to exchange messages through an intermediate relay node. In the compute-and-forward strategy, the relay computes a function of the two messages using the naturally occurring sum of symbols simultaneously transmitted by user nodes in a Gaussian multiple-access channel (MAC), and the computed function value is forwarded to the user nodes in an ensuing broadcast phase. In this paper, we study the problem under an additional security constraint, which requires that each user's message be kept secure from the relay. We consider two types of security constraints: 1) perfect secrecy, in which the MAC channel output seen by the relay is independent of each user's message and 2) strong secrecy, which is a form of asymptotic independence. We propose a coding scheme based on nested lattices, the main feature of which is that given a pair of nested lattices that satisfy certain goodness properties, we can explicitly specify probability distributions for randomization at the encoders to achieve the desired security criteria. In particular, our coding scheme guarantees perfect or strong secrecy even in the absence of channel noise. The noise in the channel only affects reliability of computation at the relay, and for Gaussian noise, we derive achievable rates for reliable and secure computation. We also present an application of our methods to the multihop line network in which a source needs to transmit messages to a destination through a series of intermediate relays.

A zero charge-pump mismatch current tracking loop for reference spur reduction in PLLs

The charge-pump (CP) mismatch current is a dominant source of static phase error and reference spur in the nano-meter CMOS PLL implementations due to its worsened channel length modulation effect. This paper presents a charge-pump (CP) mismatch current reduction technique utilizing an adaptive body bias tuning of CP transistors and a zero CP mismatch current tracking PLL architecture for reference spur suppression. A chip prototype of the proposed circuit was implemented in 0.13 mu m CMOS technology. The frequency synthesizer consumes 8.2 mA current from a 13 V supply voltage and achieves a phase noise of -96.01 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz offset from a 2.4 GHz RF carrier. The charge-pump measurements using the proposed calibration technique exhibited a mismatch current of less than 0.3 mu A (0.55%) over the VCO control voltage range of 0.3-1.0 V. The closed loop measurements show a minimized static phase error of within +/- 70 ps and a similar or equal to 9 dB reduction in reference spur level across the PLL output frequency range 2.4-2.5 GHz. The presented CP calibration technique compensates for the DC current mismatch and the mismatch due to channel length modulation effect and therefore improves the performance of CP-PLLs in nano-meter CMOS implementations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MIMO Decode-and-Forward Relay Beamforming for Secrecy with Cooperative Jamming

In this paper, we consider decode-and-forward (DF) relay beamforming for secrecy with cooperative jamming (CJ) in the presence of multiple eavesdroppers. The communication between a source-destination pair is aided by a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay. The source has one transmit antenna and the destination and eavesdroppers have one receive antenna each. The source and the MIMO relay are constrained with powers P-S and P-R, respectively. We relax the rank-1 constraint on the signal beamforming matrix and transform the secrecy rate max-min optimization problem to a single maximization problem, which is solved by semidefinite programming techniques. We obtain the optimum source power, signal relay weights, and jamming covariance matrix. We show that the solution of the rank-relaxed optimization problem has rank-1. Numerical results show that CJ can improve the secrecy rate.

MIMO Decode-and-Forward Relay Beamforming for Secrecy with Cooperative Jamming

In this paper, we consider decode-and-forward (DF) relay beamforming for secrecy with cooperative jamming (CJ) in the presence of multiple eavesdroppers. The communication between a source-destination pair is aided by a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay. The source has one transmit antenna and the destination and eavesdroppers have one receive antenna each. The source and the MIMO relay are constrained with powers P-S and P-R, respectively. We relax the rank-1 constraint on the signal beamforming matrix and transform the secrecy rate max-min optimization problem to a single maximization problem, which is solved by semidefinite programming techniques. We obtain the optimum source power, signal relay weights, and jamming covariance matrix. We show that the solution of the rank-relaxed optimization problem has rank-1. Numerical results show that CJ can improve the secrecy rate.

Minimization Problems Based on Relative alpha-Entropy I: Forward Projection

Minimization problems with respect to a one-parameter family of generalized relative entropies are studied. These relative entropies, which we term relative alpha-entropies (denoted I-alpha), arise as redundancies under mismatched compression when cumulants of compressed lengths are considered instead of expected compressed lengths. These parametric relative entropies are a generalization of the usual relative entropy (Kullback-Leibler divergence). Just like relative entropy, these relative alpha-entropies behave like squared Euclidean distance and satisfy the Pythagorean property. Minimizers of these relative alpha-entropies on closed and convex sets are shown to exist. Such minimizations generalize the maximum Renyi or Tsallis entropy principle. The minimizing probability distribution (termed forward I-alpha-projection) for a linear family is shown to obey a power-law. Other results in connection with statistical inference, namely subspace transitivity and iterated projections, are also established. In a companion paper, a related minimization problem of interest in robust statistics that leads to a reverse I-alpha-projection is studied.

Homogeneous isotropic superfluid turbulence in two dimensions: Inverse and forward cascades in the Hall-Vinen-Bekharevich-Khalatnikov model

We present the first direct-numerical-simulation study of the statistical properties of two-dimensional superfluid turbulence in the simplified, Hall-Vinen-Bekharevich-Khalatnikov two-fluid model. We show that both normalfluid and superfluid energy spectra can exhibit two power-law regimes, the first associated with an inverse cascade of energy and the second with the forward cascade of enstrophy. We quantify the mutual-friction-induced alignment of normal and superfluid velocities by obtaining probability distribution functions of the angle between them and the ratio of their moduli.

QEP Based Solution for Power Allocation in Amplify and Forward Networks

The problem of cooperative beamforming for maximizing the achievable data rate of an energy constrained two-hop amplify-and-forward (AF) network is considered. Assuming perfect channel state information (CSI) of all the nodes, we evaluate the optimal scaling factor for the relay nodes. Along with individual power constraint on each of the relay nodes, we consider a weighted sum power constraint. The proposed iterative algorithm initially solves a set of relaxed problems with weighted sum power constraint and then updates the solution to accommodate individual constraints. These relaxed problems in turn are solved using a sequence of Quadratic Eigenvalue Problems (QEP). The key contribution of this letter is the generalization of cooperative beamforming to incorporate both the individual and weighted sum constraint. Furthermore, we have proposed a novel algorithm based on Quadratic Eigenvalue Problem (QEP) and discussed its convergence.

Secure Communication in Amplify-and-Forward Networks with Multiple Eavesdroppers: Decoding with SNR Thresholds

The problem of secure unicast communication over a two hop Amplify-and-Forward wireless relay network with multiple eavesdroppers is considered. Assuming that a receiver (destination or eavesdropper) can decode a message only if the received SNR is above a predefined threshold, we consider this problem in two scenarios. In the first scenario, we maximize the SNR at the legitimate destination, subject to the condition that the received SNR at each eavesdropper is below the target threshold. Due to the non-convex nature of the objective function and eavesdroppers' constraints, we transform variables and obtain a quadratically constrained quadratic program (QCQP) with convex constraints, which can be solved efficiently. When the constraints are not convex, we consider a semidefinite relaxation (SDR) to obtain computationally efficient approximate solution. In the second scenario, we minimize the total power consumed by all relay nodes, subject to the condition that the received SNR at the legitimate destination is above the threshold and at every eavesdropper, it is below the corresponding threshold. We propose a semidefinite relaxation of the problem in this scenario and also provide an analytical lower bound.

Peristaltic pump-based low range pressure sensor calibration system

Peristaltic pumps were normally used to pump liquids in several chemical and biological applications. In the present study, a peristaltic pump was used to pressurize the chamber (positive as well negative pressures) using atmospheric air. In the present paper, we discuss the development and performance study of an automatic pressurization system to calibrate low range (millibar) pressure sensors. The system includes a peristaltic pump, calibrated pressure sensor (master sensor), pressure chamber, and the control electronics. An in-house developed peristaltic pump was used to pressurize the chamber. A closed loop control system has been developed to detect and adjust the pressure leaks in the chamber. The complete system has been integrated into a portable product. The system performance has been studied for a step response and steady state errors. The system is portable, free from oil contaminants, and consumes less power compared to existing pressure calibration systems. The veracity of the system was verified by calibrating an unknown diaphragm based pressure sensor and the results obtained were satisfactory. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Probing Photoexcited Carriers in a Few-Layer MoS2 Laminate by Time-Resolved Optical Pump-Terahertz Probe Spectroscopy

We report the dynamics of photoinduced carriers in a free-standing MoS2 laminate consisting of a few layers (1-6 layers) using time-resolved optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy. Upon photoexcitation with the 800 nm pump pulse, the terahertz conductivity increases due to absorption by the photoinduced charge carriers. The relaxation of the non-equilibrium carriers shows fast as well as slow decay channels, analyzed using a rate equation model incorporating defect-assisted Auger scattering of photoexcited electrons, holes, and excitons. The fast relaxation time occurs due to the capture of electrons and holes by defects via Auger processes, resulting in nonradiative recombination. The slower relaxation arises since the excitons are bound to the defects, preventing the defect-assisted Auger recombination of the electrons and the holes. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the non-equilibrium carrier kinetics in a system of unscreened Coulomb interactions, where defect-assisted Auger processes dominate and should be applicable to other 2D systems.

Gauge invariance in the theoretical description of time-resolved angle-resolved pump/probe photoemission spectroscopy

Nonequilibrium calculations in the presence of an electric field are usually performed in a gauge, and need to be transformed to reveal the gauge-invariant observables. In this work, we discuss the issue of gauge invariance in the context of time-resolved angle-resolved pump/probe photoemission. If the probe is applied while the pump is still on, one must ensure that the calculations of the observed photocurrent are gauge invariant. We also discuss the requirement of the photoemission signal to be positive and the relationship of this constraint to gauge invariance. We end by discussing some technical details related to the perturbative derivation of the photoemission spectra, which involve processes where the pump pulse photoemits electrons due to nonequilibrium effects.

Statistics of an adiabatic charge pump

We investigate the effect of time-dependent cyclic-adiabatic driving on the charge transport in a quantum junction. We propose a nonequilibrium Green's function formalism to study the statistics of the charge pumped (at zero bias) through the junction. The formulation is used to demonstrate charge pumping in a single electronic level coupled to two (electronic) reservoirs with time-dependent couplings. An analytical expression for the average pumped current for a general cyclic driving is derived. It is found that for zero bias, for a certain class of driving, the Berry phase contributes only to the odd cumulants. In contrast, a quantum master equation formulation does not show a Berry-phase effect at all.

Wireless Network-Coded Accumulate-Compute-and-Forward Two-Way Relaying

For the physical-layer network-coded wireless two-way relaying, it was observed by Koike-Akino et al. that adaptively changing the network coding map used at the relay according to channel conditions greatly reduces the impact of multiple-access interference, which occurs at the relay, and all these network coding maps should satisfy a requirement called exclusive law. We extend this approach to an accumulate-compute-and-forward protocol, which employs two phases: a multiple access (MA) phase consisting of two channel uses with independent messages in each channel use and a broadcast (BC) phase having one channel use. Assuming that the two users transmit points from the same 4-phase-shift keying (PSK) constellation, every such network coding map that satisfies the exclusive law can be represented by a Latin square of side 16, and conversely, this relationship can be used to get the network coding maps satisfying the exclusive law. Two methods of obtaining this network coding map to be used at the relay are discussed. Using the structural properties of the Latin squares for a given set of parameters, the problem of finding all the required maps is reduced to finding a small set of maps for the case. Having obtained all the Latin squares, a criterion is provided to select a Latin square for a given realization of fade state. This criterion turns out to be the same as the one used byMuralidharan et al. for two-stage bidirectional relaying.