On the complexity of finding stopping set size in Tanner Graphs

The problem of determining whether a Tanner graph for a linear block code has a stopping set of a given size is shown to be NT-complete.

Distributed space-time codes with reduced decoding complexity

We address the problem of distributed space-time coding with reduced decoding complexity for wireless relay network. The transmission protocol follows a two-hop model wherein the source transmits a vector in the first hop and in the second hop the relays transmit a vector, which is a transformation of the received vector by a relay-specific unitary transformation. Design criteria is derived for this system model and codes are proposed that achieve full diversity. For a fixed number of relay nodes, the general system model considered in this paper admits code constructions with lower decoding complexity compared to codes based on some earlier system models.

Minimum-Decoding-Complexity, maximum-rate Space-Time Block Codes from Clifford algebras

It is well known that Alamouti code and, in general, Space-Time Block Codes (STBCs) from complex orthogonal designs (CODs) are single-symbol decodable/symbolby-symbol decodable (SSD) and are obtainable from unitary matrix representations of Clifford algebras. However, SSD codes are obtainable from designs that are not CODs. Recently, two such classes of SSD codes have been studied: (i) Coordinate Interleaved Orthogonal Designs (CIODs) and (ii) Minimum-Decoding-Complexity (MDC) STBCs from Quasi-ODs (QODs). In this paper, we obtain SSD codes with unitary weight matrices (but not CON) from matrix representations of Clifford algebras. Moreover, we derive an upper bound on the rate of SSD codes with unitary weight matrices and show that our codes meet this bound. Also, we present conditions on the signal sets which ensure full-diversity and give expressions for the coding gain.

Non-unitary-weight Space-Time Block Codes with Minimum Decoding Complexity

Space-Time Block Codes (STBCs) from Complex Orthogonal Designs (CODs) are single-symbol decodable/symbol-by-symbol decodable (SSD); however, SSD codes are obtainable from designs that are not CODs. Recently, two such classes of SSD codes have been studied: (i) Coordinate Interleaved Orthogonal Designs (CIODs) and (ii) Minimum-Decoding-Complexity (MDC) STBCs from Quasi-ODs (QODs). The class of CIODs have non-unitary weight matrices when written as a Linear Dispersion Code (LDC) proposed by Hassibi and Hochwald, whereas the other class of SSD codes including CODs have unitary weight matrices. In this paper, we construct a large class of SSD codes with nonunitary weight matrices. Also, we show that the class of CIODs is a special class of our construction.

Parallel circuit partitioning on a reduced array architecture

The physical design of a VLSI circuit involves circuit partitioning as a subtask. Typically, it is necessary to partition a large electrical circuit into several smaller circuits such that the total cross-wiring is minimized. This problem is a variant of the more general graph partitioning problem, and it is known that there does not exist a polynomial time algorithm to obtain an optimal partition. The heuristic procedure proposed by Kernighan and Lin1,2 requires O(n2 log2n) time to obtain a near-optimal two-way partition of a circuit with n modules. In the VLSI context, due to the large problem size involved, this computational requirement is unacceptably high. This paper is concerned with the hardware acceleration of the Kernighan-Lin procedure on an SIMD architecture. The proposed parallel partitioning algorithm requires O(n) processors, and has a time complexity of O(n log2n). In the proposed scheme, the reduced array architecture is employed with due considerations towards cost effectiveness and VLSI realizability of the architecture.The authors are not aware of any earlier attempts to parallelize a circuit partitioning algorithm in general or the Kernighan-Lin algorithm in particular. The use of the reduced array architecture is novel and opens up the possibilities of using this computing structure for several other applications in electronic design automation.

New computational approaches for wrinkled and slack membranes

The static response of thin, wrinkled membranes is studied using both a tension field approximation based on plane stress conditions and a 3D nonlinear elasticityformulation, discretized through 8-noded Cosserat point elements. While the tension field approach only obtains the wrinkled/slack regions and at best a measure of the extent of wrinkliness, the 3D elasticity solution provides, in principle, the deformed shape of a wrinkled/slack membrane. However, since membranes barely resist compression, the discretized and linearized system equations via both the approaches are ill-conditioned and solutions could thus be sensitive to discretizations errors as well as other sources of noises/imperfections. We propose a regularized, pseudo-dynamical recursion scheme that provides a sequence of updates, which are almost insensitive to theregularizing term as well as the time step size used for integrating the pseudo-dynamical form. This is borne out through several numerical examples wherein the relative performance of the proposed recursion scheme vis-a-vis a regularized Newton strategy is compared. The pseudo-time marching strategy, when implemented using 3D Cosserat point elements, also provides a computationally cheaper, numerically accurate and simpler alternative to that using geometrically exact shell theories for computing large deformations of membranes in the presence of wrinkles. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low-Complexity Near-ML Decoding of Large Non-Orthogonal STBCs using Reactive Tabu Search

Non-orthogonal space-time block codes (STBC) with large dimensions are attractive because they can simultaneously achieve both high spectral efficiencies (same spectral efficiency as in V-BLAST for a given number of transmit antennas) as well as full transmit diversity. Decoding of non-orthogonal STBCs with large dimensions has been a challenge. In this paper, we present a reactive tabu search (RTS) based algorithm for decoding non-orthogonal STBCs from cyclic division algebras (CDA) having largedimensions. Under i.i.d fading and perfect channel state information at the receiver (CSIR), our simulation results show that RTS based decoding of 12 X 12 STBC from CDA and 4-QAM with 288 real dimensions achieves i) 10(-3) uncoded BER at an SNR of just 0.5 dB away from SISO AWGN performance, and ii) a coded BER performance close to within about 5 dB of the theoretical MIMO capacity, using rate-3/4 turbo code at a spectral efficiency of 18 bps/Hz. RTS is shown to achieve near SISO AWGN performance with less number of dimensions than with LAS algorithm (which we reported recently) at some extra complexity than LAS. We also report good BER performance of RTS when i.i.d fading and perfect CSIR assumptions are relaxed by considering a spatially correlated MIMO channel model, and by using a training based iterative RTS decoding/channel estimation scheme.

Low-Complexity Near-MAP Decoding of Large Non-Orthogonal STBCs Using PDA

Non-orthogonal space-time block codes (STBC) from cyclic division algebras (CDA) are attractive because they can simultaneously achieve both high spectral efficiencies (same spectral efficiency as in V-BLAST for a given number of transmit antennas) as well as full transmit diversity. Decoding of non-orthogonal STBCs with hundreds of dimensions has been a challenge. In this paper, we present a probabilistic data association (PDA) based algorithm for decoding non-orthogonal STBCs with large dimensions. Our simulation results show that the proposed PDA-based algorithm achieves near SISO AWGN uncoded BER as well as near-capacity coded BER (within 5 dB of the theoretical capacity) for large non-orthogonal STBCs from CDA. We study the effect of spatial correlation on the BER, and show that the performance loss due to spatial correlation can be alleviated by providing more receive spatial dimensions. We report good BER performance when a training-based iterative decoding/channel estimation is used (instead of assuming perfect channel knowledge) in channels with large coherence times. A comparison of the performances of the PDA algorithm and the likelihood ascent search (LAS) algorithm (reported in our recent work) is also presented.

Experimental and Computational Characterization of Alloy--Spinel--Corundum Equilibrium in the System Fe--Co--Al--O at 1873K

The three-phase equilibrium between alloy, spinel solid solution and alpha -Al sub 2 O sub 3 in the Fe--Co--Al--O system at 1873k was fully characterized as a function of alloy composition using both experimental and computational methods. The equilibrium oxygen content of the liquid alloy was measured by suction sampling and inert gas fusion analysis. The O potential corresponding to the three-phase equilibrium was determined by emf measurements on a solid state galvanic cell incorporating (Y sub 2 O sub 3 )ThO sub 2 as the solid electrolyte and Cr + Cr sub 2 O sub 3 as the reference electrode. The equilibrium composition of the spinel phase formed at the interface between the alloy and alumina crucible was measured by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The experimental results were compared with the values computed using a thermodynamic model. The model used values for standard Gibbs energies of formation of pure end-member spinels and Gibbs energies of solution of gaseous O in liquid Fe and cobalt available in the literature. The activity--composition relationship in the spinel solid solution was computed using a cation distribution model. The variation of the activity coefficient of O with alloy composition in the Fe--Co--O system was estimated using both the quasichemical model of Jacob and Alcock and Wagner's model along with the correlations of Chiang and Chang and Kuo and Chang. The computed results of spinel composition and O potential are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. Graphs. 29 ref.--AA

sRNAscanner: A Computational Tool for Intergenic Small RNA Detection in Bacterial Genomes

Background:Bacterial non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) have attracted considerable attention due to their ubiquitous nature and contribution to numerous cellular processes including survival, adaptation and pathogenesis. Existing computational approaches for identifying bacterial sRNAs demonstrate varying levels of success and there remains considerable room for improvement. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we have proposed a transcriptional signal-based computational method to identify intergenic sRNA transcriptional units (TUs) in completely sequenced bacterial genomes. Our sRNAscanner tool uses position weight matrices derived from experimentally defined E. coli K-12 MG1655 sRNA promoter and rho-independent terminator signals to identify intergenic sRNA TUs through sliding window based genome scans. Analysis of genomes representative of twelve species suggested that sRNAscanner demonstrated equivalent sensitivity to sRNAPredict2, the best performing bioinformatics tool available presently. However, each algorithm yielded substantial numbers of known and uncharacterized hits that were unique to one or the other tool only. sRNAscanner identified 118 novel putative intergenic sRNA genes in Salmonella enterica Typhimurium LT2, none of which were flagged by sRNAPredict2. Candidate sRNA locations were compared with available deep sequencing libraries derived from Hfq-co-immunoprecipitated RNA purified from a second Typhimurium strain (Sittka et al. (2008) PLoS Genetics 4: e1000163). Sixteen potential novel sRNAs computationally predicted and detected in deep sequencing libraries were selected for experimental validation by Northern analysis using total RNA isolated from bacteria grown under eleven different growth conditions. RNA bands of expected sizes were detected in Northern blots for six of the examined candidates. Furthermore, the 5'-ends of these six Northern-supported sRNA candidates were successfully mapped using 5'-RACE analysis. Conclusions/Significance: We have developed, computationally examined and experimentally validated the sRNAscanner algorithm. Data derived from this study has successfully identified six novel S. Typhimurium sRNA genes. In addition, the computational specificity analysis we have undertaken suggests that similar to 40% of sRNAscanner hits with high cumulative sum of scores represent genuine, undiscovered sRNA genes. Collectively, these data strongly support the utility of sRNAscanner and offer a glimpse of its potential to reveal large numbers of sRNA genes that have to date defied identification. sRNAscanner is available from: http://bicmku.in:8081/sRNAscanner or http://cluster.physics.iisc.ernet.in/sRNAscanner/.

STBCs with Reduced Sphere Decoding Complexity for Two-User MIMO-MAC

In this paper, Space-Time Block Codes (STBCs) with reduced Sphere Decoding Complexity (SDC) are constructed for two-user Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) fading multiple access channels. In this set-up, both the users employ identical STBCs and the destination performs sphere decoding for the symbols of the two users. First, we identify the positions of the zeros in the R matrix arising out of the Q-R decomposition of the lattice generator such that (i) the worst case SDC (WSDC) and (ii) the average SDC (ASDC) are reduced. Then, a set of necessary and sufficient conditions on the lattice generator is provided such that the R matrix has zeros at the identified positions. Subsequently, explicit constructions of STBCs which results in the reduced ASDC are presented. The rate (in complex symbols per channel use) of the proposed designs is at most 2/N-t where N-t denotes the number of transmit antennas for each user. We also show that the class of STBCs from complex orthogonal designs (other than the Alamouti design) reduce the WSDC but not the ASDC.

A Low ML-Decoding Complexity, High Coding Gain, Full-Rate, Full-Diversity STBC for 4 x 2 MIMO System

This paper proposes a full-rate, full-diversity space-time block code(STBC) with low maximum likelihood (ML) decoding complexity and high coding gain for the 4 transmit antenna, 2 receive antenna (4 x 2) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system that employs 4/16-QAM. For such a system, the best code known is the DjABBA code and recently, Biglieri, Hong and Viterbo have proposed another STBC (BHV code) for 4-QAM which has lower ML-decoding complexity than the DjABBA code but does not have full-diversity like the DjABBA code. The code proposed in this paper has the same ML-decoding complexity as the BHV code for any square M-QAM but has full-diversity for 4- and 16-QAM. Compared with the DjABBA code, the proposed code has lower ML-decoding complexity for square M-QAM constellation, higher coding gain for 4- and 16-QAM, and hence a better codeword error rate (CER) performance. Simulation results confirming this are presented.

New computational approaches for inelastic x-ray scattering

Inelastic x-ray scattering spectroscopy is a versatile experimental technique for probing the electronic structure of materials. It provides a wealth of information on the sample's atomic-scale structure, but extracting this information from the experimental data can be challenging because there is no direct relation between the structure and the measured spectrum. Theoretical calculations can bridge this gap by explaining the structural origins of the spectral features. Reliable methods for modeling inelastic x-ray scattering require accurate electronic structure calculations. This work presents the development and implementation of new schemes for modeling the inelastic scattering of x-rays from non-periodic systems. The methods are based on density functional theory and are applicable for a wide variety of molecular materials. Applications are presented in this work for amorphous silicon monoxide and several gas phase systems. Valuable new information on their structure and properties could be extracted with the combination of experimental and computational methods.

A Low-Complexity Algorithm for Intrusion Detection in a PIR-Based Wireless Sensor Network

We present a low-complexity algorithm for intrusion detection in the presence of clutter arising from wind-blown vegetation, using Passive Infra-Red (PIR) sensors in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). The algorithm is based on a combination of Haar Transform (HT) and Support-Vector-Machine (SVM) based training and was field tested in a network setting comprising of 15-20 sensing nodes. Also contained in this paper is a closed-form expression for the signal generated by an intruder moving at a constant velocity. It is shown how this expression can be exploited to determine the direction of motion information and the velocity of the intruder from the signals of three well-positioned sensors.

Computational Methods for Studies of Quantum Dots and Boson Condensates

This thesis presents ab initio studies of two kinds of physical systems, quantum dots and bosons, using two program packages of which the bosonic one has mainly been developed by the author. The implemented models, \emph{i.e.}, configuration interaction (CI) and coupled cluster (CC) take the correlated motion of the particles into account, and provide a hierarchy of computational schemes, on top of which the exact solution, within the limit of the single-particle basis set, is obtained. The theory underlying the models is presented in some detail, in order to provide insight into the approximations made and the circumstances under which they hold. Some of the computational methods are also highlighted. In the final sections the results are summarized. The CI and CC calculations on multiexciton complexes in self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots are presented and compared, along with radiative and non-radiative transition rates. Full CI calculations on quantum rings and double quantum rings are also presented. In the latter case, experimental and theoretical results from the literature are re-examined and an alternative explanation for the reported photoluminescence spectra is found. The boson program is first applied on a fictitious model system consisting of bosonic electrons in a central Coulomb field for which CI at the singles and doubles level is found to account for almost all of the correlation energy. Finally, the boson program is employed to study Bose-Einstein condensates confined in different anisotropic trap potentials. The effects of the anisotropy on the relative correlation energy is examined, as well as the effect of varying the interaction potential.}