Modified augmented belief propagation for general memoryless channels

In this paper, we propose an efficient implementation of the augmented belief propagation (ABP) algorithm for low-density parity-check codes over general memoryless channels. ABP is a multistage BP based decoder that uses a backtracking processing when decoding fails. The algorithm proceeds in two main steps, namely a symbol selection step and an augmented decoding step. The former is based on a criterion related both to the stopping subgraph connectivity and to the input reliability, while the latter can be either implemented using a list based or a greedy approach. Compared to the original implementation, we consider a different approach for both steps. First, the proposed node selection is only based on the dynamic of sign changes of the extrinsic messages at the variable nodes output. This enables us to consider indifferently general memoryless channels, while still taking into account the graph irregularity. Then, we propose a simple yet efficient implementation of the augmented decoding procedure based on pruning of the branching tree The proposed algorithm shows near maximum likelihood decoding performance while decreasing the overall complexity (computation and memory) of the original algorithm. Moreover, complexity-performance trade-off is an built-in feature for this kind of algorithm

Modified belief propagation decoders applied to non-CSS QLDGM codes.

Quantum technology is becoming increasingly popular, and big companies are starting to invest huge amounts of money to ensure they do not get left behind in this technological race. Presently, qubits and operational quantum channels may be thought of as far-fetched ideas, but in the future, quantum computing will be of critical importance. In this project, it is provided a concise overview of the basics of coding theory and how they can be used in the design of quantum computers. Specifically, Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes are focused, as they can be integrated within the stabilizer construction to build effective quantum codes. Following this, it is introduced the specifics of the quantum paradigm and present the most common family of quantum codes: stabilizer codes. Finally, it is explained the codes that have been used in this project, discussing what type of code they are and how they are designed. In this last section, it is also presented the ultimate goal of the project: using modified belief propagation decoders that had previously been tested for QLDPCs, for the proposed non-CSS QLDGM codes of this project

Decomposition Methods for Large Scale LP Decoding

When binary linear error-correcting codes are used over symmetric channels, a relaxed version of the maximum likelihood decoding problem can be stated as a linear program (LP). This LP decoder can be used to decode error-correcting codes at bit-error-rates comparable to state-of-the-art belief propagation (BP) decoders, but with significantly stronger theoretical guarantees. However, LP decoding when implemented with standard LP solvers does not easily scale to the block lengths of modern error correcting codes. In this paper we draw on decomposition methods from optimization theory, specifically the Alternating Directions Method of Multipliers (ADMM), to develop efficient distributed algorithms for LP decoding. The key enabling technical result is a "two-slice" characterization of the geometry of the parity polytope, which is the convex hull of all codewords of a single parity check code. This new characterization simplifies the representation of points in the polytope. Using this simplification, we develop an efficient algorithm for Euclidean norm projection onto the parity polytope. This projection is required by ADMM and allows us to use LP decoding, with all its theoretical guarantees, to decode large-scale error correcting codes efficiently. We present numerical results for LDPC codes of lengths more than 1000. The waterfall region of LP decoding is seen to initiate at a slightly higher signal-to-noise ratio than for sum-product BP, however an error floor is not observed for LP decoding, which is not the case for BP. Our implementation of LP decoding using ADMM executes as fast as our baseline sum-product BP decoder, is fully parallelizable, and can be seen to implement a type of message-passing with a particularly simple schedule.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures. An early version of this work appeared at the 49th Annual Allerton Conference, September 2011. This version to appear in IEEE Transactions on Information Theor

Iterative Algebraic Soft-Decision List Decoding of Reed-Solomon Codes

In this paper, we present an iterative soft-decision decoding algorithm for Reed-Solomon codes offering both complexity and performance advantages over previously known decoding algorithms. Our algorithm is a list decoding algorithm which combines two powerful soft decision decoding techniques which were previously regarded in the literature as competitive, namely, the Koetter-Vardy algebraic soft-decision decoding algorithm and belief-propagation based on adaptive parity check matrices, recently proposed by Jiang and Narayanan. Building on the Jiang-Narayanan algorithm, we present a belief-propagation based algorithm with a significant reduction in computational complexity. We introduce the concept of using a belief-propagation based decoder to enhance the soft-input information prior to decoding with an algebraic soft-decision decoder. Our algorithm can also be viewed as an interpolation multiplicity assignment scheme for algebraic soft-decision decoding of Reed-Solomon codes.Comment: Submitted to IEEE for publication in Jan 200

Distance Properties of Short LDPC Codes and their Impact on the BP, ML and Near-ML Decoding Performance

Parameters of LDPC codes, such as minimum distance, stopping distance, stopping redundancy, girth of the Tanner graph, and their influence on the frame error rate performance of the BP, ML and near-ML decoding over a BEC and an AWGN channel are studied. Both random and structured LDPC codes are considered. In particular, the BP decoding is applied to the code parity-check matrices with an increasing number of redundant rows, and the convergence of the performance to that of the ML decoding is analyzed. A comparison of the simulated BP, ML, and near-ML performance with the improved theoretical bounds on the error probability based on the exact weight spectrum coefficients and the exact stopping size spectrum coefficients is presented. It is observed that decoding performance very close to the ML decoding performance can be achieved with a relatively small number of redundant rows for some codes, for both the BEC and the AWGN channels