Rate-splitting multiple access for non-terrestrial communication and sensing networks

Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) has emerged as a powerful and flexible non-orthogonal transmission, multiple access (MA) and interference management scheme for future wireless networks. This thesis is concerned with the application of RSMA to non-terrestrial communication and sensing networks. Various scenarios and algorithms are presented and evaluated. First, we investigate a novel multigroup/multibeam multicast beamforming strategy based on RSMA in both terrestrial multigroup multicast and multibeam satellite systems with imperfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT). The max-min fairness (MMF)-degree of freedom (DoF) of RSMA is derived and shown to provide gains compared with the conventional strategy. The MMF beamforming optimization problem is formulated and solved using the weighted minimum mean square error (WMMSE) algorithm. Physical layer design and link-level simulations are also investigated. RSMA is demonstrated to be very promising for multigroup multicast and multibeam satellite systems taking into account CSIT uncertainty and practical challenges in multibeam satellite systems. Next, we extend the scope of research from multibeam satellite systems to satellite- terrestrial integrated networks (STINs). Two RSMA-based STIN schemes are investigated, namely the coordinated scheme relying on CSI sharing and the co- operative scheme relying on CSI and data sharing. Joint beamforming algorithms are proposed based on the successive convex approximation (SCA) approach to optimize the beamforming to achieve MMF amongst all users. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed RSMA schemes for STINs are demonstrated. Finally, we consider RSMA for a multi-antenna integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) system, which simultaneously serves multiple communication users and estimates the parameters of a moving target. Simulation results demonstrate that RSMA is beneficial to both terrestrial and multibeam satellite ISAC systems by evaluating the trade-off between communication MMF rate and sensing Cramer-Rao bound (CRB).Open Acces

Total and Minimum Energy Efficiency Tradeoff in Robust Multigroup Multicast Satellite Communications

Data Availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions of the study are presented in the paper.Copyright © 2023 Bin Jiang et al. Satellite communication is an indispensable part of future wireless communications given its global coverage and long-distance propagation. In satellite communication systems, channel acquisition and energy consumption are two critical issues. To this end, we investigate the tradeoff between the total energy efficiency (TEE) and minimum EE (MEE) for robust multigroup multicast satellite communication systems in this paper. Specifically, under the total power constraint, we investigate the robust beamforming aimed at balancing the TEE-MEE, so as to achieve the balance between the fairness and total performance on the system EE. For this optimization problem, we first model the balancing problem as a nonconvex problem while deriving its approximate closed-form average user rate. Then, the nonconvex problem is handled by solving convex programs sequentially with the help of the semidefinite relaxation and the concave-convex procedure. In addition, depending on the solution rank value, Gaussian randomization and eigenvalue decomposition method are applied to generate the feasible solutions. Finally, simulation results illustrate that the proposed approach can effectively achieve the balance between the TEE and MEE, thus realizing a tradeoff between fairness and system EE performance. It is also indicated that the proposed robust approach outperforms the conventional baselines in terms of EE performance.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 62341110, the Key Technologies R&D Program of Jiangsu (Prospective and Key Technologies for Industry) under Grants BE2022067 and BE2022067-5, the Jiangsu Province Basic Research Project under Grant BK20192002, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grants 2242021R41148 and 2242022k60007, and the Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program by China Institute of Communications. The work of J.Z. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant U2233216

A Low-Complexity Design for Rate-Splitting Multiple Access in Overloaded MIMO Networks

Rate-Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA) is a robust multiple access scheme for multi-antenna wireless networks. In this work, we study the performance of RSMA in downlink overloaded networks, where the number of transmit antennas is smaller than the number of users. We provide analysis and closed-form solutions for optimal power and rate allocations that maximize max-min fairness when low-complexity precoding schemes are employed. The derived closed-form solutions are used to propose a low-complexity RSMA system design for precoder selection and resource allocation for arbitrary number of users and antennas under perfect Channel State Information at the Transmitter (CSIT). We compare the performance of the proposed design with benchmark designs based on Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) to show that the proposed low-complexity RSMA design achieves a significantly higher performance gain in overloaded networks

Non-orthogonal transmission techniques for multibeam satellite systems

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Non-orthogonal transmission is a promising technology enabler to meet the requirements of 5G communication systems. Seminal papers demonstrated that non-orthogonal multiplexing techniques outperform orthogonal schemes in terms of capacity, latency, and user fairness. Since it is envisioned that satellites will be an integral component of the 5G infrastructure, it is worth studying how satellite communication systems can benefit from the application of non-orthogonal transmission schemes as well. Contrary to common perception, current communications through a satellite present a different architecture and face different impairments than those in the wireless terrestrial links. In particular, this work aims to describe different non-orthogonal schemes that are suitable for the forward link (i.e., satellite to user). In contrast with the return link of the satellite (i.e., user to satellite), where the use of non-orthogonal transmission schemes has been widely studied, less effort has been devoted to the forward link. In light of this, this article provides an overview and a novel taxonomy that is based on the forward link of different non-orthogonal multibeam transmission schemes. Finally, guidelines that open new avenues for research in this topic are provided.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Multiple Access in Aerial Networks: From Orthogonal and Non-Orthogonal to Rate-Splitting

Recently, interest on the utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has aroused. Specifically, UAVs can be used in cellular networks as aerial users for delivery, surveillance, rescue search, or as an aerial base station (aBS) for communication with ground users in remote uncovered areas or in dense environments requiring prompt high capacity. Aiming to satisfy the high requirements of wireless aerial networks, several multiple access techniques have been investigated. In particular, space-division multiple access(SDMA) and power-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) present promising multiplexing gains for aerial downlink and uplink. Nevertheless, these gains are limited as they depend on the conditions of the environment. Hence, a generalized scheme has been recently proposed, called rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA), which is capable of achieving better spectral efficiency gains compared to SDMA and NOMA. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of key multiple access technologies adopted for aerial networks, where aBSs are deployed to serve ground users. Since there have been only sporadic results reported on the use of RSMA in aerial systems, we aim to extend the discussion on this topic by modelling and analyzing the weighted sum-rate performance of a two-user downlink network served by an RSMA-based aBS. Finally, related open issues and future research directions are exposed.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to IEEE Journa

Evolution of High Throughput Satellite Systems: Vision, Requirements, and Key Technologies

High throughput satellites (HTS), with their digital payload technology, are expected to play a key role as enablers of the upcoming 6G networks. HTS are mainly designed to provide higher data rates and capacities. Fueled by technological advancements including beamforming, advanced modulation techniques, reconfigurable phased array technologies, and electronically steerable antennas, HTS have emerged as a fundamental component for future network generation. This paper offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art of HTS systems, with a focus on standardization, patents, channel multiple access techniques, routing, load balancing, and the role of software-defined networking (SDN). In addition, we provide a vision for next-satellite systems that we named as extremely-HTS (EHTS) toward autonomous satellites supported by the main requirements and key technologies expected for these systems. The EHTS system will be designed such that it maximizes spectrum reuse and data rates, and flexibly steers the capacity to satisfy user demand. We introduce a novel architecture for future regenerative payloads while summarizing the challenges imposed by this architecture

Symbol-level and Multicast Precoding for Multiuser Multiantenna Downlink: A State-of-the-art, Classification and Challenges

Precoding has been conventionally considered as an effective means of mitigating or exploiting the interference in the multiantenna downlink channel, where multiple users are simultaneously served with independent information over the same channel resources. The early works in this area were focused on transmitting an individual information stream to each user by constructing weighted linear combinations of symbol blocks (codewords). However, more recent works have moved beyond this traditional view by: i) transmitting distinct data streams to groups of users and ii) applying precoding on a symbol-per-symbol basis. In this context, the current survey presents a unified view and classification of precoding techniques with respect to two main axes: i) the switching rate of the precoding weights, leading to the classes of block-level and symbol-level precoding, ii) the number of users that each stream is addressed to, hence unicast, multicast, and broadcast precoding. Furthermore, the classified techniques are compared through representative numerical results to demonstrate their relative performance and uncover fundamental insights. Finally, a list of open theoretical problems and practical challenges are presented to inspire further research in this area