Iterative Effect on LDPC Code Performance

The introduction of the turbo-codes in the early 90’s and, more generally of the iterative principle applied to the treatment of the signal, revolutionized the manner of improving a numerical communication system. This notable projection allowed the rediscovery of the error correcting codes invented by R. Gallager in 1963, called Low-Density Parity-Check codes (LDPC). These codes will be studied in this paper and more particularly the regular LDPC codes and its iterative effect on the performances of these codes on a gaussian transmission channel

Low-Density Parity-Check Codes From Transversal Designs With Improved Stopping Set Distributions

This paper examines the construction of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes from transversal designs based on sets of mutually orthogonal Latin squares (MOLS). By transferring the concept of configurations in combinatorial designs to the level of Latin squares, we thoroughly investigate the occurrence and avoidance of stopping sets for the arising codes. Stopping sets are known to determine the decoding performance over the binary erasure channel and should be avoided for small sizes. Based on large sets of simple-structured MOLS, we derive powerful constraints for the choice of suitable subsets, leading to improved stopping set distributions for the corresponding codes. We focus on LDPC codes with column weight 4, but the results are also applicable for the construction of codes with higher column weights. Finally, we show that a subclass of the presented codes has quasi-cyclic structure which allows low-complexity encoding.Comment: 11 pages; to appear in "IEEE Transactions on Communications

Shortened Array Codes of Large Girth

One approach to designing structured low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with large girth is to shorten codes with small girth in such a manner that the deleted columns of the parity-check matrix contain all the variables involved in short cycles. This approach is especially effective if the parity-check matrix of a code is a matrix composed of blocks of circulant permutation matrices, as is the case for the class of codes known as array codes. We show how to shorten array codes by deleting certain columns of their parity-check matrices so as to increase their girth. The shortening approach is based on the observation that for array codes, and in fact for a slightly more general class of LDPC codes, the cycles in the corresponding Tanner graph are governed by certain homogeneous linear equations with integer coefficients. Consequently, we can selectively eliminate cycles from an array code by only retaining those columns from the parity-check matrix of the original code that are indexed by integer sequences that do not contain solutions to the equations governing those cycles. We provide Ramsey-theoretic estimates for the maximum number of columns that can be retained from the original parity-check matrix with the property that the sequence of their indices avoid solutions to various types of cycle-governing equations. This translates to estimates of the rate penalty incurred in shortening a code to eliminate cycles. Simulation results show that for the codes considered, shortening them to increase the girth can lead to significant gains in signal-to-noise ratio in the case of communication over an additive white Gaussian noise channel.Comment: 16 pages; 8 figures; to appear in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Aug 200

Construction of LDPC convolutional codes via difference triangle sets

In this paper, a construction of $(n,k,\delta)$ LDPC convolutional codes over arbitrary finite fields, which generalizes the work of Robinson and Bernstein and the later work of Tong is provided. The sets of integers forming a $(k,w)$-(weak) difference triangle set are used as supports of some columns of the sliding parity-check matrix of an $(n,k,\delta)$ convolutional code, where $n\in\mathbb{N}$, $n>k$. The parameters of the convolutional code are related to the parameters of the underlying difference triangle set. In particular, a relation between the free distance of the code and $w$ is established as well as a relation between the degree of the code and the scope of the difference triangle set. Moreover, we show that some conditions on the weak difference triangle set ensure that the Tanner graph associated to the sliding parity-check matrix of the convolutional code is free from $2\ell$-cycles not satisfying the full rank condition over any finite field. Finally, we relax these conditions and provide a lower bound on the field size, depending on the parity of $\ell$, that is sufficient to still avoid $2\ell$-cycles. This is important for improving the performance of a code and avoiding the presence of low-weight codewords and absorbing sets.Comment: 22 pages, Extended version of arXiv:2001.0796

Moderate-density parity-check codes from projective bundles

New constructions for moderate-density parity-check (MDPC) codes using finite geometry are proposed. We design a parity-check matrix for the main family of binary codes as the concatenation of two matrices: the incidence matrix between points and lines of the Desarguesian projective plane and the incidence matrix between points and ovals of a projective bundle. A projective bundle is a special collection of ovals which pairwise meet in a unique point. We determine the minimum distance and the dimension of these codes, and we show that they have a natural quasi-cyclic structure. We consider alternative constructions based on an incidence matrix of a Desarguesian projective plane and compare their error-correction performance with regards to a modification of Gallager’s bit-flipping decoding algorithm. In this setting, our codes have the best possible error-correction performance after one round of bit-flipping decoding given the parameters of the code’s parity-check matrix

Searching for Voltage Graph-Based LDPC Tailbiting Codes with Large Girth

The relation between parity-check matrices of quasi-cyclic (QC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and biadjacency matrices of bipartite graphs supports searching for powerful LDPC block codes. Using the principle of tailbiting, compact representations of bipartite graphs based on convolutional codes can be found. Bounds on the girth and the minimum distance of LDPC block codes constructed in such a way are discussed. Algorithms for searching iteratively for LDPC block codes with large girth and for determining their minimum distance are presented. Constructions based on all-ones matrices, Steiner Triple Systems, and QC block codes are introduced. Finally, new QC regular LDPC block codes with girth up to 24 are given.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory in February 201

Codes and Designs Related to Lifted MRD Codes

Lifted maximum rank distance (MRD) codes, which are constant dimension codes, are considered. It is shown that a lifted MRD code can be represented in such a way that it forms a block design known as a transversal design. A slightly different representation of this design makes it similar to a $q-$analog of a transversal design. The structure of these designs is used to obtain upper bounds on the sizes of constant dimension codes which contain a lifted MRD code. Codes which attain these bounds are constructed. These codes are the largest known codes for the given parameters. These transversal designs can be also used to derive a new family of linear codes in the Hamming space. Bounds on the minimum distance and the dimension of such codes are given.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. The material in this paper was presented in part in the 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory, Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 201

Regular low-density parity-check codes from combinatorial designs

Analytically constructed LDPC codes comprise only a very small subset of possible codes and as a result LDPC codes are still, for the most part, constructed randomly. This paper extends the class of LDPC codes that can be systematically generated by presenting a construction method for regular LDPC codes based on combinatorial designs known as Kirkman triple systems. We construct (3, ρ)-regular codes whose Tanner graph is free of 4-cycles for any integer ρ, and examine girth and minimum distance properties of several classes of LDPC codes obtained from combinatorial designs