Signal processing topics in multicarrier modulation : frequency offset correction for OFDM and multiuser interference cancellation for MC-CDMA

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is discussed as a special form of multi-carrier modulation (MCM). One major problem of the OFDM system is the sensitivity to an unknown frequency offset at the receiver. To improve the performance of the OFDM system, correction of the frequency offset is required before decision making. An adaptive method of frequency offset correction is presented. The adaptation algorithm used here is based on the LMS and the estimation is proven unbiased. A multiuser communications system having similar signal structure to the OFDM system, termed as multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), is discussed. The MC-CDMA system is susceptible to multiuser interference. Although orthogonal multiuser codes are used, the frequency selective fading might destroy the orthogonality between different codes and result in multiuser interference. The conventional decorrelator can be used to cancel such interference completely but has the disadvantage of enhancing noise power. An adaptive decorrelation algorithm, known as the Bootstrap algorithm, is implemented to separate interference from the desired user\u27s signal. Such algorithm is shown to perform better than the conventional decorrelator particularly in the low interference region

Novel multiuser detection and multi-rate schemes for multi-carrier CDMA

A large variety of services is [sic] expected for wireless systems, in particular, high data rate services, such as wireless Internet access. Users with different data rates and quality of service (QoS) requirements must be accommodated. A suitable multiple access scheme is key to enabling wireless systems to support both the high data rate and the integrated multiple data rate transmissions with satisfactory performance and flexibility. A multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) scheme is a promising candidate for emerging broadband wireless systems. MC-CDMA is a hybrid of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and code division multiple access (CDMA). The most salient feature of MC-CDMA is that the rate of transmission is not limited by the wireless channel\u27s frequency-selective fading effects caused by multipath propagation. In MC-CDMA, each chip of the desired user\u27s spreading code, multiplied by the current data bit, is modulated onto a separate subcarrier. Therefore, each subcarrier has a narrow bandwidth and undergoes frequency-flat fading. Two important issues for an MC-CDMA wireless system, multiuser detection and multi-rate access, are discussed in this dissertation. Several advanced receiver structures capable of suppressing multiuser interference in an uplink MC-CDMA system, operating in a frequency-selective fading channel, are studied in this dissertation. One receiver is based on a so-called multishot structure, in which the interference introduced by the asynchronous reception of different users is successfully suppressed by a receiver based on the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) criterion with a built-in de-biasing feature. Like many other multiuser schemes, this receiver is very sensitive to a delay estimation error. A blind adaptive two-stage decorrelating receiver based on the bootstrap algorithm is developed to combat severe performance degradation due to a delay estimation error. It is observed that in the presence of a delay estimation error the blind adaptive bootstrap receiver is more near-far resistant than the MMSE receiver. Furthermore, a differential bootstrap receiver is proposed to extend the limited operating range of the two-stage bootstrap receiver which suffers from a phase ambiguity problem. Another receiver is based on a partial sampling (PS) demodulation structure, which further reduces the sensitivity to unknown user delays in an uplink scenario. Using this partial sampling structure, it is no longer necessary to synchronize the receiver with the desired user. Following the partial sampling demodulator, a minimum mean-square error combining (MMSEC) detector is applied. The partial sampling MMSEC (PS-MMSEC) receiver is shown to have strong interference suppression and timing acquisition capabilities. The complexity of this receiver can be reduced significantly, with negligible performance loss, by choosing a suitable partial sampling rate and using a structure called reduced complexity PS-MMSEC (RPS-MMSEC). The adaptive implementation of these receivers yields a superior rate of convergence and symbol error rate performance in comparison to a conventional MMSEC receiver with known timing. All the above receiver structures are for a single-rate MC-CDMA. Three novel multi-rate access schemes for multi-rate MC-CDMA, fixed spreading length (FSL), coded FSL (CFSL) and variable spreading length (VSL), have been developed. These multi-rate access schemes enable users to transmit information at different data rates in one MC-CDMA system. Hence, voice, data, image and video can be transmitted seamlessly through a wireless infrastructure. The bit error rate performance of these schemes is investigated for both low-rate and high-rate users

Potential of Core-Collapse Supernova Neutrino Detection at JUNO

JUNO is an underground neutrino observatory under construction in Jiangmen, China. It uses 20kton liquid scintillator as target, which enables it to detect supernova burst neutrinos of a large statistics for the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) and also pre-supernova neutrinos from the nearby CCSN progenitors. All flavors of supernova burst neutrinos can be detected by JUNO via several interaction channels, including inverse beta decay, elastic scattering on electron and proton, interactions on C12 nuclei, etc. This retains the possibility for JUNO to reconstruct the energy spectra of supernova burst neutrinos of all flavors. The real time monitoring systems based on FPGA and DAQ are under development in JUNO, which allow prompt alert and trigger-less data acquisition of CCSN events. The alert performances of both monitoring systems have been thoroughly studied using simulations. Moreover, once a CCSN is tagged, the system can give fast characterizations, such as directionality and light curve

Detection of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with JUNO

As an underground multi-purpose neutrino detector with 20 kton liquid scintillator, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is competitive with and complementary to the water-Cherenkov detectors on the search for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Typical supernova models predict 2-4 events per year within the optimal observation window in the JUNO detector. The dominant background is from the neutral-current (NC) interaction of atmospheric neutrinos with 12C nuclei, which surpasses the DSNB by more than one order of magnitude. We evaluated the systematic uncertainty of NC background from the spread of a variety of data-driven models and further developed a method to determine NC background within 15\% with {\it{in}} {\it{situ}} measurements after ten years of running. Besides, the NC-like backgrounds can be effectively suppressed by the intrinsic pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities of liquid scintillators. In this talk, I will present in detail the improvements on NC background uncertainty evaluation, PSD discriminator development, and finally, the potential of DSNB sensitivity in JUNO

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

Core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Joint inventory and transshipment decisions with consumer behavioral heterogeneity

Transshipment is an effective method for reducing mismatches between supply and demand among retailers. Consumers attempting to purchase out-of-stock items may wait for transshipment, purchase at another store, or choose not to buy. In this paper, the consumer behavioral heterogeneity is characterized using the transshipment request rate and consumer switching rate. It affects the replenishment and transshipment decisions, as well as the system profits. The inventory replenishment and transshipment decisions are studied in both centralized and decentralized two-location inventory systems with consumer behavioral heterogeneity. We characterize optimal replenishment decisions in a centralized system, prove the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium in a decentralized system with a specific demand distribution, and determine the coordinating transshipment price for some decentralized systems. In numerical studies, the performance of various systems is analyzed for consumers with identical (symmetric) or differing (asymmetric) behavior between retailers. For scenarios with symmetric consumers, a higher transshipment request rate and consumer switching rate resulted in increased total profit in all systems. For scenarios with asymmetric consumers, the retailer with the higher consumer switching rate should reduce ordering in a centralized system but increase ordering in a decentralized system. Moreover, the retailer with the higher transshipment request rate reduces ordering to increase profit, whereas the other retailer increases order quantity yet earns less profit

N, S and Transition-Metal Co-Doped Graphene Nanocomposites as High-Performance Catalyst for Glucose Oxidation in a Direct Glucose Alkaline Fuel Cell

In this work, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites doped with nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and transitional metal (Ni, Co, Fe) were synthesized by using a simple one-step in-situ hydrothermal approach. Electrochemical characterization showed that rGO-NS-Ni was the most prominent catalyst for glucose oxidation. The current density of the direct glucose alkaline fuel cell (DGAFC) with rGO-NS-Ni as the anode catalyst reached 148.0 mA/cm2, which was 40.82% higher than the blank group. The DGAFC exhibited a maximum power density of 48 W/m2, which was more than 2.08 folds than that of blank group. The catalyst was further characterized by SEM, XPS and Raman. It was speculated that the boosted performance was due to the synergistic effect of N, S-doped rGO and the metallic redox couples, (Ni2+/Ni3+, Co2+/Co3+ and Fe2+/Fe3+), which created more active sites and accelerated electron transfer. This research can provide insights for the development of environmental benign catalysts and promote the application of the DGAFCs

Graphene-Based Membranes for Water Desalination: A Literature Review and Content Analysis

Graphene-based membranes have unique nanochannels and can offer advantageous properties for the water desalination process. Although tremendous efforts have been devoted to heightening membrane performance and broadening their application, there is still lack of a systematic literature review on the development and future directions of graphene-based membranes for desalination. In this mini-review, literature published between 2011 and 2022 were analyzed by using the bibliometric method. We found that the major contributors to these publications and the highest citations were from China and the USA. Nearly 80% of author keywords in this analysis were used less than twice, showing the broad interest and great dispersion in this field. The recent advances, remaining gaps, and strategies for future research, were discussed. The development of new multifunctional nanocomposite materials, heat-driven/solar-driven seawater desalination, and large-scale industrial applications, will be important research directions in the future. This literature analysis summarized the recent development of the graphene-based membranes for desalination application, and will be useful for researchers in gaining new insights into this field