Fully-Diverse Multiple-Antenna Signal Constellations and Fixed-Point-Free Lie Groups


Babak Hassibi    Mohammad Khorrami


Abstract: A group of unitary matrices is called fixed-point-free (fpf) if all non-identity elements of the group have no eigenvalues at unity. Such groups are useful in multiple-antenna communications, especially in multiple-antenna differential modulation, since they constitute a fully-diverse constellation. In a previous work, all finite fpf groups were classified. In this note we consider infinite groups and, in particular, their most interesting case, Lie groups. Two such fpf Lie groups are currently widely used in communications: the group of unit modulus scalars, from which various phase modulation schemes, such as QPSK, are derived, and the 2x2 orthogonal designs of Alamouti, on which many two-transmit-antenna schemes are based. In Lie-group-theoretic jargon these are referred to as U(1) and SU(2). A natural question is whether there exist other fpf Lie groups. We answer this question in the negative: U(1) and SU(2) are all there are.

Status: Technical Memorandum, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies. Submitted to IEEE Trans. Info. Theory.

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Bert Hochwald<hochwald@lucent.com>