Perfect Output Feedback in the Two-User Decentralized Interference Channel

Abstract

In this paper, the $\eta $ -Nash equilibrium ( $\eta $ -NE) region of the two-user Gaussian interference channel (IC) with perfect output feedback is approximated to within 1 bit/s/Hz and $\eta $ arbitrarily close to 1 bit/s/Hz. The relevance of the $\eta $ -NE region is that it provides the set of rate pairs that are achievable and stable in the IC when both transmitter–receiver pairs autonomously tune their own transmit–receive configurations seeking an $\eta $ -optimal individual transmission rate. Therefore, any rate tuple outside the $\eta $ -NE region is not stable as there always exists one link able to increase by at least $\eta $ bits/s/Hz its own transmission rate by updating its own transmit–receive configuration. The main insights that arise from this paper are as follows. First, the $\eta $ -NE region achieved with feedback is larger than or equal to the $\eta $ -NE region without feedback. More importantly, for each rate pair achievable at an $\eta $ -NE without feedback, there exists at least one rate pair achievable at an $\eta $ -NE with feedback that is weakly Pareto superior. Second, there always exists an $\eta $ -NE transmit–receive configuration that achieves a rate pair that is at most 1 bit/s/Hz per user away from the outer bound of the capacity region.