Statistical approach using phase variance for analysing correlated multipath fading environment

Abstract

In this study, the authors present an infinite-series-based approach for the performance analysis of n-diversity receivers operating over Rayleigh correlated fading channels in the presence of correlated phase difference. The performance analysis is based on error probability and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) criteria. The authors propose a model to investigate the impact of phase difference between n-correlated Rayleigh fading channels. We have derived the closed form expression for phase distribution in a Rayleigh fading environment with the help of some statistical properties. The authors have also derived the joint density function of phase difference and its associated correlated envelopes. With the help of probability distribution function, the authors have observed two cases of equally spaced and loosely spaced antennas and showed that imperfect phase estimation lowers the SNR. The authors also present statistical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed approximation to predict the variance of the phase difference. The authors have performed Monte Carlo simulation for a subcarrier-based spectrum to analyse error probability with respect to phase and correlation.