High Information Rate Research Articles

Multiple Access Performance of Balanced UWB Transmitted-Reference Systems in Multipath

Recently, a novel balanced transmitted-reference (TR) system has been proposed for UWB communications. This TR system is capable of properly eliminating the inter-pulse interference (IPI) between the reference and data pulses in a single user multipath environment. In this paper, we investigate its multiple access (MA) performance by evaluating the second- order moments of noise and interference terms. The analytical framework developed here can also be used to accurately evaluate the MA performance of conventional TR system. It is shown that the proposed balanced TR system can achieve comparable MA capacity as conventional TR, while operating at higher information rate. On the other hand, given a target information rate, the balanced TR system in conjunction with <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">M</i> -ary signaling offers higher MA capacity than conventional TR system. The performance results suggest there exists a trade-off between the inter-pulse distance, thus the achievable information rate, and the MA capacity.

Efficient processing of acoustic signals for high-rate information transmission over sparse underwater channels

For underwater acoustic channels where multipath spread is measured in tens of symbol intervals at high transmission rates, multichannel equalization required for bandwidth-efficient communications may become prohibitively complex for real-time implementation. To reduce computational complexity of signal processing and improve performance of data detection, receiver structures that are matched to the physical channel characteristics are investigated. A decision-feedback equalizer is designed which relies on an adaptive channel estimator to compute its parameters. The channel estimate is reduced in size by selecting only the significant components, whose delay span is often much shorter than the multipath spread of the channel. Optimal coefficient selection (sparsing) is performed by truncation in magnitude. This estimate is used to cancel the post-cursor ISI prior to linear equalization. Spatial diversity gain is achieved by a reduced-complexity pre-combining method which eliminates the need for a separate channel estimator/equalizer for each array element. The advantages of this approach are reduction in the number of receiver parameters, optimal implementation of sparse feedback, and efficient parallel implementation of adaptive algorithms for the pre-combiner, the fractionally-spaced channel estimators and the short feedforward equalizer filters. Receiver algorithm is applied to real data transmitted at 10 kbps over 3 km in shallow water, showing excellent results.

Test Method for Measuring Bit Error Rate of Pulsed Transceivers in Presence of Narrowband Interferers

The popularity of pulse-based transceivers can be attributed to the high information rates that can be achieved in such systems compared to traditional narrowband systems. However, such systems are usually low-power and transmission efficiency is severely affected by the interference signals from other moderate to high-power narrowband transmitters. Hence, during manufacturing, pulse-based systems must be characterized and tested for bit error rate (BER) performance in the presence of narrowband interferers. Usually, at large interference levels, the BER is moderate (10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-4</sup> ) to high (10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-2</sup> ). However, at low interference levels when very few bits are in error, the BER is low (10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-6</sup> - 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-10</sup> ) and testing for the BER becomes time consuming. We propose a new measurement technique employing sinusoidal pulses such that the BER value obtained is significantly large (10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-3</sup> - 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-4</sup> ) even at low interference levels. BER values obtained using sinusoidal pulses are highly correlated to the actual BER values. Hence, the actual BER can be accurately estimated in a much smaller time without actually performing the standard test. This method was implemented in hardware using an Altera field-programmable gate-array development board. From the measurements, BER estimation error was less than 3%. In addition, significant reduction (up to 100 x) in test time was obtained using the proposed method.

The costs of axonal communication

Previously we evaluated the metabolic cost inherent in action potential velocity and found squid sodium channel density to be at an energy-efficient, optimal level [1]. However, in addition to velocity it is sensible to conjecture that metabolic energy must also pay for information transmission. Indeed Levy and Baxter [2] used an optimization perspective that demonstrated the average firing rate of forebrain cortical neurons corresponds to an optimized value of bits per unit of metabolic energy. These two distinct optimizations force us to ask: (1) Are these two optimizations distinct, and (2) how – in the biophysical sense – has Nature (natural selection) addressed these two optimizations. The key insight, which can be seen in [3], is that a substantial fraction of metabolic energy must be devoted to ion fluxes that seem to do nothing. Specifically, the overlapping sodium and potassium currents are neutralizing but the ion fluxes themselves must, eventually, be reversed by the Na-K ATPase pump. We will present biophysical simulations showing that velocity and the energy devoted to velocity can be separated from the energy devoted to information. At the heart of this answer is the presumed ability of Nature to evolve voltage-dependent potassium channels with a range of possible onset delays and the possibility of action potentials that need little if any voltage-dependent potassium channels. When we create a variable artificial delay of potassium channel activation, we affect both the information rate and the metabolic costs with little or no effect on velocity or its cost. In particular, by altering the delay of the voltage-dependent potassium conductance, we alter the neutralized currents without altering the sodium current of the wave front. Thus nature can independently evolve signalling systems that pay for velocity and independently pay for information. The cost of higher information rates is an increasing function of neutralized currents. Thus we conclude the two optimizations are separately evolvable and it is easy to identify distinct examples in nature.

Broadband multicarrier communication receiver based on analog to digital conversion in the frequency domain

This paper introduces a multicarrier communication receiver for broadband applications based on analog to digital conversion (ADC) of the received signal in the frequency domain. The samples of the spectrum of the received signal are used in the digital receiver to estimate the transmitted symbols through a matched filter operation in the discrete frequency domain. The proposed receiver is aimed at the reception of high information rates in a multicarrier signal with very large bandwidth. Thus, the receiver architecture provides a solution to some of the challenging problems found in the implementation of conventional wideband multicarrier receivers based on time-domain ADC, since It efficiently parallelizes the A/D conversion reducing the sampling speed requirements. We show that the sampling rate requirements are relaxed as the number of frequency samples is increased, which introduces a trade-off between complexity and sampling rate. The new receiver possesses additional advantages, including scalability with increasing frequency samples, the possibility of optimally allocating the available number of bits for the ATD conversion across the frequency domain samples which potentially reduces the distortion introduced by the high-speed ADC, narrowband interference suppression that can be directly carried out in the frequency domain, and inherent robustness to frequency offset which makes it an attractive solution when compared with traditional multicarrier receivers. We also investigate how the proposed receiver responds to common multicarrier communication receiver problems such as phase noise and channel frequency selectivity.

Coherent-state quantum key distribution without random basis switching

The random switching of measurement bases is commonly assumed to be a necessary step of quantum key distribution protocols. In this paper we show that switching is not required for coherent state continuous variable quantum key distribution. We show this via the no-switching protocol which results in higher information rates and a simpler experimental setup. We propose an optimal eavesdropping attack against this protocol, for individual Gaussian attacks, and we investigate and compare the no-switching protocol applied to the original BB84 scheme.

Spike-Timing Precision Underlies the Coding Efficiency of Auditory Receptor Neurons

Sensory systems must translate incoming signals quickly and reliably so that an animal can act successfully in its environment. Even at the level of receptor neurons, however, functional aspects of the sensory encoding process are not yet fully understood. Specifically, this concerns the question how stimulus features and neural response characteristics lead to an efficient transmission of sensory information. To address this issue, we have recorded and analyzed spike trains from grasshopper auditory receptors, while systematically varying the stimulus statistics. The stimulus variations profoundly influenced the efficiency of neural encoding. This influence was largely attributable to the presence of specific stimulus features that triggered remarkably precise spikes whose trial-to-trial timing variability was as low as 0.15 ms--one order of magnitude shorter than typical stimulus time scales. Precise spikes decreased the noise entropy of the spike trains, thereby increasing the rate of information transmission. In contrast, the total spike train entropy, which quantifies the variety of different spike train patterns, hardly changed when stimulus conditions were altered, as long as the neural firing rate remained the same. This finding shows that stimulus distributions that were transmitted with high information rates did not invoke additional response patterns, but instead displayed exceptional temporal precision in their neural representation. The acoustic stimuli that led to the highest information rates and smallest spike-time jitter feature pronounced sound-pressure deflections lasting for 2-3 ms. These upstrokes are reminiscent of salient structures found in natural grasshopper communication signals, suggesting that precise spikes selectively encode particularly important aspects of the natural stimulus environment.

Information Rates Achievable With Algebraic Codes on Quantum Discrete Memoryless Channels

The highest information rate at which quantum error-correction schemes work reliably on a channel is called the quantum capacity. Here this is proven to be lower-bounded by the limit of coherent information maximized over the set of input density operators which are proportional to the projections onto the code spaces of symplectic stabilizer codes. The quantum channels to be considered are those subject to independent errors and modeled as tensor products of copies of a completely positive linear map on a Hilbert space of finite dimension. The codes that are proven to have the desired performance are symplectic stabilizer codes. On the depolarizing channel, the bound proven here is actually the highest possible rate at which symplectic stabilizer codes work reliably

Strategies for real-time position control of a single atom in cavity QED

Recent realizations of single-atom trapping and tracking in cavity QED open the door for feedback schemes which actively stabilize the motion of a single atom in real time. We present feedback algorithms for cooling the radial component of motion for a single atom trapped by strong coupling to single-photon fields in an optical cavity. Performance of various algorithms is studied through simulations of single-atom trajectories, with full dynamical and measurement noise included. Closed loop feedback algorithms compare favorably to open-loop "switching" analogs, demonstrating the importance of applying actual position information in real time. The high optical information rate in current experiments enables real-time tracking that approaches the standard quantum limit for broadband position measurements, suggesting that realistic active feedback schemes may reach a regime where measurement backaction appreciably alters the motional dynamics.

Matched Information Rate Codes for Partial Response Channels

In this paper, we design capacity-approaching codes for partial response channels. The codes are constructed as concatenations of inner trellis codes and outer low-density parity- check (LDPC) codes. Unlike previous constructions of trellis codes for partial response channels, we disregard any algebraic properties (e.g., the minimum distance or the run-length limit) in our design of the trellis code. Our design is purely probabilistic in that we construct the inner trellis code to mimic the transition probabilities of a Markov process that achieves a high (capacity-approaching) information rate. Hence, we name it a matched information rate (MIR) design. We provide a set of five design rules for constructions of capacity-approaching MIR inner trellis codes. We optimize the outer LDPC code using density evolution tools specially modified to fit the superchannel consisting of the inner MIR trellis code concatenated with the partial response channel. Using this strategy, we design degree sequences of irregular LDPC codes whose noise tolerance thresholds are only fractions of a decibel away from the capacity. Examples of code constructions are shown for channels both with and without spectral nulls.

Modulation power and phase spectrum of natural sounds enhance neural encoding performed by single auditory neurons.

We examined the neural encoding of synthetic and natural sounds by single neurons in the auditory system of male zebra finches by estimating the mutual information in the time-varying mean firing rate of the neuronal response. Using a novel parametric method for estimating mutual information with limited data, we tested the hypothesis that song and song-like synthetic sounds would be preferentially encoded relative to other complex, but non-song-like synthetic sounds. To test this hypothesis, we designed two synthetic stimuli: synthetic songs that matched the power of spectral-temporal modulations but lacked the modulation phase structure of zebra finch song and noise with uniform band-limited spectral-temporal modulations. By defining neural selectivity as relative mutual information, we found that the auditory system of songbirds showed selectivity for song-like sounds. This selectivity increased in a hierarchical manner along ascending processing stages in the auditory system. Midbrain neurons responded with highest information rates and efficiency to synthetic songs and thus were selective for the spectral-temporal modulations of song. Primary forebrain neurons showed increased information to zebra finch song and synthetic song equally over noise stimuli. Secondary forebrain neurons responded with the highest information to zebra finch song relative to other stimuli and thus were selective for its specific modulation phase relationships. We also assessed the relative contribution of three response properties to this selectivity: (1) spiking reliability, (2) rate distribution entropy, and (3) bandwidth. We found that rate distribution and bandwidth but not reliability were responsible for the higher average information rates found for song-like sounds.

Quantifying information rate increase by constrained codes for recording channels with media noise

The achievable information rates for magnetic recording channels with media noise, when constrained codes are employed, are computed. It is shown that higher information rates can be achieved by using specific constrained codes compared to the unconstrained system with independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) equiprobable binary inputs. The results are compared with the optimised information rates of such channels over general Markov inputs.

MMSE‐based groupwise successive interference cancellation scheme for multirate CDMA systems

AbstractIn this work, group‐wise successive interference cancellation (GSIC) scheme for multi‐rate CDMA systems is proposed. A multi‐rate CDMA system is a CDMA system that can support voice users together with data users which may have different data rates. In the proposed group‐wise detection, users with the same information rate are grouped and detected together. Users with the highest information rate are detected first, neglecting the presence of the other users in the system. Interference between the groups is cancelled in a successive order. The proposed scheme is based on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion. We also studied the decision feedback interference cancellation for multi‐rate CDMA systems. The performance of the proposed detection scheme is compared with that of conventional detector, the decorrelating detector, and the linear MMSE detector for multi‐rate CDMA systems. The proposed scheme achieves better performance than the above‐mentioned detectors. The proposed scheme also provides significantly high spectral efficiency under certain conditions. The algorithms in the proposed scheme are suitable for both terrestrial and satellite applications of multi‐rate CDMA systems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Variations in photoreceptor response dynamics across the fly retina.

Gradients in the spatial properties of retinal cells and their relation to image statistics are well documented. However, less is known of gradients in temporal properties, especially at the level of the photoreceptor for which no account exists. Using light flashes and white-noise-modulated light and current stimuli, we examined the spatial and temporal properties of a single class of photoreceptor (R1-6) within the compound eyes of male blowfly, Calliphora vicina. We find that there is a trend toward higher performance at the front of the eye, both in terms of spatiotemporal resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. The receptive fields of frontal photoreceptors are narrower than those of photoreceptors at the side and back of the eye and response speeds are 20% faster. The signal-to-noise ratio at high frequencies is also greatest at the front of the eye, allowing a 30-40% higher information rate. The power spectra of signals and noise indicate that this elevation of performance results both from shorter responses to individual photons and from a more reliable registration of photon arrival times. These distinctions are characteristic of adaptational changes that normally occur on increasing illumination. However, all photoreceptors were absorbing light at approximately the same mean photon rate during our recordings. We therefore suggest that frontal photoreceptors attain a higher state of light adaptation for a given photon rate. This difference may be achieved by a higher density of (Ca2+ permeable) light-gated channels. Consistent with this hypothesis, membrane-impedance measurements show that frontal photoreceptors have a higher specific conductance than other photoreceptors. This higher conductance provides a better temporal performance but is metabolically expensive. Across the eye, temporal resolution is not proportional to spatial (optical) resolution. Neither is it matched obviously to optic flow. Instead we examine the consequences of an improved temporal resolution in the frontal region for the tracking of small moving targets, a behavior exhibited by male flies. We conclude that the temporal properties of a given class of retinal neuron can vary within a single retina and that this variation may be functionally related to the behavioral requirements of the animal.

Optimum discrete-power adaptive QAM scheme for Rayleigh fading channels

In this letter, the utilization of a finite number of power levels per constellation in adaptive QAM schemes for flat fading channels is analyzed. Assuming a maximum target BER, the optimum switching thresholds in order to maximize the spectral efficiency are found for Rayleigh fading. Both analysis and simulation results show that a small number of power levels per constellation allows to obtain a good compromise between high spectral efficiency and low feedback information rate.

On systematic single asymmetric error-correcting codes

Summary form only given. In the asymmetric channel it is assumed that the transmitted binary sequence may suffer errors of one type only, say 1/spl rarr/0; the 0/spl rarr/1 errors are rare. Since errors are of one type they are called asymmetric errors as opposed to symmetric errors in which both 1/spl rarr/0 and 0/spl rarr/1 are expectable. Obviously, any symmetric error correcting code is also an asymmetric error correcting code. One would expect to obtain systematic asymmetric error correcting codes that have higher information rate than the symmetric ones; however, this is mostly not the case. We show in this paper that for any code dimension n (except for n=2/sup r/ and n=2/sup r/1 where r is a positive integer) the systematic asymmetric error correcting codes are not better than the symmetric codes.

10.1162/jmlr.2003.4.7-8.1471

We present a domain-independent ICA-based approach to watermarking. This approach can be used on images, music or video to embed either a robust or fragile watermark.In the case of robust watermarking, the method shows high information rate and robustness against malicious and non-malicious attacks, while keeping a low induced distortion. The fragile watermarking scheme, on the other hand, shows high sensitivity to tampering attempts while keeping the requirement for high information rate and low distortion. The improved performance is achieved by employing a set of statistically independent sources (the independent components) as the feature space and principled statistical decoding methods. The performance of the suggested method is compared to other state of the art approaches. The paper focuses on applying the method to digitized images although the same approach can be used for other media, such as music or video.

Performance Comparison of Various Multicode Modulation Schemes forHigh-Rate Wireless Data Transmission

Multicode modulation is a modulation technique which can allow transmission of high-speed data over wireless links. The basic idea behind this method is that high-rate information bits are converted to parallel low-rate bit streams in order to make the transmitted signal less sensitive to time delay spread. Each low-rate bits is then modulated by a code, which is a combination of orthogonal codes and spreading sequences, on a single carrier. In this paper, we investigate the use of various combination of orthogonal codes and signature sequences in multicode modulation and propose a low-complexity receiver structure which uses Fast Walsh Transform or Fast Fourier Transform. To further improve system performance, we consider the use of antenna diversity, interleaving, and convolutional coding. Sample numerical results which illustrate the potential of multicode modulation over multipath Rayleigh fading links will also be presented.

Asymmetric/unidirectional error correcting and detecting codes

Introduces the theory and design of codes that correct t asymmetric errors and simultaneously detect d(d>t) asymmetric errors (t-AEC/d-AED). These codes have a much higher information rate than symmetric error correcting/detecting codes and yet maintain the same encoding and decoding complexity as existing error correcting codes. They are suited for asymmetric channels such as digital transmission over optical fiber or metallic cable and recording of data on optical disks. The authors also improve the design of the best-known t-EC/AUED (t symmetric error correcting and all unidirectional error detecting) codes and t-EC/d-UED (t symmetric error correcting and d unidirectional error detecting) codes.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Bits and brains: Information flow in the nervous system

Until recently there have been no convincing quantitative measurements on the rates of information transmission in real neurons. Here we review the theoretical basis for making such measurements, together with the data which demonstrate remarkably high information rates in a variety of systems. In fact these rates are within a factor of two of the absolute physical limits set by the entropy of neural spike trains. Theses observations lead to sharp theoretical questions about the structure of the code and the strategy for adapting the code to different ensembles of input signals.