In this paper, we introduce an efficient method for the joint linear-programming (LP) decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and finite-state channels (FSCs). In particular, we extend the approach of iterative approximate LP decoding proposed by Vontobel and Koetter and further analyzed by Burshtein. By taking advantage of the dual-domain structure of the joint decoding LP, we obtain a convergent iterative algorithm for joint decoding. Our intent was to find an algorithm very similar to BCJR-based turbo equalization (TE) and it seems that we have succeeded in this respect. The result is an iterative solver for the joint decoding LP whose complexity is similar to TE but whose performance is similar to joint LP decoding. The main advantage of this decoder is that it appears to provide the predictability of joint LP decoding with the computational complexity of TE.
In this paper, we introduce an efficient method for the joint linear-programming (LP) decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and finite-state channels (FSCs). In particular, we extend the approach of iterative approximate LP decoding proposed by Vontobel and Koetter and further analyzed by Burshtein. By taking advantage of the dual-domain structure of the joint decoding LP, we obtain a convergent iterative algorithm for joint decoding. Our intent was to find an algorithm very similar to BCJR-based turbo equalization (TE) and it seems that we have succeeded in this respect. The result is an iterative solver for the joint decoding LP whose complexity is similar to TE but whose performance is similar to joint LP decoding. The main advantage of this decoder is that it appears to provide the predictability of joint LP decoding with the computational complexity of TE.
This paper considers the joint-decoding problem for finite-state channels (FSCs) and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. In the first part, the linear-programming (LP) decoder for binary linear codes is extended to perform joint-decoding of binary-input FSCs. In particular, we provide a rigorous definition of LP joint-decoding pseudo-codewords (JD-PCWs) that enables evaluation of the pairwise error probability between codewords and JD-PCWs in AWGN. This leads naturally to a provable upper bound on decoder failure probability. If the channel is a finite-state intersymbol interference channel, then the joint LP decoder also has the maximum-likelihood (ML) certificate property and all integer-valued solutions are codewords. In this case, the performance loss relative to ML decoding can be explained completely by fractional-valued JD-PCWs. After deriving these results, we discovered some elements were equivalent to earlier work by Flanagan on linear-programming receivers. In the second part, we develop an efficient iterative solver for the joint LP decoder discussed in the first part. In particular, we extend the approach of iterative approximate LP decoding, proposed by Vontobel and Koetter and analyzed by Burshtein, to this problem. By taking advantage of the dual-domain structure of the joint-decoding LP, we obtain a convergent iterative algorithm for joint LP decoding whose structure is similar to BCJR-based turbo equalization (TE). The result is a joint iterative decoder whose per-iteration complexity is similar to that of TE but whose performance is similar to that of joint LP decoding. The main advantage of this decoder is that it appears to provide the predictability and superior performance of joint LP decoding with the computational complexity of TE. One expected application is coding for magnetic storage where the required block-error rate is extremely low and system performance is difficult to verify by simulation.
The problem of low complexity linear programming (LP) decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes is considered. An iterative algorithm, similar to min-sum and belief propagation, for efficient approximate solution of this problem was proposed by Vontobel and Koetter. In this paper, the convergence rate and computational complexity of this algorithm are studied using a scheduling scheme that we propose. In particular, we are interested in obtaining a feasible vector in the LP decoding problem that is close to optimal in the following sense. The distance, normalized by the block length, between the minimum and the objective function value of this approximate solution can be made arbitrarily small. It is shown that such a feasible vector can be obtained with a computational complexity which scales linearly with the block length. Combined with previous results that have shown that the LP decoder can correct some fixed fraction of errors we conclude that this error correction can be achieved with linear computational complexity. This is achieved by first applying the iterative LP decoder that decodes the correct transmitted codeword up to an arbitrarily small fraction of erroneous bits, and then correcting the remaining errors using some standard method. These conclusions are also extended to generalized LDPC codes.
The problem of low complexity linear programming (LP) decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes is considered. An iterative algorithm for efficient approximate solution of this problem was proposed by Vontobel and Koetter. In this paper the convergence rate and computational complexity of this algorithm are studied. In particular we are interested in obtaining a feasible vector in the LP decoding problem, with objective function value whose distance to the minimum, normalized by the block length, can be made arbitrarily small. It is shown that such a feasible vector can be obtained in linear, in the block length, computational complexity. Combined with previous results, that have shown that the LP decoder can correct some fixed fraction of errors, we conclude that this error correction can be achieved with linear computational complexity.
The iterative algorithm, for low complexity linear programming (LP) decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, proposed by Vontobel and Koetter, is considered. In this paper the convergence rate and computational complexity of this algorithm are studied using a scheduling scheme that we propose. In particular we are interested in obtaining a feasible vector in the LP decoding problem, with objective function value whose distance to the minimum, normalized by the block length, can be made arbitrarily small. It is shown that such a feasible vector can be obtained with linear, in the block length, computational complexity. Improved bounds on the convergence rate are also presented. The results extend to generalized LDPC (GLDPC) codes. It is also shown that previous results for LDPC and GLDPC codes, on the ability of the LP decoder to correct some fixed fraction of errors, hold with linear computational complexity when using the approximate iterative LP decoder.
The problem of low-complexity linear programming (LP) decoding of nonbinary low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes is considered, and an iterative LP decoding algorithm is presented. Results that were previously derived for binary LDPC codes are extended to the nonbinary case. Both simple and generalized nonbinary LDPC codes are considered. It is shown how the algorithm can be implemented efficiently using a finite-field fast Fourier transform. Then, the convergence rate of the algorithm is analyzed. The complexity of the algorithm scales linearly in the block length, and it can approximate, up to an arbitrarily small relative error, the objective function of the exact LP solution. When applied to a typical code from an appropriate nonbinary LDPC code ensemble, the algorithm can correct a constant fraction of errors in linear (in the block length) computational complexity. Computer experiments with the new iterative LP decoding algorithm show that, in the error floor region, it can have better performance compared to belief propagation decoding, with similar computational requirements.
Linear Programming (LP) decoding of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes has attracted much attention in the research community in the past few years. LP decoding has been derived for binary and nonbinary linear codes. However, the most important problem with LP decoding for both binary and nonbinary linear codes is that the complexity of standard LP solvers such as the simplex algorithm remains prohibitively large for codes of moderate to large block length. To address this problem, two low-complexity LP (LCLP) decoding algorithms for binary linear codes have been proposed by Vontobel and Koetter, henceforth called the basic LCLP decoding algorithm and the subgradient LCLP decoding algorithm. In this paper, we generalize these LCLP decoding algorithms to nonbinary linear codes. The computational complexity per iteration of the proposed nonbinary LCLP decoding algorithms scales linearly with the block length of the code. A modified BCJR algorithm for efficient check-node calculations in the nonbinary basic LCLP decoding algorithm is also proposed, which has complexity linear in the check node degree. Several simulation results are presented for nonbinary LDPC codes defined over Z4, GF(4), and GF(8) using quaternary phase-shift keying and 8-phase-shift keying, respectively, over the AWGN channel. It is shown that for some group-structured LDPC codes, the error-correcting performance of the nonbinary LCLP decoding algorithms is similar to or better than that of the min-sum decoding algorithm.