This paper presents a unifying framework to construct low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with associated Tanner graphs of desired girth. Towards this goal, we highlight the role that a certain square matrix that appears in the product of the parity-check matrix with its transpose has in the construction of codes with graphs of desired girth and further explore it in order to generate the set of necessary and sufficient conditions for a Tanner graph to have a given girth between 6 and 12. For each such girth, we present algorithms to construct codes of the desired girth and we show how to use them to compute the minimum necessary value of the lifting factor. For girth larger than 12, we show how to use multi-step graph lifting methods to deterministically modify codes in order to increase their girth. We also give a new perspective on LDPC protograph-based parity-check matrices by viewing them as rows of a parity-check matrix equal to the sum of certain permutation matrices and obtain an important connection between all protographs and those with variable nodes of degree 2. We also show that the results and methodology that we develop for the all-one protograph can be used and adapted to analyze the girth of the Tanner graph of any parity-check matrix and demonstrate how this can be done using a well-known irregular, multi-edge protograph specified by the NASA Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). Throughout the paper, we exemplify our theoretical results with constructions of LDPC codes with Tanner graphs of any girth between 6 and 14 and give sufficient conditions for a multi-step lifted parity-check matrix to have girth between 14 and 22.
This paper presents a unifying framework to construct low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with associated Tanner graphs of desired girth. Towards this goal, we highlight the role that a certain square matrix that appears in the product of the parity-check matrix with its transpose has in the construction of codes with graphs of desired girth and further explore it in order to generate the set of necessary and sufficient conditions for a Tanner graph to have a given girth between 6 and 12. For each such girth, we present algorithms to construct codes of the desired girth and we show how to use them to compute the minimum necessary value of the lifting factor. For girth larger than 12, we show how to use multi-step graph lifting methods to deterministically modify codes in order to increase their girth. We also give a new perspective on LDPC protograph-based parity-check matrices by viewing them as rows of a parity-check matrix equal to the sum of certain permutation matrices and obtain an important connection between all protographs and those with variable nodes of degree 2. We also show that the results and methodology that we develop for the all-one protograph can be used and adapted to analyze the girth of the Tanner graph of any parity-check matrix and demonstrate how this can be done using a well-known irregular, multi-edge protograph specified by the NASA Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). Throughout the paper, we exemplify our theoretical results with constructions of LDPC codes with Tanner graphs of any girth between 6 and 14 and give sufficient conditions for a multi-step lifted parity-check matrix to have girth between 14 and 22.
This paper gives necessary and sufficient conditions for the Tanner graph of a quasi-cyclic (QC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code based on the all-one protograph to have girth 6, 8, 10, and 12, respectively, in the case of parity-check matrices with column weight 4. These results are a natural extension of the girth results of the already-studied cases of column weight 2 and 3, and it is based on the connection between the girth of a Tanner graph given by a parity-check matrix and the properties of powers of the product between the matrix and its transpose. The girth conditions can be easily incorporated into fast algorithms that construct codes of desired girth between 6 and 12; our own algorithms are presented for each girth, together with constructions obtained from them and corresponding computer simulations. More importantly, this paper emphasizes how the girth conditions of the Tanner graph corresponding to a parity-check matrix composed of circulants relate to the matrix obtained by adding (over the integers) the circulant columns of the parity-check matrix. In particular, we show that imposing girth conditions on a parity-check matrix is equivalent to imposing conditions on a square circulant submatrix obtained from it.
This paper revisits the connection between the girth of a protograph-based LDPC code given by a parity-check matrix and the properties of powers of the product between the matrix and its transpose in order to obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions for a code to have given girth between 6 and 12, and to show how these conditions can be incorporated into simple algorithms to construct codes of that girth. To this end, we highlight the role that certain submatrices that appear in these products have in the construction of codes of desired girth. In particular, we show that imposing girth conditions on a parity-check matrix is equivalent to imposing conditions on a square submatrix obtained from it and we show how this equivalence is particularly strong for a protograph based parity-check matrix of variable node degree 2, where the cycles in its Tanner graph correspond one-to-one to the cycles in the Tanner graph of a square submatrix obtained by adding the permutation matrices (or products of these) in the composition of the parity-check matrix. We end the paper with exemplary constructions of codes with various girths and computer simulations. Although, we mostly assume the case of fully connected protographs of variable node degree 2 and 3, the results can be used for any parity-check matrix/protograph-based Tanner graph.
In this paper, we study the relationships between the girth of the Tanner graph of a quasi-cyclic (QC) protograph low-density parity-check (LDPC) code, the lifting degree, and the size and the structure of the base graph. As a result, for a given base graph, we derive a lower bound on the lifting degree as a necessary condition for the lifted graph to have a certain girth. This also provides an upper bound on the girth of the family of graphs lifted from a given base graph with a given lifting degree. The upper bounds derived here, which are applicable to both regular and irregular base graphs with no parallel edges, are in some cases more general and in some other cases tighter than the existing bounds. The results presented in this work can be used to design cyclic liftings with relatively small degree and relatively large girth. As an example, we present new QC protograph LDPC code constructions with girth 8 using fully connected base graphs. These constructions provide upper bounds on the lifting degree required for achieving girth 8 using fully connected base graphs.
In this paper, we study the relationships between the girth of the Tanner graph of a quasi cyclic (QC) protograph low-density parity-check (LDPC) code, on one hand, and the lifting degree and the size and the structure of the base graph, on the other hand. As a result, for a given base graph and a given lifting degree, we derive an upper bound on the girth of the resulting lifted graphs (codes). The upper bounds derived here are generally tighter than the existing bounds. The results presented in this work can be used to select an appropriate lifting degree for a given base graph, in order to have a desired girth, or to provide some insight in designing good base graphs, or to properly select the base graph's edge permutations.
This article presents a highly flexible method for constructing high-girth quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes. The proposed algorithm constructs a Tanner graph formed by connecting groups of rows (check nodes) and columns (variable nodes) of the constructed code. To obtain a sub-matrix structure, rows and columns are divided into groups of equal sizes. Rows and columns in a group are connected in their numerical (positional) order to obtain a cyclic structure. Connected rows and columns must satisfy the desired minimum cycle length. We present conditions that guarantee desired girths. The proposed algorithm is by far more flexible in constructing a wide range (rates and lengths) of regular and irregular QC-LDPC codes compared to existing methods. The algorithm, which has linear complexity with respect to the number of rows or columns, provides an easy and fast way to construct QC-LDPC codes. Constructed codes show good bit error rate performances.
LDPC codes based on multi-edge protographs potentially have larger minimum distances compared to their counterparts, single-edge protographs. However, considering different features of their Tanner graph, such as short cycles, girth and other graphical structures, is harder than for Tanner graphs from single-edge protographs. Here, we provide a novel approach to construct the parity-check matrix of an LDPC code which is based on trades obtained from block designs. We employ our method to construct multi-edge quasi-cyclic (QC) LDPC codes.We use those trade-based matrices to define base matrices of multi-edge protographs. The construction of exponent matrices corresponding to these base matrices has less complexity than the ones proposed in the literature. We prove that these base matrices result in QC-LDPC codes with smaller lower bounds on the lifting degree than existing ones.