High-SNR Capacity of Wireless Communication Channels in the Noncoherent Setting: A Primer

Abstract: This paper, mostly tutorial in nature, deals with the problem of characterizing the capacity of fading channels in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. We focus on the practically relevant noncoherent setting, where neither transmitter nor receiver know the channel realizations, but both are aware of the channel law. We present, in an intuitive and accessible form, two tools, first proposed by Lapidoth & Moser (2003), of fundamental importance to high-SNR capacity analysis: the duality approach and the escape-to-infinity property of capacity-achieving distributions. Furthermore, we apply these tools to refine some of the results that appeared previously in the literature and to simplify the corresponding proofs.