The Three-User Finite-Field Multi-Way Relay Channel with Correlated Sources

Abstract: This paper studies the three-user finite-field multi-way relay channel, where the users exchange messages via a relay. The messages are arbitrarily correlated, and the finite-field channel is linear and is subject to additive noise of arbitrary distribution. The problem is to determine the minimum achievable source-channel rate, defined as channel uses per source symbol needed for reliable communication. We combine Slepian-Wolf source coding and functional-decode-forward channel coding to obtain the solution for two classes of source and channel combinations. Furthermore, for correlated sources that have their common information equal their mutual information, we propose a new coding scheme to achieve the minimum source-channel rate.