The $κ$-$μ$ Shadowed Fading Model: Unifying the $κ$-$μ$ and $η$-$μ$ Distributions

Abstract: This paper shows that the recently proposed $\kappa$-$\mu$ shadowed fading model includes, besides the $\kappa$-$\mu$ model, the $\eta$-$\mu$ fading model as a particular case. This has important relevance in practice, as it allows for the unification of these popular fading distributions through a more general, yet equally tractable, model. The convenience of new underlying physical models is discussed. Then, we derive simple and novel closed-form expressions for the asymptotic ergodic capacity in $\kappa$-$\mu$ shadowed fading channels, which illustrate the effects of the different fading parameters on the system performance. By exploiting the unification here unveiled, the asymptotic capacity expressions for the $\kappa$-$\mu$ and $\eta$-$\mu$ fading models are also obtained in closed-form as special cases.