Achievable Rates and Optimal Resource Allocation for Imperfectly-Known Fading Relay Channels

Abstract: In this paper, achievable rates and optimal resource allocation strategies for imperfectly-known fading relay channels are studied. It is assumed that communication starts with the network training phase in which the receivers estimate the fading coefficients of their respective channels. In the data transmission phase, amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward relaying schemes with different degrees of cooperation are considered, and the corresponding achievable rate expressions are obtained. Three resource allocation problems are addressed: 1) power allocation between data and training symbols; 2) time/bandwidth allocation to the relay; 3) power allocation between the source and relay in the presence of total power constraints. The achievable rate expressions are employed to identify the optimal resource allocation strategies. Finally, energy efficiency is investigated by studying the bit energy requirements in the low-SNR regime.