Adding a Helper Can Totally Remove the Secrecy Constraints in Interference Channel

Abstract: In many communication channels, secrecy constraints usually incur a penalty in capacity, as well as generalized degrees-of-freedom (GDoF). In this work we show an interesting observation that, adding a helper can totally remove the penalty in sum GDoF, for a two-user symmetric Gaussian interference channel. For the interference channel where each transmitter sends a message to an intended receiver without secrecy constraints, the sum GDoF is a well-known "W" curve, characterized by Etkin-Tse-Wang in 2008. If the secrecy constraints are imposed on this interference channel, where the message of each transmitter must be secure from the unintended receiver (eavesdropper), then a GDoF penalty is incurred and the secure sum GDoF is reduced to a modified "W" curve, derived by Chen recently. In this work we show that, by adding a helper into this interference channel with secrecy constraints, the secure sum GDoF turns out to be a "W" curve, which is the same as the sum GDoF of the setting without secrecy constraints. The proposed scheme is based on the cooperative jamming and a careful signal design such that the jamming signal of the helper is aligned at a specific direction and power level with the information signals of the transmitters, which allows to totally remove the penalty in GDoF due to the secrecy constraints. Furthermore, the estimation approaches of noise removal and signal separation due to the rational independence are used in the secure rate analysis.