CIF: Small: Collaborative Research: Exploring Synergies of Multi-State Networks

该项目的目标是对多国通信网络的协同收益进行全面研究，并制定可利用这些收益的战略。该项目被组织为三个相辅相成的推动力，重点是1)动态渠道，2)动态渠道知识，3)混合渠道知识。第一个重点是寻找利用信道变化的方法，从无限范围内的简单和最优联合编码方案开始，从实用的角度出发，导致有限范围内的有效编码方案，从理论角度，到用于对静态设置一直难以处理的网络的信息论洞察的替代规范模型。第二个重点是寻求利用渠道知识的交替模式的方法，这些模式要么自然地产生于渠道动态，要么通过来自不同用户组的交替反馈而故意实施，以确定随着时间的推移传播的最有效的渠道知识形式。第三个重点是探索如何利用不同形式的信道知识的同时可获得性，这些知识以前只被孤立地研究，因此与相互不兼容的编码方案相关。随着现有的无线网络努力跟上日益移动和依赖信息的社会对爆炸性数据速率的需求，发现新的机会来扩大下一代系统的吞吐量是当务之急。任何此类努力都必须努力应对无线网络的巨大复杂性，例如时变衰落、动态网络状态以及用户之间多种形式的网络状态信息的可用性。经典的方法是孤立地研究这些网络的基本元素：将一个基本上由多个状态组成的网络分解为其组成状态，并分别研究每个状态。这种减少的动机通常来自于一种传统的观点，即1)单独研究每个元素比一起研究它们更容易，2)单独理解每个元素将导致对它们的集体行为的理解。令人惊讶的是，最近的研究表明，这种智慧在这两个方面都可能具有误导性：多州网络通常不仅更容易处理、更实用、更有洞察力，而且还表现出显著的协同收益，这是通过对组成国家的孤立研究无法获得的。通过将重点从静态模型转移到动态模型，拟议的研究将促进我们对无线干扰网络的信息论限制的理解，在这种情况下，静态设置的复杂性长期以来一直阻碍着进展。由于跨多个州的联合编码通常更简单、更有洞察力和实用性，它将使信息论结果更接近实践。对多个州的联合考虑将为正确核算渠道知识的管理费用和收益奠定基础。与这些研究工作相辅相成的是外联工作，其中包括各种传统活动，如国际会议和暑期学校的教程，以及新颖的项目，如出版一本关于干扰管理的电子书。

The objective of this project is to undertake a comprehensive study of synergistic gains for multi-state communication networks and develop strategies that can exploit them. The project is organized into three complementary thrusts, focusing on 1) dynamic channels, 2) dynamic channel knowledge, and 3) mixed channel knowledge. The first thrust seeks ways to exploit channel variations starting with simple and optimal joint coding schemes over infinite horizons and leading, from a practical perspective, to efficient coding schemes over finite horizons, and, from a theoretical perspective, to alternative canonical models for information-theoretic insights into networks where the static setting has been intractable. The second thrust seeks ways to exploit alternating patterns of channel knowledge, either arising naturally out of channel dynamics or deliberately enforced through alternating feedback from different groups of users, to identify the most efficient forms of channel knowledge spread over time. The third thrust explores ways to exploit the simultaneous availability of distinct forms of channel knowledge, that have previously been studied only in isolation, and are therefore associated with coding schemes that are mutually incompatible.With existing wireless networks struggling to keep up with the exploding data rate demands of an increasingly mobile and information-dependent society, it is imperative to uncover new opportunities for expanding the throughputs of next-generation systems. Any such effort must grapple with the enormous complexity of wireless networks, such as time-varying fading, dynamic network states, and the availability of many forms of network state information across users. The classical approach is to study the essential elements of these networks in isolation: decomposing a fundamentally multi-state network into its constituent states and studying each state individually. The motivation for this reduction typically comes from the conventional wisdom that 1) studying each element in isolation is easier than studying them together, and 2) understanding each element individually will lead to an understanding of their collective behavior. Surprisingly, recent work has shown that this wisdom can be misleading on both counts: multi-state networks are often not only more tractable, practical, and insightful, but also demonstrate significant synergistic gains that are not accessible through isolated studies of the constituent states. By shifting the focus from static to dynamic models, the proposed research will advance our understanding of information-theoretic limits of wireless interference networks where the intractability of the static setting has long stunted progress. Because joint coding across multiple states is often simpler, more insightful, and practical, it will bring the information-theoretic results closer to practice. A joint consideration of multiple states will provide the foundation for proper accounting of the overheads and benefits of channel knowledge. These research efforts are complemented by outreach efforts that include a mixture of traditional activities, such as tutorials at international conferences and summer schools, and novel ventures, such as the publication of an e-book on interference management.