An Elementary Approach to Scheduling in Generative Diffusion Models

An elementary approach to characterizing the impact of noise scheduling and time discretization in generative diffusion models is developed. Considering a simplified model where the source distribution is multivariate Gaussian with a given covariance matrix, the explicit closed-form evolution trajectory of the distributions across reverse sampling steps is derived, and consequently, the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between the source distribution and the reverse sampling output is obtained. The effect of the number of time discretization steps on the convergence of this KL divergence is studied via the Euler-Maclaurin expansion. An optimization problem is formulated, and its solution noise schedule is obtained via calculus of variations, shown to follow a tangent law whose coefficient is determined by the eigenvalues of the source covariance matrix. For an alternative scenario, more realistic in practice, where pretrained models have been obtained for some given noise schedules, the KL divergence also provides a measure to compare different time discretization strategies in reverse sampling. Experiments across different datasets and pretrained models demonstrate that the time discretization strategy selected by our approach consistently outperforms baseline and search-based strategies, particularly when the budget on the number of function evaluations is very tight.

Empirical Risk Minimization with $f$-Divergence Regularization

In this paper, the solution to the empirical risk minimization problem with $f$-divergence regularization (ERM-$f$DR) is presented and conditions under which the solution also serves as the solution to the minimization of the expected empirical risk subject to an $f$-divergence constraint are established. The proposed approach extends applicability to a broader class of $f$-divergences than previously reported and yields theoretical results that recover previously known results. Additionally, the difference between the expected empirical risk of the ERM-$f$DR solution and that of its reference measure is characterized, providing insights into previously studied cases of $f$-divergences. A central contribution is the introduction of the normalization function, a mathematical object that is critical in both the dual formulation and practical computation of the ERM-$f$DR solution. This work presents an implicit characterization of the normalization function as a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE), establishes its key properties, and subsequently leverages them to construct a numerical algorithm for approximating the normalization factor under mild assumptions. Further analysis demonstrates structural equivalences between ERM-$f$DR problems with different $f$-divergences via transformations of the empirical risk. Finally, the proposed algorithm is used to compute the training and test risks of ERM-$f$DR solutions under different $f$-divergence regularizers. This numerical example highlights the practical implications of choosing different functions $f$ in ERM-$f$DR problems.

Beam-Squint-Aided Hierarchical Sensing for Integrated Sensing and Communications with Uniform Planar Arrays

In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical sensing framework for wideband integrated sensing and communications with uniform planar arrays (UPAs). Leveraging the beam-squint effect inherent in wideband orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, the proposed framework enables efficient two-dimensional angle estimation through a structured multi-stage sensing process. Specifically, the sensing procedure first searches over the elevation angle domain, followed by a dedicated search over the azimuth angle domain given the estimated elevation angles. In each stage, true-time-delay lines and phase shifters of the UPA are jointly configured to cover multiple grid points simultaneously across OFDM subcarriers. To enable accurate and efficient target localization, we formulate the angle estimation problem as a sparse signal recovery problem and develop a modified matching pursuit algorithm tailored to the hierarchical sensing architecture. Additionally, we design power allocation strategies that minimize total transmit power while meeting performance requirements for both sensing and communication. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed framework achieves superior performance over conventional sensing methods with reduced sensing power.

Interference-Free RIS-Aided Cell-Free Massive MIMO with Physical Layer Security

In this paper, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) assisted cell free massive MIMO (CFmMIMO) framework is designed to enhance physical layer security (PLS) and mitigate multi user (MU) interference in next generation wireless networks. A channel state information (CSI) based precoder is designed at the access point (AP) to suppress MU interference, enabling interference free reception for the legitimate users. To further enhance secrecy performance, we formulate a joint optimization problem that maximizes the secrecy sum rate using an alternating optimization (AO) framework, which iteratively updates the active beamforming at the AP, user power allocation, and the RIS phase shift matrix. The highly nonconvex problem is addressed under the Riemannian manifold optimization (RMO) framework and solved using a Riemannian Conjugate Gradient (RCG) algorithm for RIS phase shift design. Simulation results verify that the proposed framework effectively enhances the secrecy sum rate and eliminates interference, demonstrating its potential for secure and scalable CFmMIMO networks in dense wireless environments.

Hierarchically Block-Sparse Recovery With Prior Support Information

We provide new recovery bounds for hierarchical compressed sensing (HCS) based on prior support information (PSI). A detailed PSI-enabled reconstruction model is formulated using various forms of PSI. The hierarchical block orthogonal matching pursuit with PSI (HiBOMP-P) algorithm is designed in a recursive form to reliably recover hierarchically block-sparse signals. We derive exact recovery conditions (ERCs) measured by the mutual incoherence property (MIP), wherein hierarchical MIP concepts are proposed, and further develop reconstructible sparsity levels to reveal sufficient conditions for ERCs. Leveraging these MIP analyses, we present several extended insights, including reliable recovery conditions in noisy scenarios and the optimal hierarchical structure for cases where sparsity is not equal to zero. Our results further confirm that HCS offers improved recovery performance even when the prior information does not overlap with the true support set, whereas existing methods heavily rely on this overlap, thereby compromising performance if it is absent.

Adversary-Aware Private Inference over Wireless Channels

AI-based sensing at wireless edge devices has the potential to significantly enhance Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, particularly for vision and perception tasks such as in autonomous driving and environmental monitoring. AI systems rely both on efficient model learning and inference. In the inference phase, features extracted from sensing data are utilized for prediction tasks (e.g., classification or regression). In edge networks, sensors and model servers are often not co-located, which requires communication of features. As sensitive personal data can be reconstructed by an adversary, transformation of the features are required to reduce the risk of privacy violations. While differential privacy mechanisms provide a means of protecting finite datasets, protection of individual features has not been addressed. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for privacy-preserving AI-based sensing, where devices apply transformations of extracted features before transmission to a model server.

Generalized Pinching-Antenna Systems: A Tutorial on Principles, Design Strategies, and Future Directions

Pinching-antenna systems have emerged as a novel and transformative flexible-antenna architecture for next-generation wireless networks. They offer unprecedented flexibility and spatial reconfigurability by enabling dynamic positioning and activation of radiating elements along a signal-guiding medium (e.g., dielectric waveguides), which is not possible with conventional fixed antenna systems. In this paper, we introduce the concept of generalized pinching antenna systems, which retain the core principle of creating localized radiation points on demand, but can be physically realized in a variety of settings. These include implementations based on dielectric waveguides, leaky coaxial cables, surface-wave guiding structures, and other types of media, employing different feeding methods and activation mechanisms (e.g., mechanical, electronic, or hybrid). Despite differences in their physical realizations, they all share the same inherent ability to form, reposition, or deactivate radiation sites as needed, enabling user-centric and dynamic coverage. We first describe the underlying physical mechanisms of representative generalized pinching-antenna realizations and their associated wireless channel models, highlighting their unique propagation and reconfigurability characteristics compared with conventional antennas. Then, we review several representative pinching-antenna system architectures, ranging from single- to multiple-waveguide configurations, and discuss advanced design strategies tailored to these flexible deployments. Furthermore, we examine their integration with emerging wireless technologies to enable synergistic, user-centric solutions. Finally, we identify key open research challenges and outline future directions, charting a pathway toward the practical deployment of generalized pinching antennas in next-generation wireless networks.

Spectral Graph Clustering under Differential Privacy: Balancing Privacy, Accuracy, and Efficiency

We study the problem of spectral graph clustering under edge differential privacy (DP). Specifically, we develop three mechanisms: (i) graph perturbation via randomized edge flipping combined with adjacency matrix shuffling, which enforces edge privacy while preserving key spectral properties of the graph. Importantly, shuffling considerably amplifies the guarantees: whereas flipping edges with a fixed probability alone provides only a constant epsilon edge DP guarantee as the number of nodes grows, the shuffled mechanism achieves (epsilon, delta) edge DP with parameters that tend to zero as the number of nodes increase; (ii) private graph projection with additive Gaussian noise in a lower-dimensional space to reduce dimensionality and computational complexity; and (iii) a noisy power iteration method that distributes Gaussian noise across iterations to ensure edge DP while maintaining convergence. Our analysis provides rigorous privacy guarantees and a precise characterization of the misclassification error rate. Experiments on synthetic and real-world networks validate our theoretical analysis and illustrate the practical privacy-utility trade-offs.

Joint Communication and Indoor Positioning Based on Visible Light in the Presence of Dimming

This paper proposes a joint communication and indoor positioning (JCP) system based on visible light communication (VLC) designed for high-precision indoor environments. The framework supports 2D and 3D positioning using received signal strength (RSS) from pilot transmissions, enhanced by the radical axis theorem to improve accuracy under measurement uncertainties. Communication is achieved using spatial modulation (SM) with M-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), where data is conveyed through the modulation symbol and the active light-emitting diode (LED) index, improving spectral efficiency while maintaining low complexity. A pilot-aided least squares (LS) estimator is employed for joint channel and dimming coefficient estimation, enabling robust symbol detection in multipath environments characterized by both line-of-sight (LOS) and diffuse non-line-of-sight (NLOS) components, modeled using Rician fading. The proposed system incorporates a dimming control mechanism to meet lighting requirements while maintaining reliable communication and positioning performance. Simulation results demonstrate sub-centimeter localization accuracy at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and bit error rates (BERs) below 10^{-6} for low-order PAM schemes. Additionally, comparative analysis across user locations reveals that positioning and communication performance improve significantly near the geometric center of the LED layout. These findings validate the effectiveness of the proposed system for future 6G indoor networks requiring integrated localization and communication under practical channel conditions.

Optimizing Model Splitting and Device Task Assignment for Deceptive Signal Assisted Private Multi-hop Split Learning

In this paper, deceptive signal-assisted private split learning is investigated. In our model, several edge devices jointly perform collaborative training, and some eavesdroppers aim to collect the model and data information from devices. To prevent the eavesdroppers from collecting model and data information, a subset of devices can transmit deceptive signals. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the subset of devices used for deceptive signal transmission, the subset of model training devices, and the models assigned to each model training device. This problem is formulated as an optimization problem whose goal is to minimize the information leaked to eavesdroppers while meeting the model training energy consumption and delay constraints. To solve this problem, we propose a soft actor-critic deep reinforcement learning framework with intrinsic curiosity module and cross-attention (ICM-CA) that enables a centralized agent to determine the model training devices, the deceptive signal transmission devices, the transmit power, and sub-models assigned to each model training device without knowing the position and monitoring probability of eavesdroppers. The proposed method uses an ICM module to encourage the server to explore novel actions and states and a CA module to determine the importance of each historical state-action pair thus improving training efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method improves the convergence rate by up to 3x and reduces the information leaked to eavesdroppers by up to 13% compared to the traditional SAC algorithm.