Signal-Dependent Shot Noise Modeling of Rydberg Atomic Quantum Receivers: A Design Perspective

In this paper, we develop a communication-oriented complex baseband equivalent model for superheterodyne Rydberg atomic quantum receivers (RAQRs). The model explicitly captures photodetection-induced signal-dependent shot noise and its coupling with the optical operating point. By leveraging an atomic superheterodyne architecture and a strong local oscillator, we construct a complex baseband representation for both the received signal and the signal-dependent shot noise under both direct incoherent optical detection and balanced coherent optical detection. The derived model reveals that the optical operating point jointly determines the normalized effective receive gain and the equivalent noise background, thereby establishing a traceable gain-noise tradeoff governed by system design. More importantly, the proposed model shows that neglecting signal-dependent shot noise may lead to inaccurate operating-point design. Finally, by extending to the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) case, we derive a lower bound on the achievable rate while considering the signal-dependent shot noise. Our analysis \textcolor{black}{reveals} that the non-zero asymptotic rate of RAQ-MIMO and its superiority over conventional RF-MIMO hinge on the normalized noise floor of the RAQ receive chain falling below that of RF MIMO. Simulation results validate our analysis and yield practical, closed-form design guidelines for RAQR front ends, revealing parameter regimes in which RAQ-MIMO outperforms conventional MIMO systems.

Low-Complexity Soft-Feedback Detector for AFDM Systems

Affine frequency division multiplexing (AFDM), an emerging multi-carrier modulation scheme, has garnered significant attention due to its resilience to Doppler shifts and capability to achieve full diversity in doubly dispersive channels. However, existing data detection algorithms for AFDM systems face a significant trade-off between computational complexity and accuracy. In this paper, a novel low-complexity data detection scheme, termed the soft-feedback detector (SFD), is proposed. Particularly, building upon a maximum ratio combining (MRC) estimator framework, the SFD leverages the a priori symbol distribution to mitigate error propagation during iterative detection. Specifically, soft-decision feedback is incorporated as extrinsic information derived from the log-likelihood ratios of the transmitted symbols. As a result, the proposed detector significantly enhances detection accuracy while maintaining low computational complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that the SFD consistently outperforms benchmark decision-feedback detectors. In particular, compared with the conventional MRC detector, the proposed scheme achieves approximately a 3 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain at the bit error rate (BER) of $10^{-3}$.

Ultra-Massive MIMO with Orthogonal Chirp Division Multiplexing for Near-Field Sensing and Communication Integration

This paper integrates the emerging ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output (UM-MIMO) technique with orthogonal chirp division multiplexing (OCDM) waveform to tackle the challenging near-field integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) problem. Specifically, we conceive a comprehensive ISAC architecture, where an UM-MIMO base station adopts OCDM waveform for communications and a co-located sensing receiver adopts the frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) detection principle to simplify the associated hardware. For sensing tasks, several OCDM subcarriers, namely, dedicated sensing subcarriers (DSSs), are each transmitted through a dedicated sensing antenna (DSA) within the transmit antenna array. By judiciously designing the DSS selection scheme and optimizing receiver parameters, the FMCW-based sensing receiver can decouple the echo signals from different DSAs with significantly reduced hardware complexity. This setup enables the estimation of ranges and velocities of near-field targets in an antenna-pairwise manner. Moreover, by leveraging the spatial diversity of UM-MIMO, we introduce the concept of virtual bistatic sensing (VIBS), which incorporates the estimates from multiple antenna pairs to achieve high-accuracy target positioning and three-dimensional velocity measurement. The VIBS paradigm is immune to hostile channel environments characterized by spatial non-stationarity and uncorrelated multipath environment. Furthermore, the channel estimation of UM-MIMO OCDM systems enhanced by the sensing results is investigated. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed ISAC scheme enhances sensing accuracy, and also benefits communication performance.

From OFDM to AFDM: Enabling Adaptive Integrated Sensing and Communication in High-Mobility Scenarios

Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is a key feature of next-generation wireless networks, enabling a wide range of emerging applications such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which operate in high-mobility scenarios. Notably, the wireless channels within these applications typically exhibit severe delay and Doppler spreads. The latter causes serious communication performance degradation in the Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) waveform that is widely adopted in current wireless networks. To address this challenge, the recently proposed Doppler-resilient affine frequency division multiplexing (AFDM) waveform, which uses flexible chirp signals as subcarriers, shows great potential for achieving adaptive ISAC in high-mobility scenarios. This article provides a comprehensive overview of AFDM-ISAC. We begin by presenting the fundamentals of AFDM-ISAC, highlighting its inherent frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW)-like characteristics. Then, we explore its ISAC performance limits by analyzing its diversity order, ambiguity function (AF), and Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB). Finally, we present several effective sensing algorithms and opportunities for AFDM-ISAC, with the aim of sparking new ideas in this emerging field.

A Secure Affine Frequency Division Multiplexing for Wireless Communication Systems

Affine frequency division multiplexing (AFDM) has garnered significant attention due to its superior performance in high-mobility scenarios, coupled with multiple waveform parameters that provide greater degrees of freedom for system design. This paper introduces a novel secure affine frequency division multiplexing (SE-AFDM) system, which advances prior designs by dynamically varying an AFDM pre-chirp parameter to enhance physical-layer security. In the SE-AFDM system, the pre-chirp parameter is dynamically generated from a codebook controlled by a long-period pseudo-noise (LPPN) sequence. Instead of applying spreading in the data domain, our parameter-domain spreading approach provides additional security while maintaining reliability and high spectrum efficiency. We also propose a synchronization framework to solve the problem of reliably and rapidly synchronizing the time-varying parameter in fast time-varying channels. The theoretical derivations prove that unsynchronized eavesdroppers cannot eliminate the nonlinear impact of the time-varying parameter and further provide useful guidance for codebook design. Simulation results demonstrate the security advantages of the proposed SE-AFDM system in high-mobility scenarios, while our hardware prototype validates the effectiveness of the proposed synchronization framework.

Joint Beamforming and Position Optimization for Fluid STAR-RIS-NOMA Assisted Wireless Communication Systems

To address the limitations of traditional reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) in spatial control capability, this paper introduces the concept of the fluid antenna system (FAS) and proposes a fluid simultaneously transmitting and reflecting RIS (FSTAR-RIS) assisted non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) multi-user communication system. In this system, each FSTAR-RIS element is capable of flexible mobility and can dynamically adjust its position in response to environmental variations, thereby enabling simultaneous service to users in both the transmission and reflection zones. This significantly enhances the system's spatial degrees of freedom (DoF) and service adaptability. To maximize the system's weighted sum-rate, we formulate a non-convex optimization problem that jointly optimizes the base station beamforming, the transmission/reflection coefficients of the FSTAR-RIS, and the element positions. An alternating optimization (AO) algorithm is developed, incorporating successive convex approximation (SCA), semi-definite relaxation (SDR), and majorization-minimization (MM) techniques. In particular, to address the complex channel coupling introduced by the coexistence of direct and FSTAR-RIS paths, the MM framework is employed in the element position optimization subproblem, enabling an efficient iterative solution strategy. Simulation results validate that the proposed system achieves up to a 27% increase in total sum rate compared to traditional STAR-RIS systems and requires approximately 50% fewer RIS elements to attain the same performance, highlighting its effectiveness for cost-efficient large-scale deployment.

Widely Linear Augmented Extreme Learning Machine Based Impairments Compensation for Satellite Communications

Satellite communications are crucial for the evolution beyond fifth-generation networks. However, the dynamic nature of satellite channels and their inherent impairments present significant challenges. In this paper, a novel post-compensation scheme that combines the complex-valued extreme learning machine with augmented hidden layer (CELMAH) architecture and widely linear processing (WLP) is developed to address these issues by exploiting signal impropriety in satellite communications. Although CELMAH shares structural similarities with WLP, it employs a different core algorithm and does not fully exploit the signal impropriety. By incorporating WLP principles, we derive a tailored formulation suited to the network structure and propose the CELM augmented by widely linear least squares (CELM-WLLS) for post-distortion. The proposed approach offers enhanced communication robustness and is highly effective for satellite communication scenarios characterized by dynamic channel conditions and non-linear impairments. CELM-WLLS is designed to improve signal recovery performance and outperform traditional methods such as least square (LS) and minimum mean square error (MMSE). Compared to CELMAH, CELM-WLLS demonstrates approximately 0.8 dB gain in BER performance, and also achieves a two-thirds reduction in computational complexity, making it a more efficient solution.

Dynamic Resource Allocation in Distributed MIMO-LEO Satellite Networks

This paper characterizes the impacts of channel estimation errors and Rician factors on achievable data rate and investigates the user scheduling strategy, combining scheme, power control, and dynamic bandwidth allocation to maximize the sum data rate in the distributed multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO)-enabled low earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks. However, due to the resource-assignment problem, it is challenging to find the optimal solution for maximizing the sum data rate. To transform this problem into a more tractable form, we first quantify the channel estimation errors based on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimator and rigorously derive a closed-form lower bound of the achievable data rate, offering an explicit formulation for resource allocation. Then, to solve the NP-hard problem, we decompose it into three sub-problems, namely, user scheduling strategy, joint combination and power control, and dynamic bandwidth allocation, by using alternative optimization (AO). Specifically, the user scheduling is formulated as a graph coloring problem by iteratively updating an undirected graph based on user requirements, which is then solved using the DSatur algorithm. For the combining weights and power control, the successive convex approximation (SCA) and geometrical programming (GP) are adopted to obtain the sub-optimal solution with lower complexity. Finally, the optimal bandwidth allocation can be achieved by solving the concave problem. Numerical results validate the analytical tightness of the derived bound, especially for large Rician factors, and demonstrate significant performance gains over other benchmarks.

Power allocation for cell-free MIMO integrated sensing and communication

In this paper, we investigate integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) in a cell-free (CF) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) network with single-antenna access points (APs), where each AP functions either as a transmitter for both sensing and communication or as a receiver for target-reflected signals. We derive closed-form Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLBs) for location and velocity estimation under arbitrary power allocation ratios, assuming the radar cross-section (RCS) is deterministic and unknown over the observation interval. A power allocation optimization problem is formulated to maximize the communication signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), subject to CRLB-based sensing constraints and per-transmitter power limits. To solve the resulting nonlinear and non-convex problem, we propose a penalty function and projection-based modified conjugate gradient algorithm with inexact line search (PP-MCG-ILS), and an alternative method based on a modified steepest descent approach (PP-MSD-ILS). Additionally, for power minimization in pure sensing scenarios, we introduce a penalty function-based normalized conjugate gradient algorithm (P-NCG-ILS). We analyze the convergence behavior and qualitatively compare the computational complexity of the proposed algorithms. Simulation results confirm the accuracy of the derived CRLBs and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed power allocation strategies in enhancing both sensing and overall ISAC performance.

BEM-Assisted Low-Complexity Channel Estimation for AFDM Systems over Doubly Selective Channels

In this paper, we propose a low-complexity channel estimation scheme of affine frequency division multiplexing (AFDM) based on generalized complex exponential basis expansion model (GCE-BEM) over doubly selective channels. The GCE-BEM is used to solve fractional Doppler dispersion while significantly reducing the computational complexity of exhaustive search. Then, the closed-form expression of channel estimation error is derived for the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimation algorithm. Based on the estimated channel, the MMSE detection is adopt to characterize the impacts of estimated channel on bit error rate (BER) by deriving the theoretical lower bound. Finally, numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheme effectively mitigates severe inter-Doppler interference (IDoI). Our theoretical performance an alysis can perfectly match the Monte-Carlo results, validating the effectiveness of our proposed channel estimation based on GCE-BEM.