Information theoretical performance analysis and optimisation of cooperative underwater acoustic communication systems

In this study, the authors investigate the information theoretical limits on the performance of single-carrier cooperative underwater acoustic communication systems in the presence of intersymbol interference. The authors assume decode-and-forward relaying and consider orthogonal half-duplex cooperation. Under the assumptions of sparse and frequency-selective Rician fading channel and non-white correlated Gaussian ambient noise, the authors derive expressions for bounds on the individual and achievable rates for both cases where channel state information is available at the transmitter or not. Using these expressions, the authors optimise input signalling and relay location to maximise average achievable rates.