Physics-Aware Initialization Refinement in Code-Aided EM for Blind Channel Estimation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Chen, Chin-Hung, Nikoloska, Ivana, van Houtum, Wim, Wu, Yan, Alvarado, Alex
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Chen, Chin-Hung
Nikoloska, Ivana
van Houtum, Wim
Wu, Yan
Alvarado, Alex
author_facet Chen, Chin-Hung
Nikoloska, Ivana
van Houtum, Wim
Wu, Yan
Alvarado, Alex
contents This paper addresses the well-known local maximum problem of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm in blind intersymbol interference (ISI) channel estimation. This problem primarily results from phase and shift ambiguity during initialization, which blind estimation is inherently unable to distinguish. We propose an effective initialization refinement algorithm that utilizes the decoder output as a model selection metric, incorporating a technique to detect phase and shift ambiguity. Our results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces the number of local maximum cases to nearly one-third for a 3-tap ISI channel under highly uncertain initial conditions. The improvement becomes more pronounced as initial errors increase and the channel memory grows. When used in a turbo equalizer, the proposed algorithm is required only in the first turbo iteration, which limits any complexity increase with subsequent iterations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_11241
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Physics-Aware Initialization Refinement in Code-Aided EM for Blind Channel Estimation
Chen, Chin-Hung
Nikoloska, Ivana
van Houtum, Wim
Wu, Yan
Alvarado, Alex
Signal Processing
This paper addresses the well-known local maximum problem of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm in blind intersymbol interference (ISI) channel estimation. This problem primarily results from phase and shift ambiguity during initialization, which blind estimation is inherently unable to distinguish. We propose an effective initialization refinement algorithm that utilizes the decoder output as a model selection metric, incorporating a technique to detect phase and shift ambiguity. Our results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces the number of local maximum cases to nearly one-third for a 3-tap ISI channel under highly uncertain initial conditions. The improvement becomes more pronounced as initial errors increase and the channel memory grows. When used in a turbo equalizer, the proposed algorithm is required only in the first turbo iteration, which limits any complexity increase with subsequent iterations.
title Physics-Aware Initialization Refinement in Code-Aided EM for Blind Channel Estimation
topic Signal Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11241