Hidden Markov Model Decoding for LDPC Codes

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Olivier, Jan C, Barnard, Etienne
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Olivier, Jan C
Barnard, Etienne
author_facet Olivier, Jan C
Barnard, Etienne
contents The paper proposes an iterative Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for decoding a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code. It is demonstrated that a first-order HMM provides a natural framework for the decoder. The HMM is time-homogeneous with a fixed transition matrix and is based on a random walk through the encoded frame bits. Each hidden state contains a pair of two encoded bits, and parity checks are naturally incorporated into the observation model. The paper shows that by implementing a forward-backward smoothing estimator for the hidden states, decoding is efficient and requires only a small number of iterations in most cases. The results show that the LDPC decoding threshold is significantly improved compared to belief propagation (BP) on a Tanner graph. Numerical results are presented showing that LDPC codes under the proposed decoder yield a frame error rate (FER) and decoding threshold comparable to that of a Polar code where Successive Cancellation List (SCL) - Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) decoding is deployed. This is shown to be achieved even if the frame length is short (on the order of $512$ bits or less) and a regular LDPC code is used. 1
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_21872
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hidden Markov Model Decoding for LDPC Codes
Olivier, Jan C
Barnard, Etienne
Signal Processing
The paper proposes an iterative Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for decoding a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code. It is demonstrated that a first-order HMM provides a natural framework for the decoder. The HMM is time-homogeneous with a fixed transition matrix and is based on a random walk through the encoded frame bits. Each hidden state contains a pair of two encoded bits, and parity checks are naturally incorporated into the observation model. The paper shows that by implementing a forward-backward smoothing estimator for the hidden states, decoding is efficient and requires only a small number of iterations in most cases. The results show that the LDPC decoding threshold is significantly improved compared to belief propagation (BP) on a Tanner graph. Numerical results are presented showing that LDPC codes under the proposed decoder yield a frame error rate (FER) and decoding threshold comparable to that of a Polar code where Successive Cancellation List (SCL) - Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) decoding is deployed. This is shown to be achieved even if the frame length is short (on the order of $512$ bits or less) and a regular LDPC code is used. 1
title Hidden Markov Model Decoding for LDPC Codes
topic Signal Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21872