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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.12621 |
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| _version_ | 1866917407064326144 |
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| author | Liu, Jinyuan Guan, Yong Liang Niu, Hong Zhang, Qian Debbah, Mérouane Shin, Hyundong Clerckx, Bruno |
| author_facet | Liu, Jinyuan Guan, Yong Liang Niu, Hong Zhang, Qian Debbah, Mérouane Shin, Hyundong Clerckx, Bruno |
| contents | Future sixth-generation (6G) networks require high spectral efficiency (SE), massive connectivity, and stringent reliability under imperfect channel state information at the transmitter. Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) addresses part of this challenge by flexibly managing interference through common and private message streams, while fluid antenna systems (FAS) offer low-cost spatial diversity by dynamically reconfiguring antenna positions within a compact aperture. In this paper, we first classify FAS-enabled multiple access systems from the perspectives of FAS deployment, objectives, and antenna configuration, along with some comparisons with benchmark schemes, thereby exhibiting the inherent efficiency of FAS-RSMA. Moreover, we reveal the mutually enhancing mechanism between FAS and RSMA: FAS strengthens the weakest effective link and improves the beamforming design in RSMA, whereas RSMA turns FAS-induced spatial diversity into robust interference management under diverse channel conditions. In addition, we identify representative 6G scenarios and highlight major research challenges in joint beamforming-antenna position design, channel estimation, and hardware design. Furthermore, case studies quantify the gains of FAS-RSMA over the fixed-position antenna (FPA) system with RSMA and NOMA baselines, which validates that FAS-RSMA is a strong candidate for interference-limited access in 6G systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_12621 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Fluid Antennas Meet Rate-Splitting Multiple Access: A New Path Forward for 6G Networks Liu, Jinyuan Guan, Yong Liang Niu, Hong Zhang, Qian Debbah, Mérouane Shin, Hyundong Clerckx, Bruno Signal Processing Future sixth-generation (6G) networks require high spectral efficiency (SE), massive connectivity, and stringent reliability under imperfect channel state information at the transmitter. Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) addresses part of this challenge by flexibly managing interference through common and private message streams, while fluid antenna systems (FAS) offer low-cost spatial diversity by dynamically reconfiguring antenna positions within a compact aperture. In this paper, we first classify FAS-enabled multiple access systems from the perspectives of FAS deployment, objectives, and antenna configuration, along with some comparisons with benchmark schemes, thereby exhibiting the inherent efficiency of FAS-RSMA. Moreover, we reveal the mutually enhancing mechanism between FAS and RSMA: FAS strengthens the weakest effective link and improves the beamforming design in RSMA, whereas RSMA turns FAS-induced spatial diversity into robust interference management under diverse channel conditions. In addition, we identify representative 6G scenarios and highlight major research challenges in joint beamforming-antenna position design, channel estimation, and hardware design. Furthermore, case studies quantify the gains of FAS-RSMA over the fixed-position antenna (FPA) system with RSMA and NOMA baselines, which validates that FAS-RSMA is a strong candidate for interference-limited access in 6G systems. |
| title | Fluid Antennas Meet Rate-Splitting Multiple Access: A New Path Forward for 6G Networks |
| topic | Signal Processing |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.12621 |