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6 - The capacity of finite-state channels in the high-noise regime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2011

Henry D. Pfister
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University
Brian Marcus
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Karl Petersen
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Tsachy Weissman
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
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Summary

Abstract. This article considers the derivative of the entropy rate of a hidden Markov process with respect to the observation probabilities. The main result is a compact formula for the derivative that can be evaluated easily using Monte Carlo methods. It is applied to the problem of computing the capacity of a finite-state channel (FSC) and, in the high-noise regime, the formula has a simple closed-form expression that enables series expansion of the capacity of an FSC. This expansion is evaluated for a binary-symmetric channel under a (0, 1) run-length-limited constraint and an intersymbol-interference channel with Gaussian noise.

Introduction

The hidden Markov process

A hidden Markov process (HMP) is a discrete-time finite-state Markov chain (FSMC) observed through a memoryless channel. The HMP has become ubiquitous in statistics, computer science, and electrical engineering because it approximates many processes well using a dependency structure that leads to many efficient algorithms. While the roots of the HMP lie in the “grouped Markov chains” of Harris [20] and the “functions of a finite-state Markov chain” of Blackwell [8], the HMP first appears (in full generality) as the output process of a finite-state channel (FSC) [9]. The statistical inference algorithm of Baum and Petrie [5], however, cemented the HMP's place in history and is responsible for great advances in fields such as speech recognition and biological sequence analysis [22, 24]. An exceptional survey of HMPs, by Ephraim and Merhav, gives a nice summary of what is known in this area [12].

Type
Chapter
Information
Entropy of Hidden Markov Processes and Connections to Dynamical Systems
Papers from the Banff International Research Station Workshop
, pp. 179 - 222
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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