Performance of blind and group-blind multiuser detectors

In blind (or group-blind) linear multiuser detection, the detector is estimated from the received signals, with the prior knowledge of only the signature waveform of the desired user (or the signature waveforms of some but not all users). The performance of a number of such estimated linear detectors, including the direct-matrix-inversion (DMI) blind linear minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector, the subspace blind linear MMSE detector, and the form-I and form-II group-blind linear hybrid detectors, are analyzed. Asymptotic limit theorems for each of the estimates of these detectors (when the signal sample size is large) are established, based on which approximate expressions for the average output signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios (SINRs) and bit-error rates (BERs) are given. To gain insights on these analytical results, the performance of these detectors in an equicorrelated code-division multiple-acces (CDMA) system is compared. Examples are provided to demonstrate the excellent match between the theory developed here and the simulation results.