Resource Allocation and Partner Selection for Cooperative Multicarrier Systems

Subcarrier allocation, power allocation, and partner selection (PS) algorithms are examined for amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative multicarrier systems. Consider a network that consists of multiple cooperative pairs that employ a two-phase cooperation scheme, where the users first transmit their own messages on each of their subcarriers in phase I and either retransmit their own messages or relay the messages of their partners in phase II. In general, subcarrier allocation and partner selection problems are known to be intractable for systems with large number of users and subcarriers. In this paper, we propose a suboptimal but mathematically tractable approach to address these issues and show its effectiveness compared with existing algorithms. This approach is done by considering the power allocation over a relaxed problem formulation, where each subcarrier is allowed to retransmit or relay for all other subcarriers in phase II over virtually orthogonal channels. The power allocation in this case is a convex optimization problem and, thus, can efficiently be solved. Based on the results of the relaxed power allocation problem, an efficient subcarrier allocation algorithm for the original problem can then be derived by allowing subcarriers to forward the data that are allocated the most power. The results also yield a necessary and sufficient condition on when cooperation is helpful among two users. A partner selection algorithm is then devised based on the criterion given in the condition. With the proposed subcarrier allocation scheme, an iterative procedure is then adopted for resource allocation in the two phases. The complexity of the proposed algorithm is discussed, and its efficacy is demonstrated through numerical simulations.