Partial relay selection and energy detection for MCIM based dual-hop multiple DF relay network

This paper analyzes the performance of multicarrier index modulation (MCIM) with greedy detection (GD) in a dual hop, multiple decode and forward (DF) relay network. We propose a novel partial relay selection (PRS) technique combined with index modulation and its energy detection. For performance analysis, we derive novel closed form solutions for both the average pairwise error probability (PEP) and the average symbol error probability (SEP) at the relays and destination over Nakagami-m fading channels. Unlike the information theoretical works, with presence of positive detection error in the relays, the derived expressions provide a useful insight into the error performance of PRS based MCIM in a multiple DF relay network under various fading conditions. Also, we address the impacts of both relays and different rates of sub-carrier index activation.