Performance analysis of non-regenerative opportunistic relaying in Nakagami-m fading

Opportunistic relaying is an efficient way of acheiving diversity in wireless cooperative communication systems. In this paper, we analyze the performance of a proactive opportunistic non-regenerative relaying protocol, considering both maximum ratio combining (MRC) and selection combining (SC) schemes at the destination. We derive a closed-form expression for the cummulative distribution function (CDF) of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the presence of Nakagami-m fading and a SC receiver. Utilizing this statistical result, we then derive a new closed-form expression for average symbol error probability (ASEP), valid for many generic modulations, assuming identical integer fading parameters. Furthermore, we also derive a new closed-form expression for the moment generating function (MGF) of the end-to-end SNR considering Nakagami-m fading environment and MRC at the destination. Moreover, using the MGF-based approach, we derive and analyze new closed-form expressions for ASEP when MRC is employed at the destination.