Affine Subcode Ensemble Decoding of Linear Block Codes
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In the short block length regime, ensemble decoding schemes with their inherently parallel structure can improve error correction performance and reduce latency compared to stand-alone suboptimal decoders such as belief propagation (BP). In this work, we introduce affine subcode ensemble decoding (aSCED), which uses an ensemble of decoders operating on linear block codes and both linear and strictly affine subcodes. This generalizes the recently proposed subcode ensemble decoding (SCED), which is restricted to linear subcodes. We derive BP update rules for affine subcodes and show that aSCED simplifies ensemble design compared to SCED, multiple bases BP, and automorphism ensemble decoding. Monte Carlo simulations of four low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and four Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem (BCH) codes demonstrate improved error correction performance of aSCED over competing existing ensemble schemes. Notably, for one 5G LDPC code and two BCH codes, aSCED combined with algorithms to construct high-performance parity-check matrices can achieve near-maximum likelihood performance.
Institutions: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Stuttgart
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Networks and Communications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,645
OpenAlex ID: W7152398656