Work

On the Optimality of OFDM for Aperiodic Ranging

Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study the expected aperiodic autocorrelation sidelobes of random communication symbols transmitted through a unitary modulation matrix. We consider proper sub-Gaussian constellations, namely those with fourth absolute moment $μ_4<2$ and zero pseudo-variance, including the commonly used uniform square quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and uniform phase-shift keying (PSK) constellations. For every prescribed lag, we determine the exact minimum expected sidelobe level (ESL) and a unitary modulation attaining it by applying a normalized inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) separately on each chain of sample indices spaced by that lag. The full orthogonal frequency division modulation (OFDM) modulation attains this minimum if and only if the lag divides the block length $N$. Combining this criterion with the complete characterization of the minimizers at lag one, we show that a unitary modulation minimizes the ESL simultaneously over the first $r$ positive lags, called the prefix $\{1,\ldots,r\}$ with $1\le r
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7220454072
Cites: 27
Cited by:
Related to: 10