A random matrix approach to the finite blocklength regime of MIMO fading channels

Abstract

This paper provides a novel central limit theorem (CLT) for the information density of the MIMO Rayleigh fading channel under white Gaussian inputs, when the data blocklength n and the number of transmit and receive antennas K and N, respectively, are large but of similar order of magnitude. This CLT is used to derive closed-form upper bounds on the error probability via an input-constrained version of Feinstein's lemma by Polyanskiy et al. and the second-order approximation of the coding rate. Numerical evaluations suggest that the normal approximation is tight for reasonably small values of n, K, N.