Efficient weighted sum rate maximization with linear precoding

Achieving the boundary of the capacity region in the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channel requires the use of dirty paper coding (DPC). As practical nearly optimum implementations of DPC are computationally complex, purely linear approaches are often used instead. However, in this case, the problem of maximizing a weighted sum rate constitutes a nonconvex and, in most cases, also a combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, we present two heuristic nearly optimum algorithms with reduced computational complexity. For this purpose, a lower bound for the weighted sum rate under linear zero-forcing constraints is used. Based on this bound, both greedy algorithms successively allocate data streams to users. In each step, the user is determined that is given an additional data stream such that the increase in weighted sum rate becomes maximum. Thereby, the data stream allocations and filters obtained in the previous steps are kept fixed and only the filter corresponding to the additional data stream is optimized. The first algorithm determines the receive and transmit filters directly in the downlink. The other algorithm operates in the dual uplink, from which the downlink transmit and receive filters can be obtained via the general rate duality leading to nonzero-forcing in the downlink. Simulation results reveal marginal performance losses compared to more complex algorithms.