ML detection and decoding of space-time codes

Space-time coding (STC) schemes for communication systems employing multiple transmit and receive antennas have recently been attracting increased attention. We address the optimal detection of space-time codes under various interference conditions and the optimal information transfer from the detector to an error-correcting channel decoder. We discuss various aspects of channel modelling for STC communication receivers. In particular, while many previous works on the topic commonly use a stochastic channel model, we provide some justification for modelling the channel as a deterministic unknown when designing receiver algorithms.