Relay Selection and Distributed BLAST in Multi-Antenna Cooperative Networks

This paper addresses the problem of optimal number of relays and relay selection and proposes a cooperative transmission scheme with an appealing multiplexing-diversity trade-off. We show that a distributed BLAST transmission in conjunction with successive nulling and cancellation at destination can achieve the optimal trade-off given that the relays are selected according to a specific criterion. Illustrative results indicate that the proposed method can increase the strength of relay networks in providing reliable communications.