Second-Order Statistics of Equal-Gain and Maximal-Ratio Combining for the α-μ (Generalized Gamma) Fading Distribution

This paper derives exact expressions for the level crossing rate and average fade duration of equal-gain and maximal-ratio combiners for the α-μ(generalized gamma) fading distribution, assuming M unbalanced, non-identical, independent diversity channels. The analytical results are thoroughly validated by reducing the general case to some particular cases (Nakagami-m and Weibull), for which the solutions are known, and by means of simulation, for the more general case. In addition, several new closed-form expressions are also obtained for other special cases.