Average SNR of dual selection combining over correlated Nakagami-m fading channels

We investigate the effect of fading correlation and branch gain imbalance on the average output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in conjunction with dual selection combining (SC). In particular, starting with the moment generating function of the dual SC output SNR, we derive a closed-form expression for the average output SNR in the general case of correlated unbalanced Nakagami-m fading channels. We then show that the generic result can be further simplified for the special cases of Rayleigh fading, uncorrelated branches, and/or equal average SNRs. Because of their simple form, the given expressions readily allow numerical evaluation for cases of practical interest.