On the Capacity of Indecomposable Finite-State Channels With Feedback

We study the capacity of indecomposable finite-state channels (IFSCs) with feedback. It is first shown that the capacity-achieving input distribution for IFSCs with feedback is independent of the initial channel state, even though the capacity depends on the worst-case channel state. In addition, it is shown that for a large class of IFSCs for which the channel state is a deterministic function of a finite number of the most recent channel inputs and outputs, the feedback capacity depends only on the best-case channel state. This result is obtained by a novel transmission strategy whereby feedback is used to synchronize the beginning of the codeword transmission to be at the best-case channel state.