Partial decode-forward coding schemes for the Gaussian two-way relay channel

We design novel partial decode-forward (PDF) schemes for the Gaussian two-way relay channel with direct link. Different from pure decode-forward, each user divides its message into two parts and the relay decodes only one part of each. The relay then generates its codeword as a function of the two decoded parts and forwards to the two users. We propose PDF schemes for both the full- and half-duplex modes. In full duplex, the scheme is based on block Markov encoding and forward joint decoding over 2 consecutive blocks. In half duplex, the transmission is divided into 4 phases, in which one user transmits during the first phase, the other during the second phase, both users transmit during the third phase and the relay transmits during the last phase. The relay decodes a part of the messages from both users at the end of phase 3 and each user decodes only at the end of phase 4. Analysis and simulation show that if for one user, the direct link is stronger than the user-to-relay link, while for the other, the direct link is weaker, then PDF can achieve a rate region strictly larger than the time-shared region of pure decode-forward and direct transmission for both full- and half-duplex modes.