Statistical mechanics and capacity-approaching error-correcting codes

Nicolas Sourlas

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2001, vol. 302, issue 1, 14-21

Abstract: I will show that there is a deep relation between error-correction codes and certain mathematical models of spin glasses. In particular, minimum error probability decoding is equivalent to finding the ground state of the corresponding spin system. The most probable value of a symbol is related to the magnetisation at a different temperature. Convolutional codes correspond to one-dimensional spin systems and Viterbi's decoding algorithm to the transfer matrix algorithm of statistical mechanics.

Date: 2001
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:302:y:2001:i:1:p:14-21

DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(01)00439-3

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