Information-Theoretic Security of MIMO Networks Under kappa-mu Shadowed Fading Channels

This paper investigates the impact of realistic propagation conditions on the achievable secrecy performance of multiple-input multiple-output systems in the presence of an eavesdropper (Eve). Specifically, we concentrate on the κ — μ shadowed fading model because its physical underpinnings capture a wide range of propagation conditions, while, at the same time, it allows for a much better tractability than other state-of-the-art fading models. By considering transmit antenna selection and maximal ratio combining reception at the legitimate (Bob) and Eve’s receiver sides, we study two relevant scenarios: 1) the transmitter knows Bob’s channel state information (CSI) but not Eve’s CSI, and 2) the transmitter is aware of the CSI of both Bob and Eve channels. For this purpose, we first obtain novel and tractable expressions for the statistics of the maximum of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) variates related to the legitimate channel. Based on these results, we derive novel closed-form expressions of the two aforementioned scenarios to assess the secrecy performance of the underlying system. Specifically, for cases: 1) the secrecy outage probability (SOP), the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (SPSC), and 2) the average secrecy capacity (ASC). Moreover, we develop analytical asymptotic expressions of the SOP and ASC in the high signal-to-noise ratio regime. In all instances, secrecy performance metrics are characterized in closed-form, without requiring the evaluation of Meijer-G or Fox-H functions. Some useful insights on how the different propagation conditions and the number of antennas impact the secrecy performance are also provided.