Performance analysis of MIMO-MRC in double-correlated Rayleigh environments

We consider multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmit beamforming systems with maximum ratio combining (MRC) receivers. The operating environment is Rayleigh fading with both transmit and receive spatial correlation. We present exact expressions for the probability density function (pdf) of the output signal-to-noise ratio, as well as the system outage probability. The results are based on explicit closed-form expressions which we derive for the pdf and cumulative distribution function of the maximum eigenvalue of double-correlated complex Wishart matrices. For systems with two antennas at either the transmitter or the receiver, we also derive exact closed-form expressions for the symbol-error rate. The new expressions are used to prove that MIMO-MRC achieves the maximum available spatial diversity order, and to demonstrate the effect of spatial correlation. The analysis is validated through comparison with Monte Carlo simulations.