A new, simple, and exact union bound for reference-based predetection and postdetection diversity TCM-MPSK systems in Rayleigh fading

Trellis-coded modulation (TCM), when combined with interleaving of sufficie nt depth, is known to provide some form of time diversity that allows for t he achievement of good error performance in fading environments. Also, spac e diversity reception, in which several signals received at different anten nas are combined, is a well-known method that can be used to combat the eff ects of fading in wireless systems, In this paper, we consider the analysis of the error performance of reference-based predetection and postdetection diversity systems when used in conjunction with trellis-coded modulation t echniques. Based on the combination of the transfer function upper bounding technique with the exact calculation of pairwise error event probabilities , we present a new and simple method for exact calculation of the union bou nd on the average bit error rate (BER) performance of these systems in corr elated Rayleigh fading channels. This method has the same complexity as the union-Chernoff bound, and some examples are given to illustrate its applic ation. Monte-Carlo simulation results, which are more indicative of the exa ct system performance, are also shown.