On the distribution of the peak-to-average power ratio in OFDM signals

The distribution of the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) in strictly band limited orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signals is studi ed. Assuming that the base- and OFDM signal is characterized as a band-limi ted complex Gaussian process, we first attempt to derive the exact distribu tion of the PAPR in the band-limited OFDM signals. Since this distribution cannot be expressed in a closed form, we further develop a simple closed-fo rm approximation, based on the level-crossing rate analysis. Comparisons of the proposed distributions with those obtained by computer simulations sho w goad agreement and convergence with an increase in the number of subcarri ers.