On Gaussian MACs with Variable-Length Feedback and Non-Vanishing Error~Probabilities (1609.00594v3)

Abstract: We characterize the fundamental limits of transmission of information over a Gaussian multiple access channel (MAC) with the use of variable-length feedback codes and under a non-vanishing error probability formalism. We develop new achievability and converse techniques to handle the continuous nature of the channel and the presence of expected power constraints. We establish the $\varepsilon$-capacity regions and bounds on the second-order asymptotics of the Gaussian MAC with variable-length feedback with termination (VLFT) codes and stop-feedback codes. We show that the former outperforms the latter significantly. Due to the multi-terminal nature of the channel model, we leverage tools from renewal theory developed by Lai and Siegmund to bound the asymptotic behavior of the maximum of a finite number of stopping times.