Simplified approximations to the average of some useful forms of Gaussian Q functions with MRC diversity reception over Nakagami-q and Rician fading channels and their applications

In this paper, using an accurate exponential based approximation on the Gaussian Q function, the simplified novel approximations to the average of some useful forms of Gaussian Q functions, with maximal-ratio combining (MRC) diversity reception, over independent but not necessarily identical Nakagami-q (Hoyt) and Rician fading channels are proposed. The results proved to be useful in accurate estimation of the symbol error probability (SEP) for various digital modulation schemes like cross-QAM, triangular-QAM (TQAM), rectangular-QAM and square-QAM (SQAM), over the same fading statistics. Asymptotic expressions of the proposed approximations are also derived in this paper. Various simulation results are provided to verify the accuracy and significance of the proposed work.