Compound statistical models for shadowed fading channels

The commonly used distribution for shadowed fading channels, the Nakagami-lognormal distribution, arises by compounding the Nakagami and log-normal distributions. This distribution, however, does not have a closed form and recently this led Shankar [Outage probabilities in shadowed fading channels using a compound statistical model. IEE Proc Commun 2005; 152:828–32; Error rates in generalized shadowed fading channels. Wireless Personal Commun 2004; 28:233–8; A compound scattering pdf for the ultrasonic echo envelope and its relationship to K and Nakagami distributions. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Frequency Control 2003; 50:339–43.] to propose an alternative form obtained by compounding the Nakagami and gamma distributions. In this note, we derive a comprehensive collection of models for shadowed fading channels obtained by compounding the Nakagami distribution with 16 flexible families. The calculations involve use of several special functions and their properties. We feel that this work could serve as a useful reference for statistical modeling of shadowed fading channels.