Non-binary GF(q) polar successive cancellation decoder and fast decoding of special nodes

1 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to:

receive a wireless transmission; and

decode the wireless transmission based on a non-binary polar successive cancellation list (SCL) decoder algorithm in which a path metric (PM) computation uses a maximum approximation based on logarithmic normalized values for random variable probabilities.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to decode the wireless transmission based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one Rate-0 parent node for which child node values correspond to known symbols and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one Rate-0 parent node.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein to decode the wireless transmission for the at least one Rate-0 parent node, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to determine the path metric at a parent node based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to decode the wireless transmission based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one Rate-1 parent node for which child node values correspond to information symbols, wherein a split is performed based on one or more less reliable nodes of the multiple nodes and hard decisions are performed for other child node values of the at least one Rate-1 parent node, and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one Rate-1 parent node.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the corresponding computation of the path metric is based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities for the one or more less reliable nodes.

6 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to:

identify the one or more less reliable nodes from a set of nodes based on a largest entropy among the set of nodes.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to decode the wireless transmission based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one weighted repetition (WREP) parent node having child nodes corresponding to known symbols except for a single node corresponding to an information symbol, and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one WREP parent node.

8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein to decode the wireless transmission for the at least one WREP parent node, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to determine the path metric at the at least one WREP parent node based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to decode the wireless transmission based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one single parity check (SPC) parent node for which a child node value corresponds to a known symbol and other child node values correspond to information symbols, and wherein a split is performed based on one or more less reliable nodes and hard decisions are performed for the other child node values of at least one SPC parent node, and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one SPC parent node.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the corresponding computation of the path metric for the at least one SPC parent node is based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities.

11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to:

identify the one or more less reliable nodes from a set of nodes based on a largest entropy among the set of nodes.

12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more transceivers coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the wireless transmission via the one or more transceivers.

13 . A method of wireless communication, including:

receiving a wireless transmission; and

decoding the wireless transmission based on a non-binary polar successive cancellation list (SCL) decoder algorithm in which a path metric (PM) computation uses a maximum approximation based on logarithmic normalized values for random variable probabilities.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the decoding of the wireless transmission is based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one Rate-0 parent node for which child node values correspond to known symbols and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one Rate-0 parent node, wherein for the at least one Rate-0 parent node, the decoding includes determining the path metric at a parent node based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the decoding of the wireless transmission is based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one Rate-1 parent node for which child node values correspond to information symbols, wherein a split is performed based on one or more less reliable nodes of the multiple nodes and hard decisions are performed for other child node values of the at least one Rate-1 parent node, and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one Rate-1 parent node.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the corresponding computation of the path metric is based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities for the one or more less reliable nodes, the method further comprising:

identifying the one or more less reliable nodes from a set of nodes based on a largest entropy among the set of nodes.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the decoding of the wireless transmission is based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one weighted repetition (WREP) parent node having child nodes corresponding to known symbols except for a single node corresponding to an information symbol, and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one WREP parent node, wherein for the at least one WREP parent node, the decoding includes determining the path metric at the at least one WREP parent node based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the decoding of the wireless transmission is based on a tree traversal algorithm having multiple nodes, including at least one single parity check (SPC) parent node for which a child node value corresponds to a known symbol and other child node values correspond to information symbols, and wherein a split is performed based on one or more less reliable nodes and hard decisions are performed for the other child node values of the at least one SPC parent node, and a corresponding computation of a path metric at the at least one SPC parent node.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the corresponding computation of the path metric for the at least one SPC parent node is based on the maximum approximation of the logarithmic normalized values for the random variable probabilities, the method further comprising:

identifying the one or more less reliable nodes from a set of nodes based on a largest entropy among the set of nodes.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for wireless communication, the code when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to:

receive a wireless transmission; and

decode the wireless transmission based on a non-binary polar successive cancellation list (SCL) decoder algorithm in which a path metric (PM) computation uses a maximum approximation based on logarithmic normalized values for random variable probabilities.