Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 213 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use an ideal carrier-sense multiple access scheme on the interference graph. An active station finishes its transmission after an independent unit-rate exponential distribution waiting time. An inactive station has an independent attempt clock with an exponential distribution of rate ; an attempt succeeds only when all its neighbors are inactive. Attempts that are blocked do not change the state. Thus, on the independent sets represented by , the continuous-time Markov chain has transition ratesThe empty independent set can be reached by successive deactivations, and any other independent set can be reached from it by successive activations. Hence this finite chain is an irreducible Markov chain. The weight satisfiesBy detailed balance for a continuous-time Markov chain, its unique stationary law isThis is a finite exponential family. Its natural parameter of an exponential family is and its mean parameter of an exponential family is the vector of active fractions.
The throughput region of an interference graph is exactly . To see the possibly less immediate inclusion, suppose a random feasible schedule has mean . Retain each of its active vertices independently with probability , interpreting zero coordinates as always deleted. A subset of an independent set remains an independent set; the thinned schedule has mean exactly . Thus lies in the convex hull of . The opposite inclusion follows from the definition using equality. Moreover , so this convex hull has full dimension.
Now choose such that remains in the interior of . Use interior moment matching in a finite exponential family. Consider the convex functionThere is a ball of radius around contained in . Maximizing a linear functional over the convex hull is the same as maximizing over its generating set, so, for every ,The last inequality uses the point when . Hence is a coercive function and has a finite minimizer . Differentiating the finite normalizing sum givesThis covariance matrix is a positive-definite matrix: a linear functional constant on all states of positive weight must be constant on , so its coefficients vanish. Thus is a strictly convex function; its minimizer is unique. At that minimizer the desired strict service margins areFor a backlogged station that transmits at unit speed whenever active, the long-run throughput is , by the ergodic theorem for a finite continuous-time Markov chain. Therefore the ideal carrier-sense multiple access scheme can supply a strict service margin for every arrival vector in the interior of the throughput region of an interference graph. The local attempt rates can realize the whole interior capacity region in this sense. Boundary points may require parameters tending to infinity, and the argument gives no uniform delay or mixing-time bound near the boundary.
Throughput region of an interference graph 2026-10-06
For feasible independent set activation vectors , the throughput region is their convex hull. Its downward closure is the same set because deleting active vertices preserves feasibility. Ideal carrier-sense multiple access can supply strict margins above every vector in its interior by adjusting attempt rates.