Local-optimality guarantees for optimal decoding based on paths

This paper presents a unified analysis framework that captures recent advances in the study of local-optimality characterizations for codes on graphs. These local-optimality characterizations are based on combinatorial structures embedded in the Tanner graph of the code. Local-optimality implies both maximum-likelihood (ML) optimality and linear-programming (LP) decoding optimality. Also, an iterative message-passing decoding algorithm is guaranteed to find the unique locally-optimal codeword, if one exists. We demonstrate this proof technique by considering a definition of local optimality that is based on the simplest combinatorial structures in Tanner graphs, namely, paths of length h. We apply the technique of local optimality to a family of Tanner codes. Inverse polynomial bounds in the code length are proved on the word error probability of LP-decoding for this family of Tanner codes.