Bell System Technical Journal 

About: Bell System Technical Journal is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Transmission (telecommunications) & Optical fiber. It has an ISSN identifier of 0005-8580. Over the lifetime, 3567 publications have been published receiving 282355 citations.

A mathematical theory of communication

Abstract: In this final installment of the paper we consider the case where the signals or the messages or both are continuously variable, in contrast with the discrete nature assumed until now. To a considerable extent the continuous case can be obtained through a limiting process from the discrete case by dividing the continuum of messages and signals into a large but finite number of small regions and calculating the various parameters involved on a discrete basis. As the size of the regions is decreased these parameters in general approach as limits the proper values for the continuous case. There are, however, a few new effects that appear and also a general change of emphasis in the direction of specialization of the general results to particular cases.

Communication theory of secrecy systems

Abstract: THE problems of cryptography and secrecy systems furnish an interesting application of communication theory.1 In this paper a theory of secrecy systems is developed. The approach is on a theoretical level and is intended to complement the treatment found in standard works on cryptography.2 There, a detailed study is made of the many standard types of codes and ciphers, and of the ways of breaking them. We will be more concerned with the general mathematical structure and properties of secrecy systems.

The wire-tap channel

Abstract: We consider the situation in which digital data is to be reliably transmitted over a discrete, memoryless channel (dmc) that is subjected to a wire-tap at the receiver. We assume that the wire-tapper views the channel output via a second dmc). Encoding by the transmitter and decoding by the receiver are permitted. However, the code books used in these operations are assumed to be known by the wire-tapper. The designer attempts to build the encoder-decoder in such a way as to maximize the transmission rate R, and the equivocation d of the data as seen by the wire-tapper. In this paper, we find the trade-off curve between R and d, assuming essentially perfect (“error-free”) transmission. In particular, if d is equal to Hs, the entropy of the data source, then we consider that the transmission is accomplished in perfect secrecy. Our results imply that there exists a C s > 0, such that reliable transmission at rates up to C s is possible in approximately perfect secrecy.

Mathematical analysis of random noise

Abstract: In this section we use the representations of the noise currents given in section 2.8 to derive some statistical properties of I(t). The first six sections are concerned with the probability distribution of I(t) and of its zeros and maxima. Sections 3.7 and 3.8 are concerned with the statistical properties of the envelope of I(t). Fluctuations of integrals involving I2(t) are discussed in section 3.9. The probability distribution of a sine wave plus a noise current is given in 3.10 and in 3.11 an alternative method of deriving the results of Part III is mentioned. Prof. Uhlenbeck has pointed out that much of the material in this Part is closely connected with the theory of Markoff processes. Also S. Chandrasekhar has written a review of a class of physical problems which is related, in a general way, to the present subject.22