Generalized relaying in the presence of interference

Capacity gains from cooperation in a network with two source-destination pairs and a relay are analyzed. Scenarios in which the relay decodes both messages are considered. An achievable rate region is derived and evaluated for Gaussian channels. A simple encoding scheme is employed that does not include rate-splitting at the encoders and/or the relay. The obtained results demonstrate the gains from interference forwarding in certain scenarios: the relay optimally splits its power between sending the desired message and the interference. Thus, instead of only message forwarding, the relay uses some of its power to facilitate interference cancelation at the destination node.