On the combining of multipath signals in narrowband Rayleigh fading channels

This paper deals with the process of constructive and destructive addition of multipath signals in a Rayleigh fading channel. It derives closed formulas associating the number of multipaths with the Rayleigh statistics of the channel and it displays the accuracy of these formulas by means of simulation. The primary conclusion is that multipaths add constructively with high probability, thus the more the multipaths the larger the mean power level experienced at the receiver. In this context, multipath propagation exhibits a beneficial property that could be exploited for designing improved performance receivers.