Enhancing Secrecy in Hardware-Impaired Cell-Free Massive MIMO by RSMA

In this paper, we investigate the secure transmission in the downlink of a cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) system that relies on rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA). We specifically evaluate the impact of hardware impairments (HWIs) originating from non-ideal access points (APs), user equipments (UEs), and Eavesdroppers (Eves) on the system’s secrecy performance. The investigation encompasses scenarios with both colluding and non-colluding Eves orchestrating pilot spoofing attacks against a designated UE, subsequently intercepting transmissions from both common and private streams. By taking into account a spatially correlated Ricean fading channel model and imperfect channel state information, we derive closed-form expressions for both legitimate and secrecy rates. The secrecy performance is scrutinized across different system configurations, including varying HWI levels, power splitting ratios, AP/Eve transmission powers, spatial correlations, line-of-sight components, and the presence of colluding versus non-colluding Eves. To enhance the secrecy rate for the compromised UE, we propose a secure power control strategy for adjusting the downlink transmission powers of the common and private streams. A sequential convex approximation-based algorithm is introduced to iteratively address this non-convex problem. Through comprehensive simulations, we validate our theoretical propositions and extract pivotal insights for system design.