Outage Analysis and Fairness Design for Spatially Correlated FAS-Enabled RSMA Systems

Abstract

Sixth-generation (6G) systems target higher reliability, denser connectivity, and tighter interference control. {Within this context, rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) is envisioned as a promising candidate to enhance interference management in future wireless networks by flexibly splitting messages into a common and a private part, while fluid antenna systems (FAS) offer the potential to improve spatial selectivity through dynamic port reconfiguration.} Combining RSMA and FAS therefore enables efficient interference control and adaptive antenna utilization in multiuser multi-input single-output (MISO) networks. However, deriving closed-form outage probability (OP) expressions and tractable user fairness optimization in this scenario remains scarce in the literature. This paper studies a multiuser MISO downlink that jointly leverages RSMA and FAS. We develop a spatial correlation model for FAS using block correlation and incorporate linear precoding with zero-forcing and maximum-ratio transmission. Within this model, we derive closed-form OP expressions using a one-factor construction and generalized Gauss-Laguerre quadrature. Building on these expressions, we formulate a fairness objective that minimizes the worst-user OP and propose a low-complexity algorithm with a linear-program feasibility check to obtain the closed-form solution per iteration. Numerical results across different port counts, channel conditions, and target rates validate the analytical analysis, show that FAS-RSMA reduces OP by up to 92% relative to the fixed-position antenna (FPA) baseline, and demonstrate that fairness-oriented design equalizes user reliability while delivering a 1 dB SNR gain for the worst user at a fixed outage level.