Wideband Cognitive Radio for Joint Communication and Sensing: Optimization of Subcarrier Allocation and beamforming

Abstract: As data traffic grows, wireless systems shift to higher frequency bands (6 GHz and above), where radar systems also operate. This coexistence demands effective interference management and efficient wideband utilization. Cognitive Radio (CR) offers a solution but remains limited to single-node or narrowband systems. This paper introduces a generalized wideband CR-enabled communication and sensing system with multiple users and targets. We propose a communication and sensing sub-carrier allocations framework, followed by transmit beamforming for the primary communication BS and sensing signal design for the secondary radar BS. The goal is to maximize the communication sum rate while ensuring sensing requirements, minimizing interference, and adhering to power constraints. To solve the resulting non-convex problem, we develop a manifold optimization algorithm for communication-only sub-carriers and an alternating optimization approach using the generalized Rayleigh quotient and semidefinite relaxation for communication-sensing sub-carriers. Compared to a non-cooperative benchmark, the proposed system achieves a \qty{10}{\percent} gain in communication sum rate and a \qty{32}{\percent} gain in sensing sum rate with \num{12} BS antennas.