[2512.17466] Linear Attention for Joint Power Optimization and User-Centric Clustering in Cell-Free Networks

Electrical Engineering and Systems Science > Systems and Control arXiv:2512.17466 (eess) [Submitted on 19 Dec 2025 (v1), last revised 2 Apr 2026 (this version, v3)] Title:Linear Attention for Joint Power Optimization and User-Centric Clustering in Cell-Free Networks Authors:Irched Chafaa, Giacomo Bacci, Luca Sanguinetti View a PDF of the paper titled Linear Attention for Joint Power Optimization and User-Centric Clustering in Cell-Free Networks, by Irched Chafaa and 1 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Optimal AP clustering and power allocation are critical in user-centric cell-free massive MIMO systems. Existing deep learning models lack flexibility to handle dynamic network configurations. Furthermore, many approaches overlook pilot contamination and suffer from high computational complexity. In this paper, we propose a lightweight transformer model that overcomes these limitations by jointly predicting AP clusters and powers solely from spatial coordinates of user devices and AP. Our model is architecture-agnostic to users load, handles both clustering and power allocation without channel estimation overhead, and eliminates pilot contamination by assigning users to AP within a pilot reuse constraint. We also incorporate a customized linear attention mechanism to capture user-AP interactions efficiently and enable linear scalability with respect to the number of users. Numerical results confirm the model's effectiveness in maximizing the minimum spectral...