Rayleigh Fading

Rayleigh fading is a form of small-scale signal fading caused by multipath propagation in which multiple replicas of the same signal arrive at the receiver with different delays and phases, producing constructive and destructive interference. When no dominant line-of-sight component is present, the envelope of the received signal amplitude follows a Rayleigh statistical distribution.

Rayleigh fading is common in terrestrial wireless channels and can also occur in satellite communications, particularly for mobile or low-elevation-angle links where reflections from terrain, buildings, vehicles, or the sea introduce significant multipath. It is less prevalent for clear line-of-sight satellite links but can still affect land-mobile, maritime, and aeronautical satellite services under certain propagation conditions.