Asynchronous Tag-based Physical-Layer Authentication in Wireless Communications

Tag-based physical-layer authentication (PLA) has gained significant research interest due to its high security and low complexity compared to traditional upper-layer authentication mechanisms. However, conventional tag-based PLA schemes often require strict synchronization between the tag and the source message before transmission, which may limit their practicality and effectiveness. To address this limitation, we propose an asynchronous tag-based PLA scheme, where the tag and the source message are transmitted asynchronously with an intentional time delay introduced at the transmitter. The proposed scheme enhances both compatibility and security without compromising robustness. We provide a theoretical analysis of the proposed scheme, and derive closed-form expressions to characterize its performance. Furthermore, theoretical comparisons with existing methods yield insightful conclusions regarding the advantages of the proposed approach. The scheme is implemented and extensively evaluated through simulations, where the theoretical results exhibit strong agreement with the simulation outcomes, thereby validating its effectiveness.