  The conventional analytical channel models for multiple-input multiple-output
(MIMO) wireless radio channels are array dependent. In this paper, we present
several array independent MIMO channel models that inherit the essence of
analytical models. The key idea is to decompose the physical scattering channel
into two parts using the manifold decomposition technique: one is the wavefield
independent sampling matrices depending on the antenna arrays only; the other
is the array independent physical channel that can be individually modeled in
an analytical manner. Based on the framework, we firstly extend the
conventional virtual channel representation (VCR), which is restricted to
uniform linear arrays (ULAs) so far, to a general version applicable to
arbitrary array configurations. Then, we present two array independent
stochastic MIMO channel models based on the proposed new VCR as well as the
Weichselberger model. These two models are good at angular power spectrum (APS)
estimation and capacity prediction, respectively. Finally, the impact of array
characteristics on channel capacity is separately investigated by studying the
condition number of the array steering matrix at fixed angles, and the results
agree well with existing conclusions. Numerical results are presented for model
validation and comparison.
