Codes and Designs Related to Lifted MRD Codes

Lifted maximum rank distance (MRD) codes, which are constant dimension codes, are considered. It is shown that a lifted MRD code can be represented in such a way that it forms a block design known as a transversal design. A slightly different representation of this design makes it similar to a $q-$analog of a transversal design. The structure of these designs is used to obtain upper bounds on the sizes of constant dimension codes which contain a lifted MRD code. Codes which attain these bounds are constructed. These codes are the largest known codes for the given parameters. These transversal designs can be also used to derive a new family of linear codes in the Hamming space. Bounds on the minimum distance and the dimension of such codes are given.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. The material in this paper was presented in part in the 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory, Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 201

Covering of Subspaces by Subspaces

Lower and upper bounds on the size of a covering of subspaces in the Grassmann graph \cG_q(n,r) by subspaces from the Grassmann graph \cG_q(n,k), $k \geq r$, are discussed. The problem is of interest from four points of view: coding theory, combinatorial designs, $q$-analogs, and projective geometry. In particular we examine coverings based on lifted maximum rank distance codes, combined with spreads and a recursive construction. New constructions are given for $q=2$ with $r=2$ or $r=3$. We discuss the density for some of these coverings. Tables for the best known coverings, for $q=2$ and $5 \leq n \leq 10$, are presented. We present some questions concerning possible constructions of new coverings of smaller size.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0805.352

Tables of subspace codes

One of the main problems of subspace coding asks for the maximum possible cardinality of a subspace code with minimum distance at least $d$ over $\mathbb{F}_q^n$, where the dimensions of the codewords, which are vector spaces, are contained in $K\subseteq\{0,1,\dots,n\}$. In the special case of $K=\{k\}$ one speaks of constant dimension codes. Since this (still) emerging field is very prosperous on the one hand side and there are a lot of connections to classical objects from Galois geometry it is a bit difficult to keep or to obtain an overview about the current state of knowledge. To this end we have implemented an on-line database of the (at least to us) known results at \url{subspacecodes.uni-bayreuth.de}. The aim of this recurrently updated technical report is to provide a user guide how this technical tool can be used in research projects and to describe the so far implemented theoretic and algorithmic knowledge.Comment: 44 pages, 6 tables, 7 screenshot

Classification of large partial plane spreads in PG(6,2)PG(6,2) and related combinatorial objects

In this article, the partial plane spreads in $PG(6,2)$ of maximum possible size $17$ and of size $16$ are classified. Based on this result, we obtain the classification of the following closely related combinatorial objects: Vector space partitions of $PG(6,2)$ of type $(3^{16} 4^1)$, binary $3\times 4$ MRD codes of minimum rank distance $3$, and subspace codes with parameters $(7,17,6)_2$ and $(7,34,5)_2$.Comment: 31 pages, 9 table

Problems on q-Analogs in Coding Theory

The interest in $q$-analogs of codes and designs has been increased in the last few years as a consequence of their new application in error-correction for random network coding. There are many interesting theoretical, algebraic, and combinatorial coding problems concerning these q-analogs which remained unsolved. The first goal of this paper is to make a short summary of the large amount of research which was done in the area mainly in the last few years and to provide most of the relevant references. The second goal of this paper is to present one hundred open questions and problems for future research, whose solution will advance the knowledge in this area. The third goal of this paper is to present and start some directions in solving some of these problems.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0805.3528 by other author