The sum-rank metric naturally extends both the Hamming and rank metrics in coding theory over fields. It measures the error-correcting capability of codes in multishot matrix-multiplicative channels (e.g. linear network coding or the discrete memoryless channel on fields). Although this metric has already shown to be of interest in several applications, not much is known about it. In this work, sum-rank supports for codewords and linear codes are introduced and studied, with emphasis on duality. The lattice structure of sum-rank supports is given; characterizations of the ambient spaces (\textit{support spaces}) they define are obtained; the classical operations of restriction and shortening are extended to the sum-rank metric; and estimates (bounds and equalities) on the parameters of such restricted and shortened codes are found. Three main applications are given: 1) Generalized sum-rank weights are introduced, together with their basic properties and bounds; 2) It is shown that duals, shortened and restricted codes of maximum sum-rank distance (MSRD) codes are in turn MSRD; 3) Degenerateness and effective lengths of sum-rank codes are introduced and characterized. In an appendix, skew supports are introduced, defined by skew polynomials, and their connection to sum-rank supports is given.
We review the main results of the theory of rank-metric codes, with emphasis on their combinatorial properties. We study their duality theory and MacWilliams identities, comparing in particular rank-metric codes in vector and matrix representation. We then investigate the combinatorial structure of MRD codes and optimal anticodes in the rank metric, describing how they relate to each other.
The tensor product of one code endowed with the Hamming metric and one endowed with the rank metric is analyzed. This gives a code which naturally inherits the sum-rank metric. Specializing to the product of a cyclic code and a skew-cyclic code, the resulting code turns out to belong to the recently introduced family of cyclic-skew-cyclic. A group theoretical description of these codes is given, after investigating the semilinear isometries in the sum-rank metric. Finally, a generalization of the Roos and the Hartmann-Tzeng bounds for the sum rank-metric is established, as well as a new lower …
Let $p$ be a prime such that $p \equiv 2$ or $3$ mod $5$. Linear block codes over the non-commutative matrix ring of $2 \times 2$ matrices over the prime field $GF(p)$ endowed with the Bachoc weight are derived as isometric images of linear block codes over the Galois field $GF(p^2)$ endowed with the Hamming metric. When seen as rank metric codes, this family of matrix codes satisfies the Singleton bound and thus are maximum rank distance codes, which are then lifted to form a special class of subspace codes, the Grassmannian codes, that meet the anticode bound. These so-called anticode-optima…
In this paper we extend the study of linear spaces of upper triangular matrices endowed with the flag-rank metric. Such metric spaces are isometric to certain spaces of degenerate flags and have been suggested as suitable framework for network coding. In this setting we provide a Singleton-like bound which relates the parameters of a flag-rank-metric code. This allows us to introduce the family of maximum flag-rank distance codes, that are flag-rank-metric codes meeting the Singleton-like bound with equality. Finally, we provide several constructions of maximum flag-rank distance codes.
Sum-rank Hamming codes are introduced in this work. They are essentially defined as the longest codes (thus of highest information rate) with minimum sum-rank distance at least $ 3 $ (thus one-error-correcting) for a fixed redundancy $ r $, base-field size $ q $ and field-extension degree $ m $ (i.e., number of matrix rows). General upper bounds on their code length, number of shots or sublengths and average sublength are obtained based on such parameters. When the field-extension degree is $ 1 $, it is shown that sum-rank isometry classes of sum-rank Hamming codes are in bijective corresponde…
The sum-rank metric can be seen as a generalization of both, the rank and the Hamming metric. It is well known that sum-rank metric codes outperform rank metric codes in terms of the required field size to construct maximum distance separable codes (i.e., the codes achieving the Singleton bound in the corresponding metric). In this work, we investigate the covering property of sum-rank metric codes to enrich the theory of sum-rank metric codes. We intend to answer the question: what is the minimum cardinality of a code given a sum-rank covering radius? We show the relations of this quantity be…
The sum-rank metric arises as an algebraic approach for coding in MIMO block-fading channels and multishot network coding. Codes designed in the sum-rank metric have raised interest in applications such as streaming codes, robust coded distributed storage systems and post-quantum secure cryptosystems. The sum-rank metric can be seen as a generalization of the well-known Hamming metric and the rank metric. As a relatively new metric, there are still many open theoretical problems for codes in the sum-rank metric. In this paper we investigate the geometrical properties of the balls with sum-rank…
Building upon the application of flags to network coding introduced by Liebhold, Nebe, and Vazquez-Castro, we develop a variant of this coding technique that uses degenerate flags. The information set is a metric affine space isometric to the space of upper triangular matrices endowed with the flag rank metric. This suggests the development of a theory for flag rank metric codes in analogy to the rank metric codes used in linear subspace coding.
Sum-rank metric codes have recently attracted the attention of many researchers, due to their relevance in several applications. Mathematically, the sum-rank metric is a natural generalization of both the Hamming metric and the rank metric. In this paper, we provide an Anticode Bound for the sum-rank metric, which extends the corresponding Hamming and rank-metric Anticode bounds. We classify then optimal anticodes, i.e., codes attaining the sum-rank metric Anticode Bound. We use these optimal anticodes to define generalized sum-rank weights and we study their main properties. In particular, we…
In this work, cyclic-skew-cyclic codes and sum-rank BCH codes are introduced. Cyclic-skew-cyclic codes are characterized as left ideals of a suitable non-commutative finite ring, constructed using skew polynomials on top of polynomials (or vice versa). Single generators of such left ideals are found, and they are used to construct generator matrices of the corresponding codes. The notion of defining set is introduced, using pairs of roots of skew polynomials on top of poynomials. A lower bound (called sum-rank BCH bound) on the minimum sum-rank distance is given for cyclic-skew-cyclic codes wh…
We derive simplified sphere-packing and Gilbert--Varshamov bounds for codes in the sum-rank metric, which can be computed more efficiently than previous ones. They give rise to asymptotic bounds that cover the asymptotic setting that has not yet been considered in the literature: families of sum-rank-metric codes whose block size grows in the code length. We also provide two genericity results: we show that random linear codes achieve almost the sum-rank-metric Gilbert--Varshamov bound with high probability. Furthermore, we derive bounds on the probability that a random linear code attains the…
We propose the first non-trivial generic decoding algorithm for codes in the sum-rank metric. The new method combines ideas of well-known generic decoders in the Hamming and rank metric. For the same code parameters and number of errors, the new generic decoder has a larger expected complexity than the known generic decoders for the Hamming metric and smaller than the known rank-metric decoders. Furthermore, we give a formal hardness reduction, providing evidence that generic sum-rank decoding is computationally hard. As a by-product of the above, we solve some fundamental coding problems in t…
This paper investigates the theory of sum-rank metric codes for which the individual matrix blocks may have different sizes. Various bounds on the cardinality of a code are derived, along with their asymptotic extensions. The duality theory of sum-rank metric codes is also explored, showing that MSRD codes (the sum-rank analogue of MDS codes) dualize to MSRD codes only if all matrix blocks have the same number of columns. In the latter case, duality considerations lead to an upper bound on the number of blocks for MSRD codes. The paper also contains various constructions of sum-rank metric cod…
In the last decade there has been a great interest in extending results for codes equipped with the Hamming metric to analogous results for codes endowed with the rank metric. This work follows this thread of research and studies the characterization of systematic generator matrices (encoders) of codes with maximum rank distance. In the context of Hamming distance these codes are the so-called Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) codes and systematic encoders have been fully investigated. In this paper we investigate the algebraic properties and representation of encoders in systematic form of Max…
We consider decoding of vertically homogeneous interleaved sum-rank-metric codes with high interleaving order $s$, that are constructed by stacking $s$ codewords of a single constituent code. We propose a Metzner--Kapturowski-like decoding algorithm that can correct errors of sum-rank weight $t <= d-2$, where $d$ is the minimum distance of the code, if the interleaving order $s > t$ and the error matrix fulfills a certain rank condition. The proposed decoding algorithm generalizes the Metzner--Kapturowski(-like) decoders in the Hamming metric and the rank metric and has a computational complex…
The column Hamming distance of a convolutional code determines the error correction capability when streaming over a class of packet erasure channels. We introduce a metric known as the column sum rank, that parallels column Hamming distance when streaming over a network with link failures. We prove rank analogues of several known column Hamming distance properties and introduce a new family of convolutional codes that maximize the column sum rank up to the code memory. Our construction involves finding a class of super-regular matrices that preserve this property after multiplication with non…
Reed-Solomon codes and Gabidulin codes have maximum Hamming distance and maximum rank distance, respectively. A general construction using skew polynomials, called skew Reed-Solomon codes, has already been introduced in the literature. In this work, we introduce a linearized version of such codes, called linearized Reed-Solomon codes. We prove that they have maximum sum-rank distance. Such distance is of interest in multishot network coding or in singleshot multi-network coding. To prove our result, we introduce new metrics defined by skew polynomials, which we call skew metrics, we prove that…
Recently, codes in the sum-rank metric attracted attention due to several applications in e.g. multishot network coding, distributed storage and quantum-resistant cryptography. The sum-rank analogs of Reed-Solomon and Gabidulin codes are linearized Reed-Solomon codes. We show how to construct $h$-folded linearized Reed-Solomon (FLRS) codes and derive an interpolation-based decoding scheme that is capable of correcting sum-rank errors beyond the unique decoding radius. The presented decoder can be used for either list or probabilistic unique decoding and requires at most $\mathcal{O}(sn^2)$ ope…
Codes in the sum-rank metric have various applications in error control for multishot network coding, distributed storage and code-based cryptography. Linearized Reed-Solomon (LRS) codes contain Reed-Solomon and Gabidulin codes as subclasses and fulfill the Singleton-like bound in the sum-rank metric with equality. We propose the first known error-erasure decoder for LRS codes to unleash their full potential for multishot network coding. The presented syndrome-based Berlekamp-Massey-like error-erasure decoder can correct $t_F$ full errors, $t_R$ row erasures and $t_C$ column erasures up to $2t…
Just as rank-metric or Gabidulin codes may be used to construct rate-diversity tradeoff optimal space-time codes, a recently introduced generalization for the sum-rank metric -- linearized Reed-Solomon codes -- accomplishes the same in the case of multiple fading blocks. In this paper, we provide the first explicit construction of minimal delay rate-diversity optimal multiblock space-time codes as an application of linearized Reed-Solomon codes. We also provide sequential decoders for these codes and, more generally, space-time codes constructed from finite field codes. Simulation results show…
We provide a geometric characterization of $k$-dimensional $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}$-linear sum-rank metric codes as tuples of $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}^k$. We then use this characterization to study one-weight codes in the sum-rank metric. This leads us to extend the family of linearized Reed-Solomon codes in order to obtain a doubly-extended version of them. We prove that these codes are still maximum sum-rank distance (MSRD) codes and, when $k=2$, they are one-weight, as in the Hamming-metric case. We then focus on constant rank-profile codes in the sum-rank metric, which are a…
The main purpose of this paper is to further study the structure, parameters and constructions of the recently introduced minimal codes in the sum-rank metric. These objects form a bridge between the classical minimal codes in the Hamming metric, the subject of intense research over the past three decades partly because of their cryptographic properties, and the more recent rank-metric minimal codes. We prove some bounds on their parameters, existence results, and, via a tool that we name geometric dual, we manage to construct minimal codes with few weights. A generalization of the celebrated …
We speed up existing decoding algorithms for three code classes in different metrics: interleaved Gabidulin codes in the rank metric, lifted interleaved Gabidulin codes in the subspace metric, and linearized Reed-Solomon codes in the sum-rank metric. The speed-ups are achieved by new algorithms that reduce the cores of the underlying computational problems of the decoders to one common tool: computing left and right approximant bases of matrices over skew polynomial rings. To accomplish this, we describe a skew-analogue of the existing PM-Basis algorithm for matrices over ordinary polynomials.…
