A class of scattered linearized polynomials covering infinitely many field extensions is exhibited. More precisely, the $q$-polynomial over $\mathbb F_{q^6}$, $q \equiv 1\pmod 4$ described in arXiv:1906.05611, arXiv:1910.02278 is generalized for any even $n\ge6$ to an $\mathbb F_q$-linear automorphism $ψ(x)$ of $\mathbb F_q^n$ of order $n$. Such $ψ(x)$ and some functional powers of it are proved to be scattered. In particular this provides new maximum scattered linear sets of the projective line $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$ for $n=8,10$. The polynomials described in this paper lead to a new infinite family of MRD-codes in $\mathbb F_q^{n\times n}$ with minimum distance $n-1$ for any odd $q$ if $n\equiv0\pmod4$ and any $q\equiv1\pmod4$ if $n\equiv2\pmod4$.
The rank of a scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear set of $\mathrm{PG}(r-1,q^n)$, $rn$ even, is at most $rn/2$ as it was proved by Blokhuis and Lavrauw. Existence results and explicit constructions were given for infinitely many values of $r$, $n$, $q$ ($rn$ even) for scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear sets of rank $rn/2$. In this paper we prove that the bound $rn/2$ is sharp also in the remaining open cases. Recently Sheekey proved that scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$ of maximum rank $n$ yield $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear MRD-codes with dimension $2n$ and minimum distance $n-1$.…
We introduce a family of linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^{2n})$ arising from maximum scattered linear sets of pseudoregulus type of $\mathrm{PG}(3,q^{n})$. For $n=3,4$ and for certain values of the parameters we show that these linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^{2n})$ are maximum scattered and they yield new MRD-codes with parameters $(6,6,q;5)$ for $q>2$ and with parameters $(8,8,q;7)$ for $q$ odd.
The aim of this paper is to survey on the known results on maximum scattered linear sets and MRD-codes. In particular, we investigate the link between these two areas. In "A new family of linear maximum rank distance codes" (2016) Sheekey showed how maximum scattered linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$ define square MRD-codes. Later in "Maximum scattered linear sets and MRD-codes" (2017) maximum scattered linear sets in $\mathrm{PG}(r-1,q^n)$, $r>2$, were used to construct non square MRD-codes. Here, we point out a new relation regarding the other direction. We also provide an alternative proo…
The concept of linear set in projective spaces over finite fields was introduced by Lunardon in 1999 and it plays central roles in the study of blocking sets, semifields, rank-distance codes and etc. A linear set with the largest possible cardinality and rank is called maximum scattered. Despite two decades of study, there are only a limited number of maximum scattered linear sets of a line $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$. In this paper, we provide a large family of new maximum scattered linear sets over $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$ for any even $n\geq 6$ and odd $q$. In particular, the relevant family contains …
The concept of scattered polynomials is generalized to those of exceptional scattered sequences which are shown to be the natural algebraic counterpart of $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$-linear MRD codes. The first infinite family in the first nontrivial case is also provided and equivalence issues are considered. As a byproduct, a new infinite family of MRD codes is obtained.
This preprint is of a chapter to appear in {\it Combinatorics and finite fields: Difference sets, polynomials, pseudorandomness and applications. Radon Series on Computational and Applied Mathematics}, K.-U. Schmidt and A. Winterhof (eds.). Rank-metric codes are codes consisting of matrices with entries in a finite field, with the distance between two matrices being the rank of their difference. Codes with maximum size for a fixed minimum distance are called Maximum Rank Distance (MRD) codes. Such codes were constructed and studied independently by Delsarte (1978), Gabidulin (1985), Roth (1991…
After a seminal paper by Shekeey (2016), a connection between maximum $h$-scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspaces of $V(r,q^n)$ and maximum rank distance (MRD) codes has been established in the extremal cases $h=1$ and $h=r-1$. In this paper, we propose a connection for any $h\in\{1,\ldots,r-1\}$, extending and unifying all the previously known ones. As a consequence, we obtain examples of non-square MRD codes which are not equivalent to generalized Gabidulin or twisted Gabidulin codes. Up to equivalence, we classify MRD codes having the same parameters as the ones in our connection. Also, we deter…
We revisit and extend the connections between $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}$-linear rank-metric codes and evasive $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}^k$. We give a unifying framework in which we prove in an elementary way how the parameters of a rank-metric code are related to special geometric properties of the associated evasive subspace, with a particular focus on the generalized rank weights. In this way, we can also provide alternative and very short proofs of known results on scattered subspaces. We then use this simplified point of view in order to get a geometric characterization of near…
In [10], the existence of $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear MRD-codes of $\mathbb{F}_q^{6\times 6}$, with dimension $12$, minimum distance $5$ and left idealiser isomorphic to $\mathbb{F}_{q^6}$, defined by a trinomial of $\mathbb{F}_{q^6}[x]$, when $q$ is odd and $q\equiv 0,\pm 1\pmod 5$, has been proved. In this paper we show that this family produces $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear MRD-codes of $\mathbb{F}_q^{6\times 6}$, with the same properties, also in the remaining $q$ odd cases, but not in the $q$ even case. These MRD-codes are not equivalent to the previously known MRD-codes. We also prove that the corresp…
A linearized polynomial $f(x)\in\mathbb F_{q^n}[x]$ is called scattered if for any $y,z\in\mathbb F_{q^n}$, the condition $zf(y)-yf(z)=0$ implies that $y$ and $z$ are $\mathbb F_{q}$-linearly dependent. In this paper two generalizations of the notion of a scattered linearized polynomial are defined and investigated. Let $t$ be a nontrivial positive divisor of $n$. By weakening the property defining a scattered linearized polynomial, L-$q^t$-partially scattered and R-$q^t$-partially scattered linearized polynomials are introduced in such a way that the scattered linearized polynomials are preci…
In this note, we provide a description of the elements of minimum rank of a generalized Gabidulin code in terms of Grassmann coordinates. As a consequence, a characterization of linearized polynomials of rank at most $n-k$ is obtained, as well as parametric equations for MRD-codes of distance $d=n-k+1$.
A linearized polynomial over $\mathbb F_{q^n}$ is called scattered when for any $t,x\in\mathbb F_{q^n}$, the condition $xf(t)-tf(x)=0$ holds if and only if $x$ and $t$ are $\mathbb F_q$-linearly dependent. General conditions for linearized polynomials over $\mathbb F_{q^n}$ to be scattered can be deduced from the recent results in [4,7,15,19]. Some of them are based on the Dickson matrix associated with a linearized polynomial. Here a new condition involving Dickson matrices is stated. This condition is then applied to the Lunardon-Polverino binomial $x^{q^s}+δx^{q^{n-s}}$, allowing to prove t…
In [2] and [19] are presented the first two families of maximum scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear sets of the projective line $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$. More recently in [23] and in [5], new examples of maximum scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspaces of $V(2,q^n)$ have been constructed, but the equivalence problem of the corresponding linear sets is left open. Here we show that the $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear sets presented in [23] and in [5], for $n=6,8$, are new. Also, for $q$ odd, $q\equiv \pm 1,\,0 \pmod 5$, we present new examples of maximum scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear sets in $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^6)$, ari…
Maximum scattered subspaces are not only objects of intrinsic interest in finite geometry but also powerful tools for the construction of MRD-codes, projective two-weight codes, and strongly regular graphs. In 2018 Csajbók, Marino, Polverino, and Zanella introduced a new family of maximum scattered subspaces in $\mathbb{F}_{q^6} \times \mathbb{F}_{q^6}$ arising from polynomials of type $f_b(x)=bx^q+x^{q^4}$ for certain choices of $b \in \mathbb{F}_{q^6}$. Throughout characterizations for $f_{b_2}(x)$ and $f_{b_1}(x)$ giving rise to equivalent maximum scattered subspaces, the authors conjecture…
In this paper we investigate the geometric properties of the configuration consisting of a $k$-subspace $Γ$ and a canonical subgeometry $Σ$ in $\mathrm{PG}(n-1,q^n)$, with $Γ\capΣ=\emptyset$. The idea motivating is that such properties are reflected in the algebraic structure of the linear set which is projection of $Σ$ from the vertex $Γ$. In particular we deal with the maximum scattered linear sets of the line $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$ found by Lunardon and Polverino and recently generalized by Sheekey. Our aim is to characterize this family by means of the properties of the vertex of the project…
Scattered polynomials of a given index over finite fields are intriguing rare objects with many connections within mathematics. Of particular interest are the exceptional ones, as defined in 2018 by the first author and Zhou, for which partial classification results are known. In this paper we propose a unified algebraic description of $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$-linear maximum rank distance codes, introducing the notion of exceptional linear maximum rank distance codes of a given index. Such a connection naturally extends the notion of exceptionality for a scattered polynomial in the rank metric frame…
Scattered polynomials over finite fields attracted an increasing attention in the last years. One of the reasons is their deep connection with Maximum Rank Distance (MRD) codes. Known classification results for exceptional scattered polynomials, i.e. polynomials which are scattered over infinite field extensions, are limited to the cases where their index $\ell$ is small, or a prime number larger than the $q$-degree $k$ of the polynomial, or an integer smaller than the $k$ in the case where $k$ is a prime. In this paper we completely classify exceptional scattered polynomials when the maximum …
We generalize the example of linear set presented by the last two authors in "Vertex properties of maximum scattered linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$" (2019) to a more general family, proving that such linear sets are maximum scattered when $q$ is odd and, apart from a special case, they are are new. This solves an open problem posed in "Vertex properties of maximum scattered linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$" (2019). As a consequence of Sheekey's results in "A new family of linear maximum rank distance codes" (2016), this family yields to new MRD-codes with parameters $(6,6,q;5)$.
In this paper we prove that the property of being scattered for a $\mathbb{F}_q$-linearized polynomial of small $q$-degree over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ is unstable, in the sense that, whenever the corresponding linear set has at least one point of weight larger than one, the polynomial is far from being scattered. To this aim, we define and investigate $r$-fat polynomials, a natural generalization of scattered polynomials. An $r$-fat $\mathbb{F}_q$-linearized polynomial defines a linear set of rank $n$ in the projective line of order $q^n$ with $r$ points of weight larger than one. W…
Lunardon and Polverino construct a translation plane starting from a scattered linear set of pseudoregulus type in $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^t)$. In this paper a similar construction of a translation plane $\mathcal A_f$ obtained from any scattered linearized polynomial $f(x)$ in $\mathbb F_{q^t}[x]$ is described and investigated. A class of quasifields giving rise to such planes is defined. Denote by $U_f$ the $\mathbb F_q$-subspace of $\mathbb F_{q^t}^2$ associated with $f(x)$. If $f(x)$ and $f'(x)$ are scattered, then $\mathcal A_f$ and $\mathcal A_{f'}$ are isomorphic if and only if $U_f$ and $U_{f…
In [A. Neri, P. Santonastaso, F. Zullo. Extending two families of maximum rank distance codes], the authors extended the family of $2$-dimensional $\mathbb{F}_{q^{2t}}$-linear MRD codes recently found in [G. Longobardi, G. Marino, R. Trombetti, Y. Zhou. A large family of maximum scattered linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^n)$ and their associated MRD codes]. Also, for $t \geq 5$ they determined equivalence classes of the elements in this new family and provided the exact number of inequivalent codes in it. In this article, we complete the study of the equivalence issue removing the restriction $…
Let $f$ be the $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear map over $\mathbb{F}_{q^{2n}}$ defined by $x\mapsto x+ax^{q^s}+bx^{q^{n+s}}$ with $\gcd(n,s)=1$. It is known that the kernel of $f$ has dimension at most $2$, as proved by Csajbók et al. in "A new family of MRD-codes" (2018). For $n$ big enough, e.g. $n\geq5$ when $s=1$, we classify the values of $b/a$ such that the kernel of $f$ has dimension at most $1$. To this aim, we translate the problem into the study of some algebraic curves of small degree with respect to the degree of $f$; this allows to use intersection theory and function field theory together w…
For an arbitrary $q$-polynomial $f$ over $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ we study the problem of finding those $q$-polynomials $g$ over $\mathbb{F}_{q^n}$ for which the image sets of $f(x)/x$ and $g(x)/x$ coincide. For $n\leq 5$ we provide sufficient and necessary conditions and then apply our result to study maximum scattered linear sets of $\mathrm{PG}(1,q^5)$.
Maximum 2-scattered subspaces of $V(r,q^6)$ for every $r\geq 3$
Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica “Ulisse Dini”, Università degli Studi di Firenze（佛罗伦萨大学）；Dipartimento di Matematica e Applicazioni “R. Caccioppoli”, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II（那不勒斯费德里科二世大学）
Linearized polynomials appear in many different contexts, such as rank metric codes, cryptography and linear sets, and the main issue regards the characterization of the number of roots from their coefficients. Results of this type have been already proved in [7,10,24]. In this paper we provide bounds and characterizations on the number of roots of linearized polynomials of this form \[ ax+b_0x^σ+b_1x^{σq^n}+b_2x^{σq^{2n}}+\ldots+b_{t-1}x^{σq^{n(t-1)}} \in \mathbb{F}_{q^{nt}}[x], \] with $σ$ a generator of the Galois group $\mathrm{Gal}(\mathbb{F}_{q^n}\colon\mathbb{F}_q)$. Also, we characteri…
