On the existence of linear rank-metric intersecting codes

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Borello, Martino, Polverino, Olga, Zullo, Ferdinando
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Borello, Martino
Polverino, Olga
Zullo, Ferdinando
author_facet Borello, Martino
Polverino, Olga
Zullo, Ferdinando
contents Intersecting codes are a classical object in coding theory whose rank-metric analogue has recently been introduced. Although the definition formally parallels the Hamming-metric case, the structure and parameter constraints of rank-metric intersecting codes exhibit substantially different behavior. It was previously shown that a nondegenerate $[n,k,d]_{q^m/q}$ rank-metric intersecting code must satisfy $2k-1 \le n \le 2m-3$, and the tightness of the upper bound was left open. Using the geometric interpretation of rank-metric codes via $q$-systems, we prove that the dual subspace associated with a rank-metric intersecting code must satisfy strong evasiveness properties. This connection allows us to derive new restrictions on the parameters of such codes and to show that the bound $n=2m-3$ can be attained only when $k=3$ and $m\ge 6$. More generally, we show that $n \leq 2m-\lfloor(k+4)/2\rfloor$. Moreover, we obtain a geometric characterization of these extremal codes in terms of scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}^3$. As a consequence, the existence problem for $[2m-3,3,d]_{q^m/q}$ rank-metric intersecting codes is reduced to the existence of scattered subspaces of dimension $m+3$. Using known constructions of maximum scattered subspaces, we derive existence results when $m$ is even. Finally, we prove that $[6,3,3]_{q^5/q}$ rank-metric intersecting codes do not exist for any prime power $q$, thus resolving an open problem posed by Bartoli et al. in 2025.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_02004
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the existence of linear rank-metric intersecting codes
Borello, Martino
Polverino, Olga
Zullo, Ferdinando
Information Theory
Combinatorics
Intersecting codes are a classical object in coding theory whose rank-metric analogue has recently been introduced. Although the definition formally parallels the Hamming-metric case, the structure and parameter constraints of rank-metric intersecting codes exhibit substantially different behavior. It was previously shown that a nondegenerate $[n,k,d]_{q^m/q}$ rank-metric intersecting code must satisfy $2k-1 \le n \le 2m-3$, and the tightness of the upper bound was left open. Using the geometric interpretation of rank-metric codes via $q$-systems, we prove that the dual subspace associated with a rank-metric intersecting code must satisfy strong evasiveness properties. This connection allows us to derive new restrictions on the parameters of such codes and to show that the bound $n=2m-3$ can be attained only when $k=3$ and $m\ge 6$. More generally, we show that $n \leq 2m-\lfloor(k+4)/2\rfloor$. Moreover, we obtain a geometric characterization of these extremal codes in terms of scattered $\mathbb{F}_q$-subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}^3$. As a consequence, the existence problem for $[2m-3,3,d]_{q^m/q}$ rank-metric intersecting codes is reduced to the existence of scattered subspaces of dimension $m+3$. Using known constructions of maximum scattered subspaces, we derive existence results when $m$ is even. Finally, we prove that $[6,3,3]_{q^5/q}$ rank-metric intersecting codes do not exist for any prime power $q$, thus resolving an open problem posed by Bartoli et al. in 2025.
title On the existence of linear rank-metric intersecting codes
topic Information Theory
Combinatorics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.02004