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Motivated by an application to database linear querying, such as private information-retrieval protocols, we suggest a fundamental property of linear codes -- the generalized covering radius. The generalized covering-radius hierarchy of a linear code characterizes the trade-off between storage amount, latency, and access complexity, in such database systems. Several equivalent definitions are provided, showing this as a combinatorial, geometric, and algebraic notion. We derive bounds on the code parameters in relation with the generalized covering radii, study the effect of simple code operations, and describe a connection with generalized Hamming weights., Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

The main scope of this chapter is metrics defined for coding and decoding purposes, mainly for block codes., Comment: This is a chapter for "Concise Encyclopedia of Coding Theory" to be published by CRC Press

A tiling of the $n$-dimensional Hamming cube gives rise to a perfect code (according to a given metric) if the basic tile is a metric ball. We are concerned with metrics on the $n$-dimensional Hamming cube which are determined by a weight which respects support of vectors (TS-metrics). We consider the known tilings of the Hamming cube and first determine which of them give rise to a perfect code. In the sequence, for those tilings that satisfy this condition, we determine all the TS-metrics that turns it into a perfect code. We also propose the construction of new perfect codes obtained by the concatenation of two smaller ones., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1903.05951

In this work, we consider tilings of the Hamming cube and look for metrics which turn the tilings into a perfect code. We consider the family of metrics which are determined by a weight and are compatible with the support of vectors (TS-metrics). We determine which of the tilings with small tiles or high rank can be a perfect code for some TS-metric and we characterize all such metrics. Finally, we show some procedures to obtain new perfect codes (relatively to TS-metrics) out of existing ones.

In this work we explore a family of metrics over finite fields which respect the support of vectors. We show how these metrics can be obtained from the edge-weighted Hamming cube and, based on this representation we give a description of a group of linear isometries (with respect to the metric). Next we introduce the concept of conditional sum of metrics and determine what conditions determine a metric respecting support, out of two such given metrics. Finally we introduce the labeled-poset block metrics, a new family of metrics which respects support of vector, filling a gap existing in the known such metrics. For this family we give a full description of the group of linear isometries and determine necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a MacWilliams identity.

Two channels are equivalent if their maximum likelihood (ML) decoders coincide for every code. We show that this equivalence relation partitions the space of channels into a generalized hyperplane arrangement. With this, we define a coding distance between channels in terms of their ML-decoders which is meaningful from the decoding point of view, in the sense that the closer two channels are, the larger is the probability of them sharing the same ML-decoder. We give explicit formulas for these probabilities.

In this work we introduce the concept of a sub-space decomposition, subject to a partition of the coordinates. Considering metrics determined by partial orders in the set of coordinates, the so called poset metrics, we show the existence of maximal decompositions according to the metric. These decompositions turns to be an important tool to obtain the canonical form for codes over any poset metrics and to obtain bounds for important invariants such as the packing radius of a linear subspace. Furthermore, using maximal decompositions, we are able to reduce and optimize the full lookup table algorithm for the syndrome decoding process., Comment: 28 pages

In this work we characterize the combinatorial metrics admitting a MacWilliams-type identity and describe the group of linear isometries of such metrics. Considering coverings that are not connected, we classify the metrics satisfying the MacWilliams extension property.

We study the problem of characterizing when two memoryless binary asymmetric channels, described by their transition probabilities $(p,q)$ and $(p',q')$, are equivalent from the point of view of maximum likelihood decoding (MLD) when restricted to $n$-block binary codes. This equivalence of channels induces a partition (depending on $n$) on the space of parameters $(p,q)$ into regions associated with the equivalence classes. Explicit expressions for describing these regions, their number and areas are derived. Some perspectives of applications of our results to decoding problems are also presented., Comment: The presentation was improved with respect to the previous version. New examples, applications and references were included

Given a finite directed graph with $n$ vertices, we define a metric $d_G$ on $\mathbb{F}_q^n$, where $\mathbb{F}_q$ is the finite field with $q$ elements. The weight of a word is defined as the number of vertices that can be reached by a directed path starting at the support of the vector. Two canonical forms, which do not affect the metric, are given to each graph. Based on these forms we characterize each such metric. We further use these forms to prove that two graphs with different canonical forms yield different metrics. Efficient algorithms to check if a set of metric weights define a metric based on a graph are given. We provide tight bounds on the number of metric weights required to reconstruct the metric. Furthermore, we give a complete description of the group of linear isometries of the graph metrics and a characterization of the graphs for which every linear code admits a $G$-canonical decomposition. Considering those graphs, we are able to derive an expression of the packing radius of linear codes in such metric spaces. Finally, given a directed graph which determines a hierarchical poset, we present sufficient and necessary conditions to ensure the validity of the MacWilliams Identity and the MacWilliams Extension Property.

We present an algorithm that, given a channel, determines if there is a distance for it such that the maximum likelihood decoder coincides with the minimum distance decoder. We also show that any metric, up to a decoding equivalence, can be isometrically embedded into the hypercube with the Hamming metric, and thus, in terms of decoding, the Hamming metric is universal., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, presented shorter version at WCC 2015

In this paper we consider metrics determined by hierarchical posets and give explicit formulae for the main parameters of a linear code: the minimum distance and the packing, covering and Chebyshev radii of a code. We also present ten characterizations of hierarchical poset metrics, including new characterizations and simple new proofs to the known ones., Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

The most common decision criteria for decoding are maximum likelihood decoding and nearest neighbor decoding. It is well-known that maximum likelihood decoding coincides with nearest neighbor decoding with respect to the Hamming metric on the binary symmetric channel. In this work we study channels and metrics for which those two criteria do and do not coincide for general codes.

In this work we explore possibilities for coding and decoding tailor-made for mean squared error evaluation of error in contexts such as image transmission. To do so, we introduce a loss function that expresses the overall performance of a coding and decoding scheme for discrete channels and that exchanges the usual goal of minimizing the error probability to that of minimizing the expected loss. In this environment we explore the possibilities of using ordered decoders to create a message-wise unequal error protection (UEP), where the most valuable information is protected by placing in its proximity information words that differ by a small valued error. We give explicit examples, using scale-of-gray images, including small-scale performance analysis and visual simulations for the BSMC., Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

In this work we show how to decompose a linear code relatively to any given poset metric. We prove that the complexity of syndrome decoding is determined by a maximal (primary) such decomposition and then show that a refinement of a partial order leads to a refinement of the primary decomposition. Using this and considering already known results about hierarchical posets, we can establish upper and lower bounds for the complexity of syndrome decoding relatively to a poset metric., Comment: Submitted to ITW 2015

New upper and lower bounds for the error probability over an erasure channel are provided, making use of Wei's generalized weights, hierarchy and spectra. In many situations the upper and lower bounds coincide and this allows improvement of existing bounds. Results concerning MDS and AMDS codes are deduced from those bounds.

We investigate linear and additive codes in partially ordered Hamming-like spaces that satisfy the extension property, meaning that automorphisms of ideals extend to automorphisms of the poset. The codes are naturally described in terms of translation association schemes that originate from the groups of linear isometries of the space. We address questions of duality and invariants of codes, establishing a connection between the dual association scheme and the scheme defined on the dual poset (they are isomorphic if and only if the poset is self-dual). We further discuss invariants that play the role of weight enumerators of codes in the poset case. In the case of regular rooted trees such invariants are linked to the classical problem of tree isomorphism. We also study the question of whether these invariants are preserved under standard operations on posets such as the ordinal sum and the like., Comment: Final version; 18pp

Until this work, the packing radius of a poset code was only known in the cases where the poset was a chain, a hierarchy, a union of disjoint chains of the same size, and for some families of codes. Our objective is to approach the general case of any poset. To do this, we will divide the problem into two parts. The first part consists in finding the packing radius of a single vector. We will show that this is equivalent to a generalization of a famous NP-hard problem known as "the partition problem". Then, we will review the main results known about this problem giving special attention to the algorithms to solve it. The main ingredient to these algorithms is what is known as the differentiating method, and therefore, we will extend it to the general case. The second part consists in finding the vector that determines the packing radius of the code. For this, we will show how it is sometimes possible to compare the packing radius of two vectors without calculating them explicitly.

In this paper we extend the concept of generalized Wei weights for poset-weight codes and show that all linear codes C satisfy the chain condition if support of C is a subposet totally ordered.

In this work we prove that a poset-block space admits a MacWilliams-type identity if and only if the poset is hierarchical and at any level of the poset, all the blocks have the same dimension. When the poset-block admits the MacWilliams-type identity we explicit the relation between the weight enumerators of a code and its dual., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

In this work we explore possibilities for coding when information worlds have different (semantic) values. We introduce a loss function that expresses the overall performance of a coding scheme for discrete channels and exchange the usual goal of minimizing the error probability to that of minimizing the expected loss. In this environment we explore the possibilities of using poset-decoders to make a message-wise unequal error protection (UEP), where the most valuable information is protected by placing in its proximity information words that differ by small valued information. Similar definitions and results are shortly presented also for signal constellations in Euclidean space.

The flip operation on colored inner-triangle-free triangulations of a convex polygon is studied. It is shown that the affine Weyl group $\widetilde{C}_n$ acts transitively on these triangulations by colored flips, and that the resulting colored flip graph is closely related to a lower interval in the weak order on $\widetilde{C}_n$. Lattice properties of this order are then applied to compute the diameter., Comment: 18 pages

Let $G$ be a 1-connected, almost-simple Lie group over a local field and $\mathcal{S}$ a subsemigroup of $G$ with non-empty interior. The action of the regular hyperbolic elements in the interior of $\mathcal{S}$ on the flag manifold $G/P$ and on the associated Euclidean building allows us to prove that the invariant control set exists and is unique. We also provide a characterization of the set of transitivity of the control sets: its elements are the fixed points of type w for a regular hyperbolic isometry, where w is an element of the Weyl group of $G$. Thus, for each w in W there is a control set $D_{w}$ and $W(\mathcal{S})$ the subgroup of the Weyl group such that the control set $D_{w}$ coincides with the invariant control set $D_{1}$ is a Weyl subgroup of $W$. We conclude by showing that the control sets are parameterized by the lateral classes $W(S)\backslash W$., Comment: 31 pages; 1 figure