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Phased burst errors (PBEs) are bursts of errors occurring at one or more known locations. The correction of PBEs is a classical topic in coding theory, with prominent applications such as the design of array codes for memory systems or distributed storage. We propose a general yet fine-grained approach to this problem, accounting not only for the number of bursts but also the error structure in each burst. By modeling PBEs as an error set in an adversarial channel, we investigate bounds on the maximal size of codes that can correct them. The PBE-correction capability of generalized concatenated codes is analyzed, and asymptotically good PBE-correcting codes are constructed, recovering a classical construction in a specific problem instance.

We investigate the Whitney numbers of the first kind of rank-metric lattices, which are closely linked to the open problem of enumerating rank-metric codes having prescribed parameters. We apply methods from the theory of hyperovals and linear sets to compute these Whitney numbers for infinite families of rank-metric lattices. As an application of our results, we prove asymptotic estimates on the density function of certain rank-metric codes that have been conjectured in previous work.

This paper studies two crucial problems in the context of coded distributed storage systems directly related to their performance: 1) for a fixed alphabet size, determine the minimum number of servers the system must have for its service rate region to contain a prescribed set of points; 2) for a given number of servers, determine the minimum alphabet size for which the service rate region of the system contains a prescribed set of points. The paper establishes rigorous upper and lower bounds, as well as code constructions based on techniques from coding theory, optimization, and projective geometry.

We investigate the maximum cardinality and the mathematical structure of error-correcting codes endowed with the Kendall-$\tau$ metric. We establish an averaging bound for the cardinality of a code with prescribed minimum distance, discuss its sharpness, and characterize codes attaining it. This leads to introducing the family of $t$-balanced codes in the Kendall-$\tau$ metric. The results are based on novel arguments that shed new light on the structure of the Kendall-$\tau$ metric space.

In this note we apply a spectral method to the graph of alternating bilinear forms. In this way, we obtain upper bounds on the size of an alternating rank-metric code for given values of the minimum rank distance. We computationally compare our results with Delsarte's linear programming bound, observing that they give the same value. For small values of the minimum rank distance, we are able to establish the equivalence of the two methods. The problem remains open for larger values.

Independent parallel q-ary symmetric channels are a suitable transmission model for several applications. The proposed weighted-Hamming metric is tailored to this setting and enables optimal decoding performance. We show that some weighted-Hamming-metric codes exhibit the unusual property that all errors beyond half the minimum distance can be corrected. Nevertheless, a tight relation between the error-correction capability of a code and its minimum distance can be established. Generalizing their Hamming-metric counterparts, upper and lower bounds on the cardinality of a code with a given weighted-Hamming distance are obtained. Finally, we propose a simple code construction with optimal minimum distance for specific parameters., Comment: Minor update with additional citations of weighted-Hamming-metric code constructions

We investigate the fundamental limits of the recently proposed random access coverage depth problem for DNA data storage. Under this paradigm, it is assumed that the user information consists of $k$ information strands, which are encoded into $n$ strands via a generator matrix $G$. During the sequencing process, the strands are read uniformly at random, as each strand is available in a large number of copies. In this context, the random access coverage depth problem refers to the expected number of reads (i.e., sequenced strands) required to decode a specific information strand requested by the user. This problem heavily depends on the generator matrix $G$, and besides computing the expectation for different choices of $G$, the goal is to construct matrices that minimize the maximum expectation over all possible requested information strands, denoted by $T_{\max}(G)$. In this paper, we introduce new techniques to investigate the random access coverage depth problem, capturing its combinatorial nature and identifying the structural properties of generator matrices that are advantageous. We establish two general formulas to determine $T_{\max}(G)$ for arbitrary generator matrices. The first formula depends on the linear dependencies between columns of $G$, whereas the second formula takes into account recovery sets and their intersection structure. We also introduce the concept of recovery balanced codes and provide three sufficient conditions for a code to be recovery balanced. These conditions can be used to compute $T_{\max}(G)$ for various families of codes, such as MDS, simplex, Hamming, and binary Reed-Muller codes. Additionally, we study the performance of modified systematic MDS and simplex matrices, showing that the best results for $T_{\max}(G)$ are achieved with a specific combination of encoded strands and replication of the information strands.

We present the theory of linear rank-metric codes from the point of view of their fundamental parameters. These are: the minimum rank distance, the rank distribution, the maximum rank, the covering radius, and the field size. The focus of this chapter is on the interplay among these parameters and on their significance for the code's (combinatorial) structure. The results covered in this chapter span from the theory of optimal codes and anticodes to very recent developments on the asymptotic density of MRD codes., Comment: Invited book chapter (to appear)

We propose and develop a theory of Ferrers diagrams and their $q$-rook polynomials solely based on their diagonals. We show that the cardinalities of the diagonals of a Ferrers diagram are equivalent information to their rook numbers, $q$-rook polynomials, and the rank distribution of matrices supported on the diagram. Our approach is based on the concept of \textit{canonical form} of a Ferrers diagrams, and on two simple diagram operations as the main proof tools. In the second part of the paper we develop the same theory for symmetric Ferrers diagrams, considering symmetric and alternating matrices supported on them. As an application of our results, we establish some combinatorial identities linking symmetric and alternating matrices, which do not appear to have an obvious bijective proof, and which generalize some curious results in enumerative combinatorics.

We develop a duality theory of locally recoverable codes (LRCs) and apply it to establish a series of new bounds on their parameters. We introduce and study a refined notion of weight distribution that captures the code's locality. Using a duality result analogous to a MacWilliams identity, we then derive an LP-type bound that improves on the best known bounds in several instances. Using a dual distance bound and the theory of generalized weights, we obtain non-existence results for optimal LRCs over small fields. In particular, we show that an optimal LRC must have both minimum distance and block length relatively small compared to the field size.

This paper builds a novel bridge between algebraic coding theory and mathematical knot theory, with applications in both directions. We give methods to construct error-correcting codes starting from the colorings of a knot, describing through a series of results how the properties of the knot translate into code parameters. We show that knots can be used to obtain error-correcting codes with prescribed parameters and an efficient decoding algorithm.

We consider the problem of deriving upper bounds on the parameters of sum-rank-metric codes, with focus on their dimension and block length. The sum-rank metric is a combination of the Hamming and the rank metric, and most of the available techniques to investigate it seem to be unable to fully capture its hybrid nature. In this paper, we introduce a new approach based on sum-rank-metric graphs, in which the vertices are tuples of matrices over a finite field, and where two such tuples are connected when their sum-rank distance is equal to one. We establish various structural properties of sum-rank-metric graphs and combine them with eigenvalue techniques to obtain bounds on the cardinality of sum-rank-metric codes. The bounds we derive improve on the best known bounds for several choices of the parameters. While our bounds are explicit only for small values of the minimum distance, they clearly indicate that spectral theory is able to capture the nature of the sum-rank-metric better than the currently available methods. They also allow us to establish new non-existence results for (possibly nonlinear) MSRD codes.

We investigate adversarial network coding and decoding focusing on the multishot regime. Errors can occur on a proper subset of the network edges and are modeled via an adversarial channel. The paper contains both bounds and capacity-achieving schemes for the Diamond Network and the Mirrored Diamond Network. We also initiate the study of the generalizations of these networks.

We investigate the properties of a family of polytopes that naturally arise in connection with a problem in distributed data storage, namely service rate region polytopes. The service rate region of a distributed coded system describes the data access requests that the underlying system can support. In this paper, we study the polytope structure of the service rate region with the primary goal of describing its geometric shape and properties. We achieve so by introducing various structural parameters of the service rate region and establishing upper and lower bounds for them. The techniques we apply in this paper range from coding theory to optimization. One of our main results shows that every rational point of the service rate region has a so-called rational allocation, answering an open question in the research area.

We initiate the study of the duality theory of locally recoverable codes, with a focus on the applications. We characterize the locality of a code in terms of the dual code, and introduce a class of invariants that refine the classical weight distribution. In this context, we establish a duality theorem analogous to (but very different from) a MacWilliams identity. As an application of our results, we obtain two new bounds for the parameters of a locally recoverable code, including an LP bound that improves on the best available bounds in several instances.

We consider (symmetric, non-degenerate) bilinear spaces over a finite field and investigate the properties of their $\ell$-complementary subspaces, i.e., the subspaces that intersect their dual in dimension $\ell$. This concept generalizes that of a totally isotropic subspace and, in the context of coding theory, specializes to the notions of self-orthogonal, self-dual and linear-complementary-dual (LCD) codes. In this paper, we focus on the enumerative and asymptotic combinatorics of all these objects, giving formulas for their numbers and describing their typical behavior (rather than the behavior of a single object). For example, we give a closed formula for the average weight distribution of an $\ell$-complementary code in the Hamming metric, generalizing a result by Pless and Sloane on the aggregate weight enumerator of binary self-dual codes. Our results also show that self-orthogonal codes, despite being very sparse in the set of codes of the same dimension over a large field, asymptotically behave quite similarly to a typical, not necessarily self-orthogonal, code. In particular, we prove that most self-orthogonal codes are MDS over a large field by computing the asymptotic proportion of the non-MDS ones for growing field size.

We consider the problem of computing the capacity of a coded, multicast network over a small alphabet. We introduce a novel approach to this problem based on mixed integer programming. As an application of our approach, we recover, extend and refine various results that were previously obtained with case-by-case analyses or specialized arguments, giving evidence of the wide applicability of our approach and its potential. We also provide two simple ideas that reduce the complexity of our method for some families of networks. We conclude the paper by outlining a research program we wish to pursue in the future to investigate the capacity of large networks affected by noise, based on the approach proposed in this paper.

In 2009, Etzion and Siberstein proposed a conjecture on the largest dimension of a linear space of matrices over a finite field in which all nonzero matrices are supported on a Ferrers diagram and have rank bounded below by a given integer. Although several cases of the conjecture have been established in the past decade, proving or disproving it remains to date a wide open problem. In this paper, we take a new look at the Etzion-Siberstein Conjecture, investigating its connection with rook theory. Our results show that the combinatorics behind this open problem is closely linked to the theory of $q$-rook polynomials associated with Ferrers diagrams, as defined by Garsia and Remmel. In passing, we give a closed formula for the trailing degree of the $q$-rook polynomial associated with a Ferrers diagram in terms of the cardinalities of its diagonals. The combinatorial approach taken in this paper allows us to establish some new instances of the Etzion-Silberstein Conjecture using a non-constructive argument. We also solve the asymptotic version of the conjecture over large finite fields, answering a current open question.

We introduce and explore a new concept of evasive subspace with respect to a collection of subspaces sharing a common dimension, most notably partial spreads. We show that this concept generalises known notions of subspace scatteredness and evasiveness. We establish various upper bounds for the dimension of an evasive subspace with respect to arbitrary partial spreads, obtaining improvements for the Desarguesian ones. We also establish existence results for evasive spaces in a non-constructive way, using a graph theory approach. The upper and lower bounds we derive have a precise interpretation as bounds for the critical exponent of certain combinatorial geometries. Finally, we investigate connections between the notion of evasive space we introduce and the theory of rank-metric codes, obtaining new results on the covering radius and on the existence of minimal vector rank-metric codes.

We introduce the class of rank-metric geometric lattices and initiate the study of their structural properties. Rank-metric lattices can be seen as the $q$-analogues of higher-weight Dowling lattices, defined by Dowling himself in 1971. We fully characterize the supersolvable rank-metric lattices and compute their characteristic polynomials. We then concentrate on the smallest rank-metric lattice whose characteristic polynomial we cannot compute, and provide a formula for it under a polynomiality assumption on its Whitney numbers of the first kind. The proof relies on computational results and on the theory of vector rank-metric codes, which we review in this paper from the perspective of rank-metric lattices. More precisely, we introduce the notion of lattice-rank weights of a rank-metric code and investigate their properties as combinatorial invariants and as code distinguishers for inequivalent codes.

We consider the problem of error control in a coded, multicast network, focusing on the scenario where the errors can occur only on a proper subset of the network edges. We model this problem via an adversarial noise, presenting a formal framework and a series of techniques to obtain upper and lower bounds on the network's (1-shot) capacity, improving on the best currently known results. In particular, we show that traditional cut-set bounds are not tight in general in the presence of a restricted adversary, and that the non-tightness of these is caused precisely by the restrictions imposed on the noise (and not, as one may expect, by the alphabet size). We also show that, in sharp contrast with the typical situation within network coding, capacity cannot be achieved in general by combining linear network coding with end-to-end channel coding, not even when the underlying network has a single source and a single terminal. We finally illustrate how network decoding techniques are necessary to achieve capacity in the scenarios we examine, exhibiting capacity-achieving schemes and lower bounds for various classes of networks.

We are concerned with linear redundancy storage schemes regarding their ability to provide concurrent (local) recovery of multiple data objects. This paper initiates a study of such systems within the classical coding theory. We show how we can use the structural properties of the generator matrix defining the scheme to obtain a bounding polytope for the set of data access rates the system can support. We derive two dual distance outer bounds, which are sharp for some large classes of matrix families.

We investigate two fundamental questions intersecting coding theory and combinatorial geometry, with emphasis on their connections. These are the problem of computing the asymptotic density of MRD codes in the rank metric, and the Critical Problem for combinatorial geometries by Crapo and Rota. Using methods from semifield theory, we derive two lower bounds for the density function of full-rank, square MRD codes. The first bound is sharp when the matrix size is a prime number and the underlying field is sufficiently large, while the second bound applies to the binary field. We then take a new look at the Critical Problem for combinatorial geometries, approaching it from a qualitative, often asymptotic, viewpoint. We illustrate the connection between this very classical problem and that of computing the asymptotic density of MRD codes. Finally, we study the asymptotic density of some special families of codes in the rank metric, including the symmetric, alternating and Hermitian ones. In particular, we show that the optimal codes in these three contexts are sparse.

We develop an algebraic theory of supports for $R$-linear codes of fixed length, where $R$ is a finite commutative unitary ring. A support naturally induces a notion of generalized weights and allows one to associate a monomial ideal to a code. Our main result states that, under suitable assumptions, the generalized weights of a code can be obtained from the graded Betti numbers of its associated monomial ideal. In the case of $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear codes endowed with the Hamming metric, the ideal coincides with the Stanley-Reisner ideal of the matroid associated to the code via its parity-check matrix. In this special setting, we recover the known result that the generalized weights of an $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear code can be obtained from the graded Betti numbers of the ideal of the matroid associated to the code. We also study subcodes and codewords of minimal support in a code, proving that a large class of $R$-linear codes is generated by its codewords of minimal support.

This work considers the one-shot capacity of communication networks subject to adversarial noise affecting a subset of network edges. In particular, we examine previously-established upper bounds on one-shot capacity. We introduce the Diamond Network as a minimal example to show that known cut-set bounds are not sharp in general. We then give a capacity-achieving scheme for the Diamond Network that implements an adversary detection strategy. Finally, we give a sufficient condition for tightness of the Singleton Cut-Set Bound in a family of two-level networks.

This work investigates the structure of rank-metric codes in connection with concepts from finite geometry, most notably the $q$-analogues of projective systems and blocking sets. We also illustrate how to associate a classical Hamming-metric code to a rank-metric one, in such a way that various rank-metric properties naturally translate into the homonymous Hamming-metric notions under this correspondence. The most interesting applications of our results lie in the theory of minimal rank-metric codes, which we introduce and study from several angles. Our main contributions are bounds for the parameters of a minimal rank-metric codes, a general existence result based on a combinatorial argument, and an explicit code construction for some parameter sets that uses the notion of a scattered linear set. Throughout the paper we also show and comment on curious analogies/divergences between the theories of error-correcting codes in the rank and in the Hamming metric.

We consider the problem of describing the typical (possibly) non-linear code of minimum distance bounded from below over a large alphabet. We concentrate on block codes with the Hamming metric and on subspace codes with the injection metric. In sharp contrast with the behavior of linear block codes, we show that the typical non-linear code in the Hamming metric of cardinality $q^{n-d+1}$ is far from having minimum distance $d$, i.e., from being MDS. We also give more precise results about the asymptotic proportion of block codes with good distance properties within the set of codes having a certain cardinality. We then establish the analogous results for subspace codes with the injection metric, showing also an application to the theory of partial spreads in finite geometry.

We study the structure of anticodes in the sum-rank metric for arbitrary fields and matrix blocks of arbitrary sizes. Our main result is a complete classification of optimal linear anticodes. We also compare the cardinality of the ball in the sum-rank metric with that of an optimal linear anticode, showing that the latter is strictly larger over sufficiently large finite fields. Finally, we give examples of parameters for which the largest anticode is neither a ball nor a linear anticode

We introduce two notions of discrepancy between binary vectors, which are not metric functions in general but nonetheless capture the mathematical structure of the binary asymmetric channel. In turn, these lead to two new fundamental parameters of binary error-correcting codes, both of which measure the probability that the maximum likelihood decoder fails. We then derive various bounds for the cardinality and weight distribution of a binary code in terms of these new parameters, giving examples of codes meeting the bounds with equality.

Motivated by applications to the theory of rank-metric codes, we study the problem of estimating the number of common complements of a family of subspaces over a finite field in terms of the cardinality of the family and its intersection structure. We derive upper and lower bounds for this number, along with their asymptotic versions as the field size tends to infinity. We then use these bounds to describe the general behaviour of common complements with respect to sparseness and density, showing that the decisive property is whether or not the number of spaces to be complemented is negligible with respect to the field size. By specializing our results to matrix spaces, we obtain upper and lower bounds for the number of MRD codes in the rank metric. In particular, we answer an open question in coding theory, proving that MRD codes are sparse for all parameter sets as the field size grows, with only very few exceptions. We also investigate the density of MRD codes as their number of columns tends to infinity, obtaining a new asymptotic bound. Using properties of the Euler function from number theory, we then show that our bound improves on known results for most parameter sets. We conclude the paper by establishing general structural properties of the density function of rank-metric codes.

We develop three approaches of combinatorial flavour to study the structure of minimal codes and cutting blocking sets in finite geometry, each of which has a particular application. The first approach uses techniques from algebraic combinatorics, describing the supports in a linear code via the Alon-F\"uredi Theorem and the Combinatorial Nullstellensatz. The second approach combines methods from coding theory and statistics to compare the mean and variance of the nonzero weights in a minimal code. Finally, the third approach regards minimal codes as cutting blocking sets and studies these using the theory of spreads in finite geometry. Applying and combining these approaches with each other, we derive several new bounds and constraints on the parameters of minimal codes. Moreover, we obtain two new constructions of cutting blocking sets of small cardinality in finite projective spaces. In turn, these allow us to give explicit constructions of minimal codes having short length for the given field and dimension., Comment: 27 pages

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 codes for variable block sizes, illustrating the possible behaviours of these objects with respect to bounds, existence, and duality properties.

In this paper we introduce a new class of extremal codes, namely the $i$-BMD codes. We show that for this family several of the invariants are determined by the parameters of the underlying code. We refine and extend the notion of an $i$-MRD code and show that the $i$-BMD codes form a proper subclass of the $i$-MRD codes. Using the class of $i$-BMD codes we then obtain a relation between the generalized rank weight enumerator and its corresponding generalized zeta function. We also establish a MacWilliams identity for generalized rank weight distributions., Comment: 27 pages

We study the Whitney numbers of the first kind of combinatorial geometries. The first part of the paper is devoted to general results relating the M\"{o}bius functions of nested atomistic lattices, extending some classical theorems in combinatorics. We then specialize our results to restriction geometries, i.e., to sublattices $\mathcal{L}(A)$ of the lattice of subspaces of an $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear space, say $X$, generated by a set of projective points $A \subseteq X$. In this context, we introduce the notion of subspace distribution, and show that partial knowledge of the latter is equivalent to partial knowledge of the Whitney numbers of $\mathcal{L}(A)$. This refines a classical result by Dowling. The most interesting applications of our results are to be seen in the theory of higher-weight Dowling lattices (HWDLs), to which we dovote the second and most substantive part of the paper. These combinatorial geometries were introduced by Dowling in 1971 in connection with fundamental problems in coding theory, and further studied, among others, by Zaslavsky, Bonin, Kung, Brini, and Games. To date, still very little is known about these lattices. In particular, the techniques to compute their Whitney numbers have not been discovered yet. In this paper, we bring forward the theory of HWDLs, computing their Whitney numbers for new infinite families of parameters. Moreover, we show that the second Whitney numbers of HWDLs are polynomials in the underlying field size $q$, whose coefficients are expressions involving the Bernoulli numbers. This reveals a new link between combinatorics, coding theory, and number theory. We also study the asymptotics of the Whitney numbers of HWDLs as the field size grows, giving upper bounds and exact estimates in some cases. In passing, we obtain new results on the density functions of error-correcting codes.

We present the theory of rank-metric codes with respect to the 3-tensors that generate them. We define the generator tensor and the parity check tensor of a matrix code, and describe the properties of a code through these objects. We define the tensor rank of a code to be the tensor rank of its generating tensors, and propose that this quantity is a significant coding theoretic parameter. By a result on the tensor rank of Kruskal from the 1970s, the tensor rank of a rank-metric code of dimension $k$ and minimum rank distance $d$ is at least $k+d-1$. We call codes that meet this bound minimal tensor rank (MTR) codes. It is known from results in algebraic complexity theory that an MTR code implies the existence of an MDS code. In this paper, we also address the converse problem, that of the existence of an MTR code, given an MDS code. We identify several parameters for which the converse holds and give explicit constructions of MTR codes using MDS codes. We furthermore define generalized tensor ranks, which give a refinement of the tensor rank as a code invariant. Moreover, we use these to distinguish inequivalent rank-metric codes.

We study the row-space partition and the pivot partition on the matrix space $\mathbb{F}_q^{n \times m}$. We show that both these partitions are reflexive and that the row-space partition is self-dual. Moreover, using various combinatorial methods, we explicitly compute the Krawtchouk coefficients associated with these partitions. This establishes MacWilliams-type identities for the row-space and pivot enumerators of linear rank-metric codes. We then generalize the Singleton-like bound for rank-metric codes, and introduce two new concepts of code extremality. Both of them generalize the notion of MRD codes and are preserved by trace-duality. Moreover, codes that are extremal according to either notion satisfy strong rigidity properties analogous to those of MRD codes. As an application of our results to combinatorics, we give closed formulas for the $q$-rook polynomials associated with Ferrers diagram boards. Moreover, we exploit connections between matrices over finite fields and rook placements to prove that the number of matrices of rank $r$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$ supported on a Ferrers diagram is a polynomial in $q$, whose degree is strictly increasing in $r$. Finally, we investigate the natural analogues of the MacWilliams Extension Theorem for the rank, the row-space, and the pivot partitions.

A $t$-$(n,d,\lambda)$ design over ${\mathbb F}_q$, or a subspace design, is a collection of $d$-dimensional subspaces of ${\mathbb F}_q^n$, called blocks, with the property that every $t$-dimensional subspace of ${\mathbb F}_q^n$ is contained in the same number $\lambda$ of blocks. A collection of matrices in over ${\mathbb F}_q$ is said to hold a subspace design if the set of column spaces of its elements forms the blocks of a subspace design. We use notions of puncturing and shortening of rank metric codes and the rank-metric MacWilliams identities to establish conditions under which the words of a given rank in a linear rank metric code hold a subspace design.

We introduce the class of partition-balanced families of codes, and show how to exploit their combinatorial invariants to obtain upper and lower bounds on the number of codes that have a prescribed property. In particular, we derive precise asymptotic estimates on the density functions of several classes of codes that are extremal with respect to minimum distance, covering radius, and maximality. The techniques developed in this paper apply to various distance functions, including the Hamming and the rank metric distances. Applications of our results show that, unlike the $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}$-linear MRD codes, the $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear MRD codes are not dense in the family of codes of the same dimension. More precisely, we show that the density of $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear MRD codes in $\mathbb{F}_q^{n \times m}$ in the set of all matrix codes of the same dimension is asymptotically at most $1/2$, both as $q \to +\infty$ and as $m \to +\infty$. We also prove that MDS and $\mathbb{F}_{q^m}$-linear MRD codes are dense in the family of maximal codes. Although there does not exist a direct analogue of the redundancy bound for the covering radius of $\mathbb{F}_q$-linear rank metric codes, we show that a similar bound is satisfied by a uniformly random matrix code with high probability. In particular, we prove that codes meeting this bound are dense. Finally, we compute the average weight distribution of linear codes in the rank metric, and other parameters that generalize the total weight of a linear code.

This paper contributes to the study of rank-metric codes from an algebraic and combinatorial point of view. We introduce $q$-polymatroids, the $q$-analogue of polymatroids, and develop their basic properties. We associate a pair of q-polymatroids to a rank-metric codes and show that several invariants and structural properties of the code, such as generalized weights, the property of being MRD or an optimal anticode, and duality, are captured by the associated combinatorial object., Comment: Previous version has a typo in M_2 in Example 2.5

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.

A combinatorial framework for adversarial network coding is presented. Channels are described by specifying the possible actions that one or more (possibly coordinated) adversaries may take. Upper bounds on three notions of capacity (the one-shot capacity, the zero-error capacity, and the compound zero-error capacity) are obtained for point-to-point channels, and generalized to corresponding capacity regions appropriate for multi-source networks. A key result of this paper is a general method by which bounds on these capacities in point-to-point channels may be ported to networks. This technique is illustrated in detail for Hamming-type channels with multiple adversaries operating on specific coordinates, which correspond, in the context of networks, to multiple adversaries acting on specific network edges. Capacity-achieving coding schemes are described for some of the considered adversarial models.

We propose an algebraic setup for end-to-end physical-layer network coding based on submodule transmission. We introduce a distance function between modules, describe how it relates to information loss and errors, and show how to compute it. Then we propose a definition of submodule error-correcting code, and investigate bounds and constructions for such codes.

In this paper we study properties and invariants of matrix codes endowed with the rank metric, and relate them to the covering radius. We introduce new tools for the analysis of rank-metric codes, such as puncturing and shortening constructions. We give upper bounds on the covering radius of a code by applying different combinatorial methods. We apply the various bounds to the classes of maximal rank distance and quasi maximal rank distance codes.

We introduce a general class of regular weight functions on finite abelian groups, and study the combinatorics, the duality theory, and the metric properties of codes endowed with such functions. The weights are obtained by composing a suitable support map with the rank function of a graded lattice satisfying certain regularity properties. A regular weight on a group canonically induces a regular weight on the character group, and invertible MacWilliams identities always hold for such a pair of weights. Moreover, the Krawtchouk coefficients of the corresponding MacWilliams transformation have a precise combinatorial significance, and can be expressed in terms of the invariants of the underlying lattice. In particular, they are easy to compute in many examples. Several weight functions traditionally studied in Coding Theory belong to the class of weights introduced in this paper. Our lattice-theory approach also offers a control on metric structures that a regular weight induces on the underlying group. In particular, it allows to show that every finite abelian group admits weight functions that, simultaneously, give rise to MacWilliams identities, and endow the underlying group with a metric space structure. We propose a general notion of extremality for (not necessarily additive) codes in groups endowed with semi-regular supports, and establish a Singleton-type bound. We then investigate the combinatorics and duality theory of extremal codes, extending classical results on the weight and distance distribution of error-correcting codes. Finally, we apply the theory of MacWilliams identities to enumerative combinatorics problems, obtaining closed formulae for the number of rectangular matrices over a finite having prescribed rank and satisfying some linear conditions.