Minimum Distance and the Minimum Weight Codewords of Schubert Codes

TL;DR

This paper provides an alternative proof for the minimum distance formula of Schubert codes, characterizes minimum weight codewords using Schubert decomposable elements, and estimates their quantity, linking algebraic coding theory with geometric properties of Schubert varieties.

Contribution

It offers a new proof of the minimum distance formula, introduces Schubert decomposable elements to characterize minimum weight codewords, and provides bounds and formulas for their count.

Findings

Alternative proof of the minimum distance formula for Schubert codes.

Characterization of minimum weight codewords via Schubert decomposable elements.

Bounds and exact formulas for the number of minimum weight codewords.

Abstract

We consider linear codes associated to Schubert varieties in Grassmannians. A formula for the minimum distance of these codes was conjectured in 2000 and after having been established in various special cases, it was proved in 2008 by Xiang. We give an alternative proof of this formula. Further, we propose a characterization of the minimum weight codewords of Schubert codes by introducing the notion of Schubert decomposable elements of certain exterior powers. It is shown that codewords corresponding to Schubert decomposable elements are of minimum weight and also that the converse is true in many cases. A lower bound, and in some cases, an exact formula, for the number of minimum weight codewords of Schubert codes is also given. From a geometric point of view, these results correspond to determining the maximum number of $\mathbb{F}_q$-rational points that can lie on a hyperplane section of a Schubert variety in a Grassmannian with its nondegenerate embedding in a projective subspace of the Pl\"ucker projective space, and also the number of hyperplanes for which the maximum is attained.