Quasi-cyclic codes over \(\mathbb F_{13}\) and enumeration of defining polynomials (Q1932370)

Quasi-cyclic (QC) codes are an important generalization of cyclic codes. Many QC codes are optimal codes for their parameters. A linear code \(\mathcal{C}\) is called a \(p\)-quasi-cyclic code if it is closed under the operation of cyclic shifts by \(p\) positions. In this paper the authors construct linear codes over \(\mathbb{F}_{13}\) for dimensions up to 6 from the class of QC codes. The authors characterize quasi-cyclic codes by circulant matrices, which are in turn characterized by their defining polynomials. The number of equivalence classes of \(m \times m\) circulant matrices over \(\mathbb{F}_q\) is enumerated and an enumeration formula for non-zero defining polynomials for \(m \times m\) circulant matrices over \(\mathbb{F}_q\) is determined. The authors then present a stochastic optimization algorithm, called tabu search, for constructing QC codes. Tables of QC codes constructed in this way are presented for \(p=3, 4, 5, 6\).