On extendable planes, M.D.S. codes and hyperovals in PG(2,q), \(q=2^ t\) (Q1113875)

Let A be the alphabet \(\{\) 1,2,...,q\(\}\), \(q\geq 4\) and \(W=A^ n\) the set of all n-tuples over A. A code is a subset L of W. If a code satisfies the condition that no two words of L agree in as many as k positions then \(L\leq q^ k\) and if \(L=q^ k\) we say that L is a maximum distance separable (MDS) code. It is also referred to as an L(n,q,k) space. The relationship between such spaces (MDS codes) and extendable planes are examined. A characterization of such extendable planes in terms of incidence structures is given. A characterization in terms of hyperoval and line hyperoval systems is also given. Since \(\pi =PG(2,q)\), \(q=2^ t\), is extendable these results imply structure for certain hyperoval systems in \(\pi\). A discussion of hyperoval spreads and packings in \(\pi\) is also given and two open questions are posed.