Do non-free LCD codes over finite commutative Frobenius rings exist? (Q2182059)

The paper considers linear codes over a finite commutative Frobenius ring~\(R\). Such a code \(C \subseteq R^n\) is called linear complementary dual (LCD) if one has \(C \cap C^{\perp} = \{ 0 \}\), where~\(C^{\perp}\) denotes the dual code with respect to the standard inner product. It is shown that over a local Frobenius ring~\(R\) any LCD code is free. Furthermore, over such rings a linear code with generator matrix~\(G\) (chosen as a full-row-rank matrix) is an LCD code if and only if \(G G^T\) is non-singular, where \(G^T\) is the transpose. Also, if there is a ring epimorphism \(S \to R\) of local Frobenius rings, it is proven that a code over~\(S\) is LCD if and only if its projection over~\(R\) is LCD. Over non-local Frobenius rings, a criterion for a code to be LCD is presented using the Chinese remainder theorem, and an example is given showing that non-free LCD codes do exist. The second part deals with \(\gamma\)-constacyclic codes over a finite chain ring~\(R\), where~\(\gamma\) is a unit in~\(R\). Denoting by~\(\pi\) the projection onto the residue field, it is shown that any free \(\gamma\)-constacyclic code is LCD provided that \(\pi(\gamma^2) \ne 1\). On the other hand, it is proven that a \(\gamma\)-constacyclic code is LCD and \(\gamma^2 = 1\) if and only if the code is reversible, which means that its generator polynomial is self-reciprocal. Finally, some examples of (consta)cyclic LCD codes are presented. Over the ring~\(\mathbb Z_4\), codes with lengths \(7\), \(15\), \(9\), \(17\), \(31\) and \(63\) are examined, some with optimal minimum distance, and over the ring~\(\mathbb Z_8\), codes with length~\(9\) and~\(15\) are considered.