Chow's theorem for linear codes (Q2363324)

Consider the Grassmann graph \(\Gamma_k(V)\) formed by the \(k\)-dimensional subspaces of an \(n\)-dimensional vector space \(V\) over a field \(\mathbb{F}\). The Chow theorem states that every automorphism of the graph \(\Gamma_k(V)\) is induced by a semilinear automorphism of \(V\), when \(1<k<n-1\). Consider the vector space \(V\) of dimension \(n\) over the finite field \(\mathbb{F}_q\) of order \(q\). A \textit{non-degenerate linear \([n,k]_q\)-code} is a \(k\)-dimensional subspace \(C\) of \(V\), such that no position in the \(n\)-tuples of \(C\) always is zero. The authors define the graph \(\Gamma(n,k)_q\) as the subgraph of the Grassmann graph \(\Gamma_k(V)\), restricted to the non-degenerate linear \([n,k]_q\)-codes, where two non-degenerate linear \([n,k]_q\)-codes \(C_1\) and \(C_2\) are adjacent if \(\dim(C_1\cap C_2)=k-1\). The authors develop Chow's theorem for the graph \(\Gamma(n,k)_q\) and prove that every automorphism of this graph is induced by a semilinear automorphism of \(V\). To obtain this result, the authors present a detailed description of the maximal cliques of the graph \(\Gamma(n,k)_q\).