A characterization of some odd sets in projective spaces of order 4 and the extendability of quaternary linear codes (Q457123)

Let \(\mathrm{PG}(r,4)\) be the projective space of dimension \(r\) over the Galois field \(\mathrm{GF}(4)\). A set \(\mathcal{K}\subset \mathrm{PG}(r,4)\), \(r \geq 2\), is \textit{odd} if every line meets \(\mathcal{K}\) in an odd number of points. Also, an odd set \(\mathcal{K}\subset \mathrm{PG}(r,4)\), \(r \geq 3\), is FH-free if there is no plane meeting \(\mathcal{K}\) in a Fano plane or in a non-singular Hermitian curve. An \([n,k,d]_q\) code \(\mathcal{C}\) is \textit{extendable} if there exists an \([n+1,k,d+1]_q\) code \(\mathcal{C}^{\prime}\) which gives \(\mathcal{C}\) as punctured code. In this paper, the authors characterize FH-free odd sets. In particular, their main result is the following. { Theorem.} Let \(\mathcal{K}\subset \mathrm{PG}(r,4)\), \(r\geq 3\), be an odd set. \(\mathcal{K}\) contains a hyperplane of \(\mathrm{PG}(r, 4)\) if and only if \(\mathcal{K}\) is FH-free. Using this result, the authors provide a new extension theorem for quaternary linear codes.