On a condition equivalent to the Maximum Distance Separable conjecture

Abstract: We denote by

m a t h c a l P_{q}

the vector space of functions from a finite field

m a t h b b F_{q}

to itself, which can be represented as the space

m a t h c a l P_{q} := m a t h b b F_{q} [x] / (x^{q} - x)

of polynomial functions. We denote by

m a t h c a l O_{n} s u b s e t m a t h c a l P_{q}

the set of polynomials that are either the zero polynomial, or have at most

n

distinct roots in

m a t h b b F_{q}

. Given two subspaces

Y, Z

of

m a t h c a l P_{q}

, we denote by

l a n g l e Y, Z a n g l e

their span. We prove that the following are equivalent. A) Let

k, q

integers, with

q

a prime power and

2 l e q k l e q q

. Suppose that either: 1)

q

is odd 2)

q

is even and

k o t i n 3, q - 1

. Then there do not exist distinct subspaces

Y

and

Z

of

m a t h c a l P_{q}

such that: 1')

d i m (l a n g l e Y, Z a n g l e) = k

2')

d i m (Y) = d i m (Z) = k - 1

. 3')

l a n g l e Y, Z a n g l e s u b s e t m a t h c a l O_{k - 1}

4')

Y, Z s u b s e t m a t h c a l O_{k - 2}

5')

Y c a p Z s u b s e t m a t h c a l O_{k - 3}

. B) The MDS conjecture is true for the given

(q, k)

.

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