Paper 1, Section II, 12G

Coding and Cryptography
Part II, 2012

Define a cyclic binary code of length nn.

Show how codewords can be identified with polynomials in such a way that cyclic binary codes correspond to ideals in the polynomial ring with a suitably chosen multiplication rule.

Prove that any cyclic binary code CC has a unique generator, that is, a polynomial c(X)c(X) of minimum degree, such that the code consists of the multiples of this polynomial. Prove that the rank of the code equals ndegc(X)n-\operatorname{deg} c(X), and show that c(X)c(X) divides Xn1X^{n}-1.

Show that the repetition and parity check codes are cyclic, and determine their generators.