On two-dimensional minimal linear codes over the rings $\mathbb{Z}_{p^n}$
Biplab Chatterjee, Ratnesh Kumar Mishra
TL;DR
The paper addresses constructing and characterizing two-dimensional minimal linear codes over the ring $\mathbb{Z}_{p^n}$ by introducing a generator-matrix framework that enforces minimality through five coordinate-types derived from units and zero-divisors. It provides an explicit construction $G=I_2UD^*DA$ that yields a two-dimensional minimal code when the generator includes all five types and has length $m\ge p^n+p^{n-1}$; removal of any type destroys minimality. Concrete examples, lemmas, and a diagonal-equivalence argument establish the robustness of the construction and its invariance under column permutations. The work also discusses limitations, showing the approach does not directly extend to rings like $\mathbb{Z}_{p^n q^m}$ and connects to known results when $n=1$. Overall, the study offers a concrete algebraic method for minimal codes over rings with potential applications in secret-sharing and related areas.
Abstract
In this paper we study two dimensional minimal linear code over the ring $\mathbb{Z}_{p^n}$(where $p$ is prime). We show that if the generator matrix $G$ of the two dimensional linear code $M$ contains $p^n+p^{n-1}$ column vector of the following type {\scriptsize{$u_{l_1}\begin{pmatrix} 1\\ 0 \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_2}\begin{pmatrix} 0\\1 \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_3}\begin{pmatrix} 1\\u_1 \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_4}\begin{pmatrix} 1\\u_2 \end{pmatrix}$,...,$u_{l_{p^n-p^{n-1}+2}} \begin{pmatrix} 1\\u_{p^n-p^{n-1}} \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_{p^n-p^{n-1}+3}}\begin{pmatrix} d_1 \\ 1 \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_{p^n-p^{n-1}+4}}\begin{pmatrix} d_2\\ 1 \end{pmatrix}$,..., $u_{l_{p^n+1}}\begin{pmatrix} d_{p^{n-1}-1}\\1 \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_{p^n+2}}\begin{pmatrix} 1\\d_1 \end{pmatrix}$, $u_{l_{p^n+3}}\begin{pmatrix} 1\\d_2 \end{pmatrix}$,...,$u_{l_{p^n+p^{n-1}}}\begin{pmatrix} 1 \\d_{p^{n-1}-1} \end{pmatrix}$}}, where $u_i$ and $d_j$ are distinct units and zero divisors respectively in the ring $\mathbb{Z}_{p^n}$ for $1\leq i \leq p^n+p^{n-1}$, $1\leq j \leq p^{n-1}-1$ and additionally, denote $u_{l_i}$ as units in $\mathbb{Z}_{p^n}$, then the module generated by $G$ is a minimal linear code. Also we show that if any one column vector of the above types are not present entirely in $G$, then the generated module is not a minimal linear code.