Weight Spectra of Gabidulin Rank-metric Codes and Betti Numbers

Abstract

We consider $q$-matroids and their associated classical matroids derived from Gabidulin rank-metric codes. We express the generalized rank weights of a Gabidulin rank-metric code in terms of Betti numbers of the dual classical matroid associated to the $q$-matroid corresponding to the code. In our main result, we show how these Betti numbers and their elongations determine the generalized weight polynomials for $q$-matorids, in particular, for the Gabidulin rank-metric codes. In addition, we demonstrate how the weight distribution and higher weight spectra of such codes can be determined directly from the associated $q$-matroids by using M\"{o}bius functions of its lattice of $q$-flats.