Stabiliser codes over fields of even order

Abstract

We prove that the natural isomorphism between GF(2^h) and GF(2)^h induces a bijection between stabiliser codes on n quqits with local dimension q=2^h and binary stabiliser codes on hn qubits. This allows us to describe these codes geometrically: a stabiliser code over a field of even order corresponds to a so-called quantum set of symplectic polar spaces. Moreover, equivalent stabiliser codes have a similar geometry, which can be used to prove the uniqueness of a [[4,0,3]]_4 stabiliser code and the nonexistence of both a [[7,1,4]]_4 and an [[8,0,5]]_4 stabiliser code.