The algebraic decoding of the (41, 21, 9) quadratic residue code

Abstract

A new algebraic approach for decoding the quadratic residue (QR) codes, in particular the (41, 21, 9) QR code, is presented. The key ideas behind this decoding technique are a systematic application of the Sylvester resultant method to the Newton identities associated with the syndromes to find the error-locator polynomial, and next a method for determining error locations by solving certain quadratic, cubic, and quartic equations over GF(2/sup m/) in a new way which uses Zech's logarithms for the arithmetic. The logarithms developed for Zech's logarithms save a substantial amount of computer memory by storing only a table of Zech's logarithms. These algorithms are suitable for implementation in a programmable microprocessor or special-purpose VLSI chip. It is expected that the algebraic methods developed can apply generally to other codes such as the BCH and Reed-Solomon codes. >