Twisting geometric codes

The aim of this paper is to explain how, starting from a Goppa code C(X,G,P₁,…,P_n) and a cyclic covering π:Y→X of degree m, one can twist the initial code to another one C(X,G+D_χ,P₁,…,P_n), where D_χ is a non-principal degree 0 divisor on X associated to a character χ of Gal(Y/X), in the hope that ℓ_X(G+D_χ)>ℓ_X(G). We give, using a MAGMA program, several examples where this occurs, and where both the initial and twisted codes have same minimum distance, so that initial codes have been improved.