On the ranks of bent functions

The rank of a bent function is the 2-rank of the associated symmetric 2-design. In this paper, it is shown that it is an invariant under the equivalence relation among bent functions. Some upper and lower bounds of ranks of general bent functions, Maiorana–McFarland bent functions and Desarguesian partial spread bent functions are given. As a consequence, it is proved that almost every Desarguesian partial spread bent function is not equivalent to any Maiorana–McFarland bent function.     

The relationship between the nonexistence of generalized bent functions and diophantine equations

Two new results on the nonexistence of generalized bent functions are presented by using properties of the decomposition law of primes in cyclotomic fields and properties of solutions of some Diophantine equations, and examples satisfying our results are given.     

New results on non-existence of generalized bent functions (Ⅱ)

Several new results on non-existence of generalized bent functions are presented by using the class group of related imaginary abelian number fields.     

New results on non-existence of generalized bent functions (II)

Several new results on non-existence of generalized bent functions are presented by using the class group of related imaginary abelian number fields.     

The eight variable homogeneous degree three bent functions

We determine the affine equivalence classes of the eight variable degree three homogeneous bent functions using a new algorithm. Our algorithm applies to general bent functions and can systematically determine the automorphism groups. We provide a partial verification of the enumeration of eight variable degree three homogeneous bent functions obtained by Meng et al. We determine the affine equivalence classes of these functions.     

On the degree of homogeneous bent functions

In this paper, the degree of homogeneous bent functions is discussed. We prove that for any nonnegative integer k, there exists a positive integer N such that for n?N there exist no 2n- variable homogeneous bent functions having degree n-k or more, where N is the least integer satisfying .     

A relationship between the nonexistence of generalized bent functions and class groups

A new result on the nonexistence of generalized bent functions is presented by using properties of the decomposition law of primes in cyclotomic fields and properties of solutions of some Diophantine equations. At the same time,a method is given which can be used to simplify the known results. Then we give the bounds and the meaning in algebraic number theory of the parameters in our results.     

Generalized bent functions and class group of imaginary quadratic fields

Several new results on non-existence of generalized bent functions are presented. The results are related to the class number of imaginary quadratic fields.     

On differential uniformity and nonlinearity of functions

We present results related to vectorial plateaued functions and mappings whose derivatives are 2^s-to-1 functions. The results in this note generalize facts about almost perfect nonlinear and almost bent functions. We investigate the connection between plateaued and 2^s-to-1 functions. We show that functions which are both plateaued and differentially uniform give rise to partial difference sets.     

Finding nonnormal bent functions

The question if there exist nonnormal bent functions was an open question for several years. A Boolean function in n variables is called normal if there exists an affine subspace of dimension n/2 on which the function is constant. In this paper we give the first nonnormal bent function and even an example for a nonweakly normal bent function. These examples belong to a class of bent functions found in [J.F. Dillon, H. Dobbertin, New cyclic difference sets with Singer parameters, in: Finite Fields and Applications, to appear], namely the Kasami functions. We furthermore give a construction which extends these examples to higher dimensions. Additionally, we present a very efficient algorithm that was used to verify the nonnormality of these functions.     

A novel algorithm enumerating bent functions

Based on the relationship between the Walsh spectra of a Boolean function at partial points and the Walsh spectra of its subfunctions, and on the binary Möbius transform, a novel algorithm is developed, which can theoretically construct all bent functions. Practically we enumerate all bent functions in 6 variables. With the restriction on the algebraic normal form, the algorithm is also efficient in more variables case. For example, enumeration of all homogeneous bent functions of degree 3 in 8 variables can be done in one minute with a P4 1.7 GHz computer; the nonexistence of homogeneous bent functions in 10 variables of degree 4 is computationally proved.     

Construction of bent functions via Niho power functions

A Boolean function with an even number n=2k of variables is called bent if it is maximally nonlinear. We present here a new construction of bent functions. Boolean functions of the form f(x)=tr(α₁x^d₁+α₂x^d₂), α₁,α₂,x∈F_2ⁿ, are considered, where the exponents d_i (i=1,2) are of Niho type, i.e. the restriction of x^d_i on F_2^k is linear. We prove for several pairs of (d₁,d₂) that f is a bent function, when α₁ and α₂ fulfill certain conditions. To derive these results we develop a new method to prove that certain rational mappings on F_2ⁿ are bijective.     

Construction of bent functions from near-bent functions

We give a construction of bent functions in dimension 2m from near-bent functions in dimension 2m−1. In particular, we give the first ever examples of non-weakly-normal bent functions in dimensions 10 and 12, which demonstrates the significance of our construction.     

Two Generalized Constructions of Relative Difference Sets

We give two generalizations of some known constructions of relative difference sets. The first one is a generalization of a construction of RDS by Chen, Ray-Chaudhuri and Xiang using the Galois ring GR(4, m). The second one generalizes a construction of RDS by Ma and Schmidt from the setting of chain rings to a setting of more general rings.     

A Ring Theoretic Construction of Hadamard Difference Sets in ℤ<Subscript>8</Subscript><Superscript><Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">n</Emphasis></Superscript>×ℤ<Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript><Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">n</Emphasis></Superscript>

Let be the Galois ring of characteristic 2³ and rank n and let . We give an explicit construction of Hadamard difference sets in .}Research supported by NSA grant MDA 904-02-1-0080.     

A construction of weakly and non-weakly regular bent functions

In this article a technique for constructing p-ary bent functions from near-bent functions is presented. This technique is then used to obtain both weakly regular and non-weakly regular bent functions. In particular we present the first known infinite class of non-weakly regular bent functions.     

Strongly regular graphs associated with ternary bent functions

We prove a new characterization of weakly regular ternary bent functions via partial difference sets. Partial difference sets are combinatorial objects corresponding to strongly regular graphs. Using known families of bent functions, we obtain in this way new families of strongly regular graphs, some of which were previously unknown. One of the families includes an example in [N. Hamada, T. Helleseth, A characterization of some {3v₂+v₃,3v₁+v₂,3,3}-minihypers and some [15,4,9;3]-codes with B₂=0, J. Statist. Plann. Inference 56 (1996) 129-146], which was considered to be sporadic; using our results, this strongly regular graph is now a member of an infinite family. Moreover, this paper contains a new proof that the Coulter-Matthews and ternary quadratic bent functions are weakly regular.