On the Evaluation of Weil Sums of Dembowski-Ostrom Polynomials

Let F_q denote the finite field of q elements, q=p^e odd, let χ₁ denote the canonical additive character of F_q where χ₁(c)=e^2πiTr(c)/p for all c∈F_q, and let Tr represent the trace function from F_q to F_p. We are interested in evaluating Weil sums of the form S=S(a₁, …, a_n)=∑_x∈Fq χ₁(D(x)) where D(x)=∑ⁿ_i=1 a_ix^pα_i+pβ_i, α_i?β_i for each i, is known as a Dembowski-Ostrom polynomial (or as a D-O polynomial). Coulter has determined the value of S when D(x)=ax^pα+1; in this note we show how Coulter's methods can be generalized to determine the absolute value of S for any D-O polynomial. When e is even, we give a subclass of D-O polynomials whose Weil sums are real-valued, and in certain cases we are able to resolve the sign of S. We conclude by showing how Coulter's work for the monomial case can be used to determine a lower bound on the number of F^l_q-solutions to the diagonal-type equation ∑^l_i=1 x^pγ+1_i+(x_i+λ)^pγ+1=0, where l is even, e/gcd(γ, e) is odd, and h (X)=λ^pe−γX^pe−γ+λ^pγX is a permutation polynomial over F_q.