Construction of APN permutations via Walsh zero spaces (Q2096658)

For a function \(f:\mathbb{F}_{2^n}\rightarrow \mathbb{F}_{2^n}\), the Walsh transform at \((a,b)\) is defined as \(W_f(a,b)=\sum_{x \in \mathbb{F}_{2^n}} (-1)^{\operatorname{Tr}(ax+bf(x))}\) where \(Tr\) is the absolute trace function from \(\mathbb{F}_{2^n}\) to \(\mathbb{F}_2\). A Walsh zero of \(f\) is an element \((a,b) \in \mathbb{F}_{2^n} \times \mathbb{F}_{2^n}\) such that \(W_f(a,b)=0\). An \(\mathbb{F}_2\)-linear subspace \(S\) of \(\mathbb{F}_{2^n} \times \mathbb{F}_{2^n}\) with \(dim_{\mathbb{F}_2}S=n\) such that each element \((a,b) \in S\setminus\{(0,0)\}\) is a Walsh zero of \(f\) is called a WZ space of \(f\). Two WZ spaces \(S,T\) for the same function \(f\) are said to intersect trivially if \(S \cap T = \{(0,0)\}\). In Proposition 2.2 of the paper, it is shown that a function \(f\) with two WZ spaces which intersect trivially is CCZ-equivalent to a permutation of \(\mathbb{F}_{2^n}\). Then the authors concentrate on Gold APN functions \(f(x)=x^{2^i+1}\), where \(n\) is odd and \(\gcd(i,n)=1\). These functions are permutations of \(\mathbb{F}_{2^n}\). Recall that a function \(f:\mathbb{F}_{2^n}\rightarrow \mathbb{F}_{2^n}\) is an APN function if for each \((a,b) \in \mathbb{F}_{2^n} \times \mathbb{F}_{2^n}, a\neq 0\), the equation \(f(x+a) - f(x) = b\) has at most two solutions. In Section 3, the authors first present a test for the Walsh zeros of Gold APN in Proposition 3.1 and then in Section 4, they construct WZ spaces for these functions. In Section 5, constructions of trivially intersecting families of WZ spaces are given.