Numbers of points of surfaces in the projective 3-space over finite fields (Q491991)

Let \(\mathbb{F}_q\) be the finite field of \(q\) elements and \(\mathbb{P}^3\) the projective 3-dimensional space defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\). Let \(S\subset\mathbb{P}^3\) be a surface of degree \(d\) defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\) without plane components defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\). In [\textit{M. Homma} and \textit{S. J. Kim}, Finite Fields Appl. 20, 76--83 (2013; Zbl 1271.14059)], the authors showed that the number \(N_q(S)\) of \(\mathbb{F}_q\)-points of \(S\) satisfies the following upper bound \[ N_q(S)\leq (d-1)q^23+dq+1. \] In the paper under review, the surfaces achieving this upper bound are explicitly determined. More precisely, the authors show that if such an upper bound is achieved, then the degree \(d\) of \(S\) must be 2, \(\sqrt{q}+1\) or \(q+1\), and the surface is (projectively equivalent to) the hyperbolic surface, the nonsingular Hermitian surface, or the surface of minimum degree containing all \(\mathbb{F}_q\)-points of \(\mathbb{P}^3\). The proof proceeds by a careful analysis of the possible number of \(\mathbb{F}_q\)-points of plane sections of the surface \(S\) under consideration defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\), and the properties of plane curves \(C\subset\mathbb{P}^2\) of degree \(d\) defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\) without linear components defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\) achieving the Sziklai bound \(N_q(C)\leq (d-1)q+1\) (see, e.g., \textit{M. Homma} and \textit{S. J. Kim} [Finite Fields Appl. 16, No. 5, 315--319 (2010; Zbl 1196.14030)]).