On short sums of trace functions (Q1687871)

Let \(m\geq 1\) be an integer and let \(\varphi: \mathbb{Z}/ m\mathbb{Z}\rightarrow \mathbb{C}\) be a complex-valued function defined modulo \(m\). This authors show that \[ \left|\sum_{n\in I}\varphi(n)\right|\leq c\sqrt{m}\log\left(\frac{4e^{8}|I|}{m^{\frac{1}{2}}}\right) \] for any interval \(I\) in \(\mathbb{Z}\) with \(\sqrt{m}<|I|\leq m\), where \(c=\max\left(||\varphi||_{\infty}, ||\widehat{\varphi}||_{\infty}\right)\). Moreover, they prove that the existence of non-trivial estimates for ranges slightly below the square-root bound is stable under the discrete Fourier transform. Some applications related to trace functions over finite fields are given.