On the concentration of points of polynomial maps and applications (Q1925734)

This paper presents an asymptotic formula for the number of visible points on the curve \(f(x)\equiv y\pmod p\), where \(f\in\mathbb F_p[X]\) is a polynomial of degree \(d \geq 2\), and new achievements on the expansion of orbits in dynamical systems generated by nonlinear polynomials. Three of the four authors had already approached the concentration of points on curves [\textit{T. H. Chan} and \textit{I. E. Shparlinski}, Acta Arith. 142, No. 1, 59--66 (2010; Zbl 1198.11002); \textit{J. Cilleruelo} and \textit{M. Z. Garaev}, Geom. Funct. Anal. 21, No. 4, 892--904 (2011; Zbl 1225.11004)] and one of them had also studied the distribution of rational functions along a curve over \(\mathbb F_p\) [\textit{A. Granville} et al., J. Number Theory 112, No. 2, 216--237 (2005; Zbl 1068.11043)], the expansion of orbits in dynamical systems [\textit{J. Gutierrez} and \textit{I. E. Shparlinski}, Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 82, No. 2, 232--239 (2010; Zbl 1204.37092)], and the visible points on curves over finite fields [\textit{I. E. Shparlinski} and \textit{J. F. Voloch}, Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci., Math. 55, No. 3, 193--199 (2007; Zbl 1156.11006)]. Beyond the Vinogradov's mean value theorem (investigated, e.g., by \textit{R. C. Vaughan} [The Hardy-Littlewood method. Cambridge etc.: Cambridge University Press (1981; Zbl 0455.10034)], by \textit{T. D. Wooley} [Ann. Math. (2) 175, No. 3, 1575--1627 (2012; Zbl 1267.11105)], by \textit{L. K. Hua} [Additive theory of prime numbers. Providence, RI: AMS (1965; Zbl 0192.39304)], by \textit{H. Iwaniec} and \textit{E. Kowalski} [Analytic number theory. Providence, RI: AMS (2004; Zbl 1059.11001)], in the proof the authors employ estimates found by \textit{J. Bourgain} [Int. J. Number Theory 1, No. 1, 1--32 (2005; Zbl 1173.11310)], by \textit{E. Bombieri} and \textit{J. Pila} [Duke Math. J. 59, No. 2, 337--357 (1989; Zbl 0718.11048)], results from additive combinatorics due to \textit{B. Bukh} and \textit{J. Tsimerman} [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. (3) 104, No. 1, 1--26 (2012; Zbl 1268.11017)], a method supplied by \textit{M. Z. Garaev} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 136, No. 8, 2735--2739 (2008; Zbl 1163.11017)] and the Weyl bound illustrated in [\textit{R. Hofer} and \textit{H. Niederreiter}, Finite Fields Appl. 21, 97--110 (2013; Zbl 1282.11097)]. The authors emphasize similarities with the works of \textit{I. E. Shparlinski} [J. Number Theory 132, No. 1, 254--257 (2012; Zbl 1268.11051)], \textit{D. Hart} et al. [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 141, No. 2, 461--473 (2013; Zbl 1347.11014)]. The authors also leave two open problems worthy to be explored, i.e., the higher dimensional determinants obtained through the technique developed by \textit{S. V. Konyagin} and \textit{T. Steger} [Math. Notes 55, No. 6, 596--600 (1994); translation from Mat. Zametki 55, No. 6, 73--79 (1994; Zbl 0830.11003)] and the congruence \(f(x)\equiv z\pmod p\), where \(x\in\mathcal I\), \(z \in \mathcal G\) for an almost interval \(\mathcal I\) and an almost group \(\mathcal G\), for which it does not seem applicable the elsewhere successful method from \textit{T. G. F. Jones} [``An improved incidence bound for fields of prime order'', \url{arXiv:1110.4752}], \textit{H. A. Helfgott} and \textit{M. Rudnev} [Mathematika 57, No. 1, 135--145 (2011; Zbl 1264.11016)].