Planar functions from \(\mathbb{Z}_n\) to \(\mathbb{Z}_n\) (Q1975156)

If \(H\) and \(K\) are groups of order \(n\), then a mapping \(f\) from \(H\) to \(K\) is called a planar function of degree \(n\) if, for each non-identity element \(h\) in \(H\), the induced mapping \(f_h:x\to f(hx)f(x)^{-1}\) is bijective. The degrees of all known examples of planar functions are prime and it is conjectured that the degree must be a prime power. It is known that if there exists a planar function of degree \(n\), then \(n\) is square-free, \(n\neq 3p\) for any prime \(p\), \(n\neq pq\) for any distinct primes \(p\) and \(q\). The authors' main theorem is an important extension: There are no planar functions of degree \(n\) if \(n= 3pq\) for distinct primes \(p\), \(q\) each greater than 3. The techniques used are a strong mixture of ideas from cyclotomy, character theory, and relative difference sets (RDS). In particular, let \(G\) be a group of order \(mn\) and \(N\) a normal subgroup of \(G\) of order \(n\). A \(k\)-element subset \(R\) of \(G\) is called an \((m,n,k,\lambda)\)-relative difference set in \(G\) relative to \(N\) if, for any \(g\), \(h\) in \(R\) with \(g\neq h\), the expressions \(gh^{-1}\) represent each element in \(G\setminus N\) exactly \(\lambda\) times. The authors quickly reduce the problem to an equivalent result: There is no \((3pq, 3, 3pq, pq)\)-RDS in \(\mathbb{Z}_{3pq}\times \mathbb{Z}_3\).