Factorization of Dickson polynomials over finite fields (Q2107676)

For \(n\ge 1\) and \(a\in\mathbb F_q^*\), the \textit{Dickson polynomials of the first and second kind}, denoted by \(D_n(x;a)\) and \(E_n(x;a)\), respectively, are the polynomials in \(\mathbb F_q[x]\) defined by the functional equations \begin{align*} D_n\Bigl(y+\frac ay;a\Bigr)&=y^n+\Bigl(\frac ay\Bigr)^n,\\ E_n\Bigl(y+\frac ay;a\Bigr)&=\frac{y^{n+1}-(a/y)^{n+1}}{y-(a/y)}. \end{align*} Let \(\mathrm{rad}(n)\) be the product of all prime factors of \(n\). The main result of the paper is the determination of the irreducible factors of \(D_n(x;a)\) and \(E_n(x;a)\) in \(\mathbb F_q[x]\) under the assumption that \(\mathrm{rad}(n)\mid q-1\) for \(D_n(x;a)\) and \(\mathrm{rad}(n+1)\mid q-1\) for \(E_n(x;a)\). A typical irreducible factor of \(D_n(x;a)\) and \(E_n(x;a)\) is of the form \(D_t(x;a)-b^t(\alpha+\alpha^{-1})\) or \((D_t(x;a)-b^t(\alpha+\alpha^{-1}))(D_t(x;a)-b^{qt}(\alpha^q+\alpha^{-q}))\), where \(b^2=a\), and \(t>0\) and \(\alpha\in\mathbb F_{q^2}\) satisfy certain conditions. The approach of the paper is based on two previous results: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] The irreducible factors of \(D_n(x;1)\) are closely related to those of \(x^{4n}-1\). This connection follows from the work by Fitzgerald and Yucas on the bijective multiplicative functions between the set of monic polynomials of degree \(m\) over \(\mathbb F_q\) and the set of nontrivial \(a\)-self-reciprocal polynomials of degree \(2m\) over \(\mathbb F_q\). \item[2.] When \(\mathrm{rad}(n)\mid q-1\), the irreducible factors of \(x^n-1\) were determined by Martínez et al. \end{itemize} The factorization of Dickson polynomials is a well-studied topic. The conclusions of the present paper generalize several previous results by other authors. The reviewer's note: There are two minor errors on the first page of Section 2: the functional equation for \(E_n\) and the claim that \(E_{pn}(x)=(E_n(x))^p\).