Rédei permutations with the same cycle structure (Q2135575)

In the paper under review, the authors study permutations induced by Rédei functions over a finite field with the same cycle structure. Let \(\mathbb{F}_q\) be the finite field of order \(q\), and \(\mathbb{P}^1(\mathbb{F}_q)=\mathbb{F}_q\cup \{\infty\}\). We consider the binomial expansion of \((x+\sqrt{y})^m\) written as \(N(x,y)+D(x,y)\sqrt{y}\). For \(m\in \mathbb{N}\) and \(a\in \mathbb{F}_q\), the Rédei function \(R_{m,a}\,:\,\mathbb{P}^1(\mathbb{F}_q) \rightarrow \mathbb{P}^1(\mathbb{F}_q)\) is defined by \[R_{m,a}(x) = \left\{ \begin{array}{rcl} \displaystyle\frac{N(x,a)}{D(x,a)} &\hspace{1cm}\text{if}\,\,\, D(x,a)\neq 0\,\,\text{and}\,\,x\neq \infty\\ \infty & \hspace{-2cm}\text{otherwise}. \end{array}\right.\] When \(a\in \mathbb{F}_q^*\) and \(q\) is odd, \textit{L. Carlitz} [Duke Math. J. 29, 325--332 (1962; Zbl 0196.31102)] obtained the following explicit formula: \[R_{m,a}(x)=\sqrt{a}\,\displaystyle\frac{(x+\sqrt{a})^m+(x-\sqrt{a})^m}{(x+\sqrt{a})^m-(x-\sqrt{a})^m},\] where \(\sqrt{a}\) is an element of \(\mathbb{F}_q\) or \(\mathbb{F}_{q^2}\). The authors refer to a Rédei bijection as a Rédei permutation. \textit{C. Qureshi} and \textit{D. Panario} [SIAM J. Discrete Math. 29, No. 3, 1486--1503 (2015; Zbl 1344.11077)] describe the cycle structure of a Rédei permutation over \(\mathbb{P}^1(\mathbb{F}_q)\). At the end of their paper, they propose the problem of investigating the conditions under which two Rédei permutations \(R_{m,a}\) and \(R_{n,b}\) have the same cycle structure. The authors address this question in the paper under review. Their main result provides a complete characterization of all pairs \((m,n)\in \mathbb{N}^2\) that satisfy the following condition: \(R_{m,a}\) and \(R_{n,b}\) are Rédei permutations with the same cycle structure for some \(a,b\in \mathbb{F}_q\) with \(\chi(a)=\chi(b)\) and \(q\) odd, where \(\chi(a)\) denotes the quadratic character of \(a\), that is, \(\chi(a)=\) if \(a\) is a square in \(\mathbb{F}_q\), and \(\chi(a)=-1\) otherwise. In a recent work by the authors [Des. Codes Cryptogr. 88, No. 12, 2561--2579 (2020; Zbl 1458.05003)], they investigated Rédei permutations that only decompose into 1- and \(p\)-cycles, where \(p\) is 4 or a fixed prime. However, their approach in the paper under review is different from the one they used in the previous paper. In the paper, the authors explore the pairs \((m,n)\) that yield Rédei permutations with the same cycle structure and find symmetric properties of them. The authors further explore such pairs and use an example to illustrate the distribution of such pairs over certain lines, making those properties evident. They also find several explicit families of Rédei permutations with the same cycle structure. The authors call a Rédei permutation \textit{isolated} when it has a unique cycle structure, in the sense that no other Rédei permutation has the same cycle structure. Their second main result shows that the only isolated Rédei permutations are the isolated Rédei involutions, which provides a connection with their previous work. Using results from their previous paper, they determine all values of \(m\) for which \(R_{m,a}\) is an isolated involution.