Complete solution over \(\mathbb{F}_{p^n}\) of the equation \(X^{p^k+1}+X+a=0\) (Q2238912)

In this paper, the authors complete the study of the equation \(P_{a}(X):=X^{q+1}+X+a=0\) over a finite field \(\mathbb F_{Q},\) where \(Q=p^n, q=p^k, p\) is a prime and \(a\in \mathbb F_{Q}^{\star}\) started in their previous papers. The problem of explicitly finding solutions of this equation arises in many branches of algebra, discrete mathematics, finite geometries, coding theory, and cryptography. This problem was firstly formulated in a paper of \textit{E. R. Berlekamp} et al. [Inf. Control 10, 553--564 (1967; Zbl 0166.04803)] for \(k=1\) and \(p = 2.\) It turned out that the number \(N_a\) of \(\mathbb F_{Q}\)-roots of \(P_a(X)\) is \(0, 1, 2\) or \(p^{\gcd(n, k)}+1\), this key result was obtained by \textit{A. W. Bluher} [Finite Fields Appl. 10, No. 3, 285--305 (2004; Zbl 1137.12300)]. In the previous paper [\textit{K. H. Kim} et al., Finite Fields Appl. 70, Article ID 101797, 17 p. (2021; Zbl 1476.12001)] of authors, the cases of one or two \(F_Q\)-zeros were considered, explicit expressions for these rational zeros in terms of \(a\) were pointed out, but the case of \(p^{\gcd(n,k)} + 1\) \(F_Q\)-zeros remained unsolved, the authors found only a parametrization of such \(a\)'s and expressed the \(p^{\gcd(n,k)} + 1\) rational zeros using that parametrization. Here the remained problem is solved, the authors gave explicit expressions for all possible zeros in \(\mathbb F_{p^n}\) of \(P_a(X)\) in terms of \(a\) and completely solved the problem formulated more than half a century ago.