On the cyclicity of the rational points group of abelian varieties over finite fields (Q2422159)

There is a large literature about counting elliptic curves over finite fields that have a cyclic group of rational points. Many questions in this area can be adapted to higher-dimensional abelian varieties. Let \(A\) be an abelian variety defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\). We say \(A\) is cyclic if \(A(\mathbb{F}_q)\) is a cyclic group. An isogeny class \(\mathcal{A}\) of abelian varieties defined over \(\mathbb{F}_q\) is cyclic if every abelian variety contained in it is cyclic. In Theorem 2.2, the author gives a criterion to determine whether \(\mathcal{A}\) is cyclic in terms of the corresponding Weil polynomial. Using this criterion and some results of \textit{S. A. DiPippo} and \textit{E. W. Howe} [J. Number Theory 73, No. 2, 426--450 (1998; Zbl 0931.11023)], the author gives lower bounds for the proportion of certain families of isogeny classes that are cyclic. For example, you can fix all but the middle coefficient of the Weil polynomial and then count integers for which this choice of middle coefficient gives the Weil polynomial of a cyclic isogeny class over \(\mathbb{F}_{p^i}\). Theorem 2.3 gives a lower bound as \(i\) goes to infinity. In the final section, the author applies these results to the study of cyclic abelian surfaces.