A type of hyperelliptic continued fraction (Q2573772)

Let \(C\) be a nonsingular hyperelliptic curve \(y^2=f(x)\) over a field \(K\) of arbitrary characteristic. Let \(D=P+Q\) be a divisor of degree 2, where \(P\) and \(Q\) are finite points and not conjugate under the hyperelliptic involution. The author defines a continued fraction expansion in which the analogue of ``integer part'' for a rational function is the polynomial of least degree having certain degrees at \(P\) and \(Q\). Let \(D_\infty\) be the divisor \(\infty_1+\infty_2\) if \(C\) has two points at infinity or the divisor \(2\infty\) if \(C\) has one point at infinity. The author shows that the divisor \(D-D_\infty\) is torsion if and only if the continued fraction expansion of a function of the form \((a(x)+y)/d(x)\), where \(a(x), d(x)\in K[x]\) and \(d(x)\) divides the norm of \(a(x)+y\), is quasi-periodic. If \(N(D-D_\infty)=(h)\), then the author describes a baby step-giant step algorithm for finding the integer \(N\) and the rational function \(h\) using the convergents of the continued fraction expansion. This algorithm adapts ideas due to \textit{A.~Stein} and \textit{H.~C.~Williams} [Exp. Math. 8, No. 2, 119--133 (1999; Zbl 0987.11071)]. The author indicates the difficulties involved in trying to extend these results to divisors of degree greater than 3. In the introduction, the author attributes the motivation for this work to remarks of Tschebychev in 1865.