Formal duality in finite cyclic groups (Q2631954)

The author studies \textit{periodic sets} $\Lambda\subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$: a set that satisfies $\Lambda+L=\Lambda$ for some lattice $L$; its period is $\rho(\Lambda)=N/\det{(L)}$ with $\det{(L)}$ the volume of a fundamental parallelepiped of $L$. \par The fundamental notion is \par Definition 1.1. Two periodic sets $\Lambda,\Gamma\subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$ are called \textit{formally dual} if they satisfy \[ \Sigma_f(\Lambda)=\rho(\Lambda){\Sigma}_{\hat{f}}(\Gamma) \] for every Schwartz function $f:R^n\rightarrow C$. \par Here \[ \Sigma_f(\Lambda)=\frac{1}{N}\sum_{i,j=1}^N\sum_{v\in L} f(v+t_i-t_j) \] for the periodic configuration $\Lambda=\bigcup_{j=1}^N (t_j+L)$, and $\hat{f}$ denotes the Fourier-transform of $f$, defined by \[ \hat{f}(y)=\int\,f(x)e^{-2\pi i\langle x,y\rangle}dx. \] The author now studies the following \par Conjecture. The only primitive subsets of $Z_N$, possessing a formal dual subset are $\{0\}\subseteq Z/Z$ and $\{0,1\}\subseteq Z_4$. \par In this paper ample evidence towards the validity of this conjecture is given by proving it for the following cases: \par (1) $N=p^2q^2$ for distinct primes $p,q$. \par (2) $N=p^mq^n$ for distinct primes $p,q$, with possible finitely many exceptions for each pair $(p,q)$. \par (3) A prime $p$ divides $N$ \textbf{exactly}, that is $p|N,p\not| N$ and $p$ is self-conjugate $\mod N$ (i.e. there exists $j\in Z$ such that $p^j\equiv -1 \mod N$). \par The layout of the paper is as follows: \par 1. Introduction (3 pages) \par -- the main results are stated in this section \par 2. Basic number theoretic background (2 pages) \par -- contains a.o. facts about cyclotomic fields \par 3. The polynomial method (5 pages) \par 4. Structural results on formal duality (6 pages) \par 5. The field descent method (3 pages) \par 6. The prime power case revisited (4 pages) \par 7. Products of two primes (15 pages) \par -- with an appendix of 2 pages on products of two powers of small primes, indicating some numerical data for point (2), indicating how few exceptions for each pair $(p,q)$ exist \par 8. Beyond two prime factors (5 pages) \par -- specifically point (3) of the new results \par References (27 items)