Ray class fields of global function fields with many rational places (Q4522639)

Fixing a non-negative integer \(g\) and a power of a prime \(q\), the paper under review has to do with algebraic function fields of one variable of genus \(g\) and defined over a finite field \(\mathbb F_q\) having ``many \(\mathbb F_q\)-rational places''; i.e., those whose number of \(\mathbb F_q\)-rational places are ``reasonably'' close to \(N_q(g)\), the maximum number of \(\mathbb F_q\)-rational places that algebraic function fields over \(\mathbb F_q\) of genus \(g\) can have. The study of \(N_q(g)\) was initiated by \textit{J.-P. Serre} [Rational points on curves over finite fields; Notes by F. Gouvea of lectures at Harvard University, 1985]\ who computed \(N_q(1)\) and \(N_q(2)\) for any \(q\), and \(N_q(3)\) in some cases. In general the computation of \(N_q(g)\) is quite involved and tables for this function, with \(g\) and \(q\) small, were constructed e.g. by \textit{G. van der Geer} and \textit{M. van der Vlugt} at [\url{http://www.wins.uva.nl/~geer}]. In this paper, by applying methods of Class Field Theory to certain ray class fields, the author succeeds in constructing function fields with many rational places. Numerical consequences of these results improve in many cases the ones stated in the aforementioned tables. Auer's approach clarifies \textit{M. Perret}'s [J. Number Theory 38, 300-322 (1991; Zbl 0741.11044)], subsumes \textit{D. Hayes}' [Studies in Algebra and Number Theory, Adv. Math., Suppl. Stud. 6, 173-217 (1979; Zbl 0476.12010)], and generalizes \textit{H. Niederreiter} and \textit{C. P. Xing}'s [Monatsh. Math. 127, 219-241 (1999; Zbl 0982.11034)]. This work has its immediate predecessor in works by \textit{K. Lauter} [Algorithmic number theory, Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. 1122, 187-195 (1996; Zbl 0935.11022), Manuscr. Math. 98, 87-96 (1999; Zbl 0919.11076), J. Number Theory 74, 56-72 (1999; Zbl 1044.11054)] and Niederreiter and Xing (e.g., loc. cit.).