Autocorrelation values of generalized cyclotomic sequences of order two (Q4701151)

Let \(p\) and \(q\) be two distinct primes with \(\text{gcd} (p-1, q-1)= 2\). Define \(N=pq\) and \(e= (p-1)(q-1)/2\). Let \(g\) be a common primitive root of \(p\) and \(q\) and let \(x\) be defined by \(x\equiv g\pmod p\) and \(x\equiv 1\pmod q\). Define the cyclotomic classes \(D_0\) and \(D_1\) by \[ D_i= \{g^s x^i\mid s=0, 1,\dots, e-1\}, \quad i=0,1. \] The generalized cyclotomic numbers of order two are defined by \((i,j)= |(D_i+1)\cap D_j|\) for all \(i=0,1\), \(j=0,1\). The author defines a binary sequence of period \(N\), such that \(s_i=1\) if \(i\pmod N\in \{p, 2p,\dots, (q-1)p\}\cup D_1\) and \(s_i =0\) otherwise. The periodic autocorrelation of the periodic binary sequence \((s_i)\) of length \(N\) is defined to be \(C_s(w)= \frac 1N \sum_{i\in \mathbb{Z}_N} (-1)^{s_{i+w}+s_i}\) where \(0\leq w\leq N-1\). The correlation function of this sequence is determined from the properties of the generalized cyclotomic numbers of order two. Further, the distribution of patterns of length two in the sequence is studied.