Calculation of certain Gauss sums (Q677624)

Let \(K\) denote a finite extension of the field with \(p\) elements \({\mathbb{F}}_p\). Let \(\zeta\) be a complex primitive \(p\)-th root of unity. The author considers the Gauss sum \[ \sum_{x\in K^*}\lambda(x) \zeta^{T(x)}, \] where \(\lambda\) is a multiplicative character of \(K\) of order \(m\) and \(T\) is the trace map from \(K\) to \({\mathbb{F}}_p\). The author computes the value of this sum if the following three conditions hold: (1) \(m=l^r\), where \(l\) is an odd prime and \(r>0\), (2) the group generated by \(p\) has index 2 in \(({\mathbb{Z}}/m{\mathbb{Z}})^*\), and (3) \(l\equiv 3\) (mod 4), but \(l\neq 3\). The case when \(l=m\) appears in a paper of \textit{R. J. McEliece} [Combinatorics, Part 1, Proc. Advanced Study Inst., Breukelen, 179-196 (1974; Zbl 0309.94022)], where one can also find the connection between Gauss sums and weight distributions of cyclic codes.