Pinned distance sets, k-simplices, Wolff's exponent in finite fields and sum-product estimates

Arithmetic combinatorics; higher degree uniformity (11B30) Exponential sums (11T23) Structure theory for finite fields and commutative rings (number-theoretic aspects) (11T30) Erd?s problems and related topics of discrete geometry (52C10) Arrangements of points, flats, hyperplanes (aspects of discrete geometry) (52C35)

Abstract: An analog of the Falconer distance problem in vector spaces over finite fields asks for the threshold

a l p h a > 0

such that

| D e l t a (E) | g t r s i m q

whenever

| E | g t r s i m q^{a l p h a}

, where

E s u b s e t {B b b F}_{q}^{d}

, the

d

-dimensional vector space over a finite field with

q

elements (not necessarily prime). Here

D e l t a (E) = {(x_{1} - y_{1})}^{2} + ... + {(x_{d} - y_{d})}^{2} : x, y i n E

. In two dimensions we improve the known exponent to

f r a c 43

, consistent with the corresponding exponent in Euclidean space obtained by Wolff. The pinned distance set

D e l t a_{y} (E) = {(x_{1} - y_{1})}^{2} + ... + {(x_{d} - y_{d})}^{2} : x i n E

for a pin

y i n E

has been studied in the Euclidean setting. Peres and Schlag showed that if the Hausdorff dimension of a set

E

is greater than

f r a c d + 1 2

then the Lebesgue measure of

D e l t a_{y} (E)

is positive for almost every pin

y

. In this paper we obtain the analogous result in the finite field setting. In addition, the same result is shown to be true for the pinned dot product set

P i_{y} (E) = x c d o t y : x i n E

. Under the additional assumption that the set

E

has cartesian product structure we improve the pinned threshold for both distances and dot products to

f r a c d^{2} 2 d - 1

. A generalization of the Falconer distance problem is determine the minimal

a l p h a > 0

such that

E

contains a congruent copy of every

k

dimensional simplex whenever

| E | g t r s i m q^{a l p h a}

. Here the authors improve on known results (for

k > 3

) using Fourier analytic methods, showing that

a l p h a

may be taken to be

f r a c d + k 2

.

Review text

Fix a finite field \(\mathbb{F}_q\) with \(q\) elements (not necessarily prime), and with associated \(d\)-dimensional vector space \(\mathbb{F}_q^d\). Given a set \(E \subset \mathbb{F}_q^d\), let \(\Delta(E) = \{ (x_1-y_1)^2 + \cdots + (x_d - y_d)^2 : x,y \in E \}\). A finite field analogue of the Falconer distance problem asks for a threshold \(\alpha>0\) such that \(|\Delta (D)| \gtrsim q\) whenever \(E \subset \mathbb{F}_q^d\) satisfies \(|E| \gtrsim q^\alpha\). In this finite field setting, \textit{A. Iosevich} and \textit{M. Rudnev} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 359, No. 12, 6127--6142 (2007; Zbl 1145.11083)] proved that \(\alpha\) may be taken to be \(\frac{d+1}{2}\), and \textit{D. Hart} et al., [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 363, No. 6, 3255--3275 (2011; Zbl 1244.11013)] showed that this exponent is best possible, for odd dimensions \(d\). It remains open whether \(d/2\) is the true exponent in even dimensions, in analogy with the Euclidean case; in this direction, the present paper proves that in two dimensions, the exponent may be improved to \(4/3\). This is consistent with \textit{T. Wolff}'s result [Int. Math. Res. Not. 1999, No. 10, 547--567 (1999); addendum ibid. 88, No. 1, 35--39 (2002; Zbl 0930.42006)] for the analogous phenomenon in Euclidean space: the Lebesgue measure of the set of distances determined by a subset of the plane of Hausdorff dimension greater than \(4/3\) is positive. Fixing a pin \(y \in E\), define the pinned distance set \(\Delta_y(E) = \{ (x_1-y_1)^2 + \cdots + (x_d - y_d)^2 : x\in E \}\). In the Euclidean setting, \textit{Y. Peres} and \textit{W. Schlag} [Duke Math. J. 102, No. 2, 193--251 (2000; Zbl 0961.42007)] showed that for a set \(E \subset \mathbb{R}^n\) of Hausdorff dimension greater than \(\frac{d+1}{2}\), the Lebesgue measure of \(\Delta_y(E)\) is positive for almost every pin \(y \in E\). In the present paper, the analogous result is proved in the finite field setting. Moreover, the authors show that this same result continues to hold for the pinned dot product set \(\Pi_y(E) = \{ x \cdot y : x \in E \}\). Under the additional assumption that the set \(E\) has Cartesian product structure, the authors improve the pinned threshold for both distances and dot products to \(\frac{d^2}{2d-1}\). The pinned dot product result for Cartesian products has additional implications for sum-product results. Fix a set \(A \subset \mathbb{F}_q\) and a point \(z \in \mathbb{F}_q^*\). The present paper proves that if \(|A| \geq q^{\frac{d}{2d-1}}\), then there exists a subset \(E' \subset A \times \cdots \times A = A^{d-1}\) with \(|E'| \gtrsim |A|^{d-1}\) such that for any \((a_1,\ldots, a_{d-1}) \in E',\) \[ |a_1A + a_2 A + \cdots + a_{d-1}A + zA | > \frac{q}{2}, \] where for each \(j=1,\ldots, d-1\), \(a_jA = \{ a_ja : a \in A \}\). Finally, the present paper improves on known results for a generalization of the Falconer distance problem: determine the minimal \(\alpha>0\) such that \(E\) contains a congruent copy of a positive proportion of \(k\)-simplices whenever \(|E| \gtrsim q^\alpha\). The authors use Fourier analytic methods to prove that \(\alpha\) may be taken to be \(\frac{d+k}{2}\), which improves on known results for \(k >3\).

Recommendations

Cites work

Cited in

(81)

This page was built for publication: Pinned distance sets, \(k\)-simplices, Wolff's exponent in finite fields and sum-product estimates

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q431261)