A Note on Value Sets of Polynomials over Finite Fields

Abstract: Most results on the value sets

V_{f}

of polynomials

f i n m a t h b b F_{q} [x]

relate the cardinality

| V_{f} |

to the degree of

f

. In particular, the structure of the spectrum of the class of polynomials of a fixed degree

d

is rather well known. We consider a class

m a t h c a l F_{q, n}

of polynomials, which we obtain by modifying linear permutations at

n

points. The study of the spectrum of

m a t h c a l F_{q, n}

enables us to obtain a simple description of polynomials

F i n m a t h c a l F_{q, n}

with prescribed

V_{F}

, especially those avoiding a given set, like cosets of subgroups of the multiplicative group

m a t h b b F_{q}^{*}

. The value set count for such

F

can also be determined. This yields polynomials with evenly distributed values, which have small maximum count.

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