Burgess-type volume dependent bounds for character sums over ${\mathbb{F}}_{p^n}$

Abstract

We establish a Burgess-type bound for short multiplicative character sums over finite fields ${\mathbb{F}}_{p^n}$. Let \[ B=\left\{\sum_{i=1}^{n}x_iω_i: N_i+1\le x_i\le N_i+H_i,1\le i\le n\right\}\subseteq\mathbb{F}_{p^n}, \] where $1\le H_i\le p$ for all $1\le i\le n$, and the side lengths satisfy $H_1\le H_2\le \cdots \le H_n.$ We prove that if the side lengths satisfy certain lower bounds in terms of the two largest side lengths, then a nontrivial cancellation occurs in the character sum over the boxes. This generalizes the work of Gabdullin \cite{GB} in dimensions $n=2,3$ to arbitrary dimension. This also generalizes the character sum estimate of Konyagin \cite{Kon} where each of the side lengths of the boxes are greater than $p^{1/4}$. The proof combines techniques from the geometry of numbers, multiplicative energy estimates, and Katz's bounds for multiplicative character sums.

17 pages