On the Gow--McGuire Conjecture for Primitive Quadratic Polynomials
arXiv:2607.28052
The paper proves the Gow–McGuire conjecture on primitive quadratic polynomials over finite fields for all odd prime powers greater than 204,931, using character-sum estimates, refined sieve techniques, and exhaustive computation.
Abstract
Let \(q\) be an odd prime power, let \(μ\in\F_q^\times\), and let \(α\in\F_{q^2}\setminus\F_q\). We study primitive polynomials in the family \(x^2+μx+λ-α\), where \(λ\in\F_q\). A root parametrization reduces the problem to finding primitive values of a rational function on \(q+1\) points. Combining character-sum estimates, refined prime sieves, and an exact finite computation, we prove Conjecture~3 of Gow and McGuire for every odd prime power \(q>204931\). Their Conjectures~1 and~2 follow in the same range.