Geometric characterization of $p$-exceptional monomial GAPN functions

Abstract

On finite fields of characteristic $p$, PN (perfect nonlinear) functions for odd $p$ and APN (almost perfect nonlinear) functions for even $p$ are well-known classes of highly nonlinear functions. GAPN (generalized almost perfect nonlinear) functions were introduced as a generalization of APN functions for even $p$ to all $p$. One of the main targets of studies on such highly nonlinear functions is their classification. While $p$-exceptional monomial PN and $2$-exceptional monomial APN functions have been classified, the corresponding problem for GAPN functions remains open. Here, a polynomial over ${\mathbb{F}}_p$ is called a $p$-exceptional PN (resp. APN, resp. GAPN) function if it is a PN (resp. APN, resp. GAPN) function on ${\mathbb{F}}_{p^n}$ for infinitely many positive integers $n$. In this paper, we give a geometric characterization of $p$-exceptional monomial GAPN functions. To this end, for a prime power $q$, we establish a geometric characterization of non-zero polynomials in ${\mathbb{F}}_q[x,y]$ having no absolutely irreducible factor defined over ${\mathbb{F}}_q$.