The Intersection Distribution: New Results and Perspectives

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Huczynska, Sophie, Klawuhn, Lukas, Paterson, Maura B.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Huczynska, Sophie
Klawuhn, Lukas
Paterson, Maura B.
author_facet Huczynska, Sophie
Klawuhn, Lukas
Paterson, Maura B.
contents Intersection distribution and non-hitting index are concepts introduced recently by Li and Pott as a new way to view the behaviour of a collection of finite field polynomials. With both an algebraic interpretation via the intersection of a polynomial with a set of lines, and a geometric interpretation via a $(q+1)$-set possessing an internal nucleus, the concepts have proved their usefulness as a new way to view various long-standing problems, and have applications in areas such as Kakeya sets. In this paper, by exploiting connections with diverse areas including the theory of algebraic curves, cyclotomy and the enumeration of irreducible polynomials, we establish new results and resolve various Open Problems of Li and Pott. We prove geometric results which shed new light on the relationship between intersection distribution and projective equivalence of polynomials, and algebraic results which describe and characterise the degree of $S_f$ - the index of the largest non-zero entry in the intersection distribution of $f$. We provide new insights into the non-hitting spectrum, and show the limitations of the non-hitting index as a tool for characterisation. Finally, the benefits provided by the connections to other areas are evidenced in two short new proofs of the cubic case.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_04675
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Intersection Distribution: New Results and Perspectives
Huczynska, Sophie
Klawuhn, Lukas
Paterson, Maura B.
Combinatorics
05B25, 51E20, 11T06, 51E15
Intersection distribution and non-hitting index are concepts introduced recently by Li and Pott as a new way to view the behaviour of a collection of finite field polynomials. With both an algebraic interpretation via the intersection of a polynomial with a set of lines, and a geometric interpretation via a $(q+1)$-set possessing an internal nucleus, the concepts have proved their usefulness as a new way to view various long-standing problems, and have applications in areas such as Kakeya sets. In this paper, by exploiting connections with diverse areas including the theory of algebraic curves, cyclotomy and the enumeration of irreducible polynomials, we establish new results and resolve various Open Problems of Li and Pott. We prove geometric results which shed new light on the relationship between intersection distribution and projective equivalence of polynomials, and algebraic results which describe and characterise the degree of $S_f$ - the index of the largest non-zero entry in the intersection distribution of $f$. We provide new insights into the non-hitting spectrum, and show the limitations of the non-hitting index as a tool for characterisation. Finally, the benefits provided by the connections to other areas are evidenced in two short new proofs of the cubic case.
title The Intersection Distribution: New Results and Perspectives
topic Combinatorics
05B25, 51E20, 11T06, 51E15
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.04675