Two low differentially uniform power permutations over odd characteristic finite fields: APN and differentially $4$-uniform functions

TL;DR

This paper investigates specific power permutations over finite fields of odd characteristic, determining their differential spectrum and uniformity, and identifies conditions under which they are APN or differentially 4-uniform.

Contribution

It solves a long-standing open problem by precisely characterizing the differential spectrum of certain power functions over finite fields where p^n ≡ 3 mod 4.

Findings

F is APN when p^n=11

F is differentially 4-uniform for other cases

Provides explicit evaluation of exponential sums and solution counts

Abstract

Permutation polynomials over finite fields are fundamental objects as they are used in various theoretical and practical applications in cryptography, coding theory, combinatorial design, and related topics. This family of polynomials constitutes an active research area in which advances are being made constantly. In particular, constructing infinite classes of permutation polynomials over finite fields with good differential properties (namely, low) remains an exciting problem despite much research in this direction for many years. This article exhibits low differentially uniform power permutations over finite fields of odd characteristic. Specifically, its objective is twofold concerning the power functions $F(x)=x^{\frac{p^n+3}{2}}$ defined over the finite field $F_{p^n}$ of order $p^n$, where $p$ is an odd prime, and $n$ is a positive integer. The first is to complement some former results initiated by Helleseth and Sandberg in \cite{HS} by solving the open problem left open for more than twenty years concerning the determination of the differential spectrum of $F$ when $p^n\equiv3\pmod 4$ and $p\neq 3$. The second is to determine the exact value of its differential uniformity. Our achievements are obtained firstly by evaluating some exponential sums over $F_{p^n}$ (which amounts to evaluating the number of $F_{p^n}$-rational points on some related curves and secondly by computing the number of solutions in $(F_{p^n})^4$ of a system of equations presented by Helleseth, Rong, and Sandberg in ["New families of almost perfect nonlinear power mappings," IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 45. no. 2, 1999], naturally appears while determining the differential spectrum of $F$. We show that in the considered case ($p^n\equiv3\pmod 4$ and $p\neq 3$), $F$ is an APN power permutation when $p^n=11$, and a differentially $4$-uniform power permutation otherwise.