Non-isomorphic maximal function fields of genus $q-1$

TL;DR

This paper investigates the classification of certain maximal function fields over finite fields, focusing on their isomorphism classes and automorphism groups, especially when a key parameter is prime or not.

Contribution

It extends the understanding of non-isomorphic maximal function fields of genus q-1 by analyzing cases where the parameter d is prime or composite.

Findings

Computed automorphism groups for the family of function fields.

Identified conditions for non-isomorphism among these fields.

Extended classification results to non-prime cases of d.

Abstract

The classification of maximal function fields over a finite field is a difficult open problem, and even determining isomorphism classes among known function fields is challenging in general. We study a particular family of maximal function fields defined over a finite field with $q^2$ elements, where $q$ is the power of an odd prime. When $d := (q+1)/2$ is a prime, this family is known to contain a large number of non-isomorphic function fields of the same genus and with the same automorphism group. We compute the automorphism group and isomorphism classes also in the case where $d$ is not a prime.