Abstract:
We consider the generating Artin $L$-function
$$
L(z)=L(z,f)=\exp\Bigl(\,\sum_{\nu=1}^{\infty}\frac{T_\nu}{\nu} z^\nu\Bigr)
$$
for the character sums
$$
T_\nu=\sum_{x_1,\dots,x_n\in\mathbb F_{q^\nu}}\psi_\nu(f(x_1,\dots,x_n)),
$$
where $\mathbb F_q$ is a finite field, $\mathbb F_{q^\nu}$ is
a finite extension of $\mathbb F_q$, $\psi_\nu(\alpha)$ is
a non-trivial additive character of $\mathbb F_{q^\nu}$, and
$f\in\mathbb F_q[x_1,\dots,x_n]$ is a polynomial of degree $d\geqslant 2$, and give
an elementary proof of Bombieri's conjecture on the algebraic structure
of $L(z)$ in the case $n=2$.
Keywords:finite fields, sums of characters for polynomials in many variables, Artin
$L$-function, Bombieri's conjecture, polarized symmetric polynomials in many
variables, Waring's theorem on symmetric polynomials.