A Class of Permutation Trinomials over Finite Fields

Abstract

Let $q>2$ be a prime power and $f=-{\tt x}+t{\tt x}^q+{\tt x}^{2q-1}$, where $t\in\Bbb F_q^*$. We prove that $f$ is a permutation polynomial of $\Bbb F_{q^2}$ if and only if one of the following occurs: (i) $q$ is even and $\text{Tr}_{q/2}(\frac 1t)=0$; (ii) $q\equiv 1\pmod 8$ and $t^2=-2$.