On the polynomial Ramanujan sums over finite fields

The polynomial Ramanujan sum was first introduced by Carlitz (Duke Math J 14:1105–1120, 1947), and a generalized version by Cohen (Duke Math J 16:85–90, 1949). In this paper, we study the arithmetical and analytic properties of these sums, deriving various fundamental identities, such as Hölder formula, reciprocity formula, orthogonality relation, and Davenport–Hasse type formula. In particular, we show that the special Dirichlet series involving the polynomial Ramanujan sums are, indeed, the entire functions on the whole complex plane, and we also give a square mean values estimation. The main results of this paper are new appearance to us, which indicate the particularity of the polynomial Ramanujan sums.