Counting points of given height that generate a quadratic extension of a function field

Abstract

Let K be a finite algebraic extension of the field of rational functions in one indeterminate over a finite field and let [Formula: see text] denote an algebraic closure of K. We count points in projective space [Formula: see text] with given height and generating a quadratic extension of K. If n > 2, we derive an asymptotic estimate for the number of such points as the height tends to infinity. Such estimates are analogous to previous results of Schmidt where the field K is replaced by the field of rational numbers ℚ.