Hypergeometric Functions and Relations to Dwork Hypersurfaces

Abstract: We give an expression for number of points for the family of Dwork K3 surfaces $$X_{\lambda}^4: \hspace{.1in} x_1^4+x_2^4+x_3^4+x_4^4=4\lambda x_1x_2x_3x_4$$ over finite fields of order $q\equiv 1\pmod 4$ in terms of Greene's finite field hypergeometric functions. We also develop hypergeometric point count formulas for all odd primes using McCarthy's $p$-adic hypergeometric function. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between certain period integrals of these surfaces and the trace of Frobenius over finite fields. We extend this work to higher dimensional Dwork hypersurfaces.