Complete arcs arising from a generalization of the Hermitian curve
We investigate complete arcs of degree greater than two, in projective planes over finite fields, arising from the set of rational points of a generalization of the Hermitian curve. The degree of the arcs is closely related to the number of rational points of a class of Artin-Schreier curves, which is calculated by using exponential sums via Coulter's approach. We also single out some examples of maximal curves.