AbstractWe obtain the approximate functional equation for the Rankin–Selberg zeta function in the critical strip and, in particular, on the critical line $\operatorname {Re} s= \frac {1}{2}$.
An asymptotic formula for the sum ∑ L(1, χ) is established for a family of hyperelliptic curves of genus g over a fixed finite field 𝔽q as g → ∞ making use of the analog of the approximate functional equation for such L-functions. As a corollary, we obtain a formula for the average of the class number of the associated rings [Formula: see text].