UNIQUENESS OF OPTIMAL CURVES OVER F2 OF SMALL GENUS

To my grandmother, for her great example of strength and joyfulness. Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the precious help of René Schoof: to my advisor above all, I would like to express my gratitude for his patience, his dedication and advice. It is a pleasure to thank Everett Howe for his interesting and constructive comments. I also want to thank Claus Fieker for his MAGMA computation, that helped us to conclude this work. I express my acknowledgements to Jan Denef, for supporting my staying at K.U.Leuven and encouraging me in the final and hardest period of my PhD. I finally would like to thank all of the people that have been by my side in the last few years. Each of them, each in his own way, has indirectly contributed to the great experience behind this work