An Algebraic Circle Method

In this thesis we present an adaptation of the Hardy-Littlewood Circle Method to give estimates for the number of curves in a variety over a finite field. The key step in the classical Circle Method is to prove that some cancellation occurs in some exponential sums. Using a theorem of Katz, we reduce this to bounding the dimension of some singular loci. The method is fully carried out to estimate the number of rational curves in a Fermat hypersurface of low degree and some suggestions are given as to how to handle other cases. We draw geometrical consequences from the main estimates, for instance the irreducibility of the space of rational curves on a Fermat hypersurface in a given degree range, and a bound on the dimension of the singular locus of the moduli space