Primitive polynomials with a prescribed coefficient

The Hansen–Mullen [Math. Comput. 59 (1992) 639–643, S47–S50] conjecture on primitive polynomials is established for polynomials of degree at least nine. It postulates the existence of a primitive polynomial over any finite field with any specified coefficient arbitrarily prescribed. The theory extends to polynomials of smaller degree: work is in hand to fashion a proof in these cases too.