All Questions
Tagged with co.combinatorics finite-fields
136 questions
7
votes
0
answers
300
views
Arrangement of subspaces over finite fields
I'm trying to find out what is already known about the following setup.
Let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional vector space over a finite field $F_q$ (I'm mostly interested in the case where $q$ is prime), and ...
- 1,062
10
votes
1
answer
807
views
How many Lie and associative algebras over a finite field are there?
This question is related to the following general question:
Given a variety of (non-associative) algebras $\mathcal V$, a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$, with $q$ elements, and a positive integer $n$, ...
- 398
1
vote
1
answer
391
views
System of equations - Proof that a solution exists
Let $ a = (a_1,a_2, \ldots,a_{10})\in \{ 0,1\}^{10}$ be a binary vector of length $10$.
Question: Without using a computer-aided method, how to prove that there exists binary vectors $x_{i,j} \in \{ ...
user83947
2
votes
1
answer
308
views
The number of unitary circulant matrices over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_{q^2}$
I asked this question in MSE few days ago but there was no response.
Suppose $\mathbb{F}=\mathbb{F}_{q^2}$, where $q$ is a prime power. The conjugate of elements in $\mathbb{F}$ is defined by $\...
- 379
14
votes
2
answers
655
views
Number triangle
This question arose just out of curiosity. Note the triangle of 0-1's below, whose construction is as follows. Choose any number, say 53 as done here. The first line of the triangle is the binary ...
- 1,216
2
votes
0
answers
111
views
Inseparable field extensions of degree p and linear independence
Let $F$ be a field of characteristic $p$; let $\alpha \in F$ such that $\alpha \neq \beta^p$ for any $\beta \in F$, and let $K := F(x)$ where $x=\sqrt[p]{\alpha}$.
Is it true that the elements $1,(x-...
- 21
4
votes
1
answer
561
views
Why should it be hard to generalize Dvir's proof of the finite field Kakeya conjecture to the Euclidean case?
Let $q$ be prime and let
$q\delta \sim 1.$ Let $K$ be any set of $C_n\delta$-separated tubes in $B(0,2)$, where $C_n$ is some constant depending on $n$. Let us consider a grid of $q^n$ points scaled ...
1
vote
1
answer
145
views
How many matrices $C \in \mathrm{M}_3(\mathbb{F}_q)$ such that $\det(C-A)=\det(C-B) = 1$?
I am studying the special unit-graph $G$ on $M_3(\mathbb{F}_q).$ Now, I want to estimates the upper bound for the second largest eigenvalue of adjacency matric of $G.$ One of questions that I need is ...
user148117
5
votes
1
answer
287
views
Given a symmetric polynomial in F_q, write it in terms as elementary symmetric polynomials. How to find out the coefficient?
Consider the finite field $F_q$, where $q$ is a power of an odd prime and $N$ is a power of $q$. We have a homogeneous symmetric polynomial
$$
E_{l,s}(x) = \sum_{\substack{l_1+l_2+\cdots +l_s=l \\ l_i\...
2
votes
0
answers
277
views
Counting special metrics on finite fields
Define a Galois coding norm of degree n as a map $|\space| : \Bbb F_{2^n}\rightarrow {\Bbb Z}$ with the following properties :
(I) $(\Bbb F_{2^n},|\space|)$ is a self-orthogonal code ; i.e. $(x,y)\...
- 173
4
votes
3
answers
240
views
Best strategy for a combinatorial game
Consider the following scenario. We have 20 balls and 100 boxes. We put all 20 balls into the boxes, and each box can contain at most one ball.
Now suppose we are given 5 chances to pick 20 out of ...
- 281
3
votes
0
answers
147
views
Under what conditions on $A$ and $v$ is the size of the sumset $v \cdot A + A$ over $\mathbb{F}_p$ equal or close to $|A|^2$?
Let $p$ be a prime, let $A$ be a subset of $\mathbb{F}_p$, and let $v \in \mathbb{F}_p \setminus \{0\}$.
Under what conditions is $|v \cdot A + A|$ (that is, $|\{ va + b : a \in A,\ b \in A \}|$) ...
7
votes
0
answers
276
views
Cyclic shift acting on finite Grassmannian
The (twisted) cyclic shift $(v_1,v_2,\ldots,v_n) \mapsto (v_2,v_3,\ldots,v_n,(-1)^{k-1}v_1)$ acting on the Grassmannian $\mathrm{Gr}(\mathbb{C};k,n)$ of $k$-planes in $\mathbb{C}^n$ is an important ...
- 24.2k
2
votes
1
answer
362
views
Characterization of nilpotent adjacency matrices [closed]
Let $\theta$ be the adjacency matrix of a simple graph (symmetric and zeros on the diagonal). What is the characterization of those $\theta$ which satisfy $$\theta^2 \equiv 0 \pmod{2}$$ i.e. which $\...
- 23
9
votes
0
answers
270
views
The number of non-singular $n\times n$ matrices over $\mathbb{F}_2$ with exactly $k$ non-zero entries
Suppose $M_{n}^{k}$ is the number of non-singular $n\times n$ matrices over $\mathbb{F}_2$, that have exactly $k$ non-zero entries.
Is there some sort of formula to calculate $M_n^k$?
If $k < n$ ...
- 2,618
7
votes
2
answers
440
views
How to count the number of tensors over a finite field of tensor rank $r$?
For simplicity, work over $\mathbb F_2$ and only consider order-$3$ equilateral tensors. For $r\in\mathbb Z_{>0}$, how many tensors $\mathfrak{T}\in\mathsf{Ten}_{n}^{\otimes 3}(\mathbb F_2)$ are ...
- 161
16
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Examples of problems where considering "discrete analogues" has provided insight or led to a solution of the original problem
The Kakeya conjecture posits that any Kakeya set in $\mathbb{R}^n$ has dimension $n$.
A discrete (finitized?) version of this problem is the Finite Field Kakeya conjecture, which was proved by Dvir ...
2
votes
1
answer
192
views
A Vandermonde-type system
For a prime $p$ and $a_1,\dotsc,a_n\in\mathbb F_p^\times$, consider the system of equations
$$ \begin{cases}
\begin{align}
a_1 + \dotsb + a_n &= 0 \\
a_1x_1 + \dotsb + a_nx_n &...
- 23k
10
votes
0
answers
436
views
Commuting matrix variety $[A,B]=0$ - can one geometrically explain divisibility of $F_ q$ point count by high powers of $q$?
$\DeclareMathOperator\Comm{Comm}\DeclareMathOperator\Id{Id}$Consider the variety $\Comm$ of commuting matrices $[A,B]=0$ over some field $K$. It is much studied, and interesting for various reasons.
...
- 24.9k
3
votes
0
answers
181
views
On an exercise in The Probabilistic Method : random dilate of a set in a finite field
This is related to Problem $4.6$ in ``The Probabilistic Method'' by Alon and Spencer, where one essentially has to prove the following:
Let $p$ be a prime, and $A$ be any subset of $\mathbb{F}_p$. ...
- 31
0
votes
2
answers
295
views
Permutations of squares and finite fields
Let $S_n$ be the symmetric group of all permutations of $\{1,\ldots,n\}$, and let
$$S(n)=\bigg\{\sum_{k=1}^nk^2\pi(k)^2:\ \pi\in S_n\}.$$
Motivated by Question 316142 of mine, here I ask the following ...
- 15.6k
6
votes
1
answer
297
views
Covering the finite plane with lines
This is, essentially, a geometrically rendered version of the question I asked a week ago, with the emphases slightly shifted; it seems more natural and appealing (to me, at least) in this form.
Let ...
- 23k
1
vote
0
answers
154
views
On the set $\{\sum_{k=1}^n \lambda_ka_k:\ a_1,\ldots,a_k\ \text{are distinct elements of}\ A\}$
For a field $F$ let $p(F)=p$ if the characteristic of $F$ is a prime $p$, and $p(F)=+\infty$ if $F$ is of characteristic zero.
In 2007 I considered the linear extension of the Erdos-Heilbronn ...
- 15.6k
2
votes
1
answer
368
views
The minimum rank of a matrix over GF(2) when part of non-zero off-diagonal elements are set to be zero
Given an $n\times n$ matrix $A$, whose elements are over $GF\left(2\right)$ and all diagonal elements are $1$. There are $m\ (m\leq n^2-n)$ non-zero off-diagonal elements in $A$. If we are allowed to ...
- 21
6
votes
1
answer
180
views
Smallest set of nonzero vectors in $\mathbb F_2^n$ which intersects every 2-dimensional subspace
What is the smallest set of nonzero vectors in $\mathbb F_2^n$ which intersects every 2-dimensional subspace?
For example, for n = 3, the set {001, 010, 011} does the job, and is minimal. For n = 4, {...
- 61
6
votes
1
answer
640
views
Upperbounding a sum of Legendre-Symbols
Let $p$ be a prime with $p\equiv 3 \mod 4$, for any $\mathcal{I} \subset \lbrace 0,...,p-1 \rbrace $ and any $\mathcal{J} \subset \lbrace 0,...,p-1 \rbrace $ with $\vert\mathcal{I}\vert \leq \sqrt{p} $...
- 93
4
votes
1
answer
204
views
Balancing points with lines
$\newcommand{\F}{\mathbb F}$
Suppose that $p$ is a prime, and $k<p/2$ a positive integer.
Consider a system of $k$ distinct directions in the affine plane $\F_p^2$, and the system of $k$ pencils ...
- 23k
10
votes
1
answer
561
views
How many rich directions does a set in $\mathbb F_p^2$ determine?
$\newcommand{\F}{\mathbb F}$
A subset $P$ of the affine plane $\F_p^2$ is said to determine a direction if there is a line in this direction containing at least two points of $P$.
A set of size $|P|&...
- 23k
3
votes
0
answers
116
views
Trace of Symmetric matrices in fixed rank
I am solving some problem related to symmetric matrices over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ and I am stuck at the following problem:
For every $a\in\mathbb{F}_q $, let $S_a(t,m)$ be the set of all $m\...
- 179
5
votes
1
answer
764
views
Conjugacy classes in $GL_{n}(Z / pZ)$
Let $p$ be a prime number and $G=GL_n ( \mathbb{Z} / p \mathbb{Z}
)$. Consider the set $U$ of upper-triangular matrices of $G$
having entries of $1$ on the diagonal. The cardinality of $U$ is $p^{\...
- 463
3
votes
2
answers
235
views
Largest $A\subset \mathbb{F}_2^n$ such that no two $a\neq b$ in $A$ add to an element of $A.$
If such a set $A$ of size $m$ exists, all its admissible pairwise sums must lie in its complement, thus
$$
\binom{m}{2} \leq 2^n-m,
$$
which gives $$m\leq 2^{(n+1)/2}\qquad (1)$$.
Edit: The upper ...
- 10.4k
1
vote
1
answer
540
views
Number of zeros of quadratic equation over finite fields
Let $\mathbb{F}_q$ denote the finite field with $q$ elements and Ch$\mathbb{F}_q\neq 2$. What is the number of solutions of the quadratic equation
$X_1^2+\cdots + X_r^2=0$ in $\mathbb{F}_q^m$ for $1\...
- 179
2
votes
0
answers
186
views
Sum of reciprocals in finite fields
Let $p$ be an odd prime number which large enough. I am interested in the study of the sums of reciprocals in the field $\mathbb{F}_p$.
In particular, I have the following question:
which primes $p$ ...
- 347
13
votes
1
answer
468
views
Near-linear mappings from $\mathbb F_p$ to $\mathbb R$
$\newcommand{\F}{{\mathbb F}}$
$\newcommand{\R}{{\mathbb R}}$
$\renewcommand{\phi}{\varphi}$
Let $p\ge 5$ be a prime.
If the functions $\phi_1,\phi_2,\phi_3\colon\F_p\to\R$ satisfy $\phi_1(x)+\...
- 23k
5
votes
1
answer
394
views
Disjoint union of affine subspaces contains a larger affine subspace
I'd like to say that a large structured subset of the $n$-dimensional Boolean cube $\{0,1\}^n$ contains a non-trivial affine subspace. To be more specific, I want to prove/disprove that for some ...
- 211
9
votes
0
answers
245
views
Almost blocking sets in $\mathbb F_q^2$
$\newcommand{\F}{{\mathbb F}}$
Let $q$ be an odd prime power. A blocking set in the affine plane $\F_q^2$ is a set blocking (meeting) every line.
A union of two non-parallel lines is a blocking set ...
- 23k
0
votes
1
answer
390
views
An upper bound for skew symmetric rank 2 matrices
Earlier, I had asked a similar question but that was not the correct problem where I got stuck. After a few quick answer, I realized that and I apologize for that.
Let $B_m$ be the space of all skew-...
- 179
2
votes
0
answers
162
views
Determining the multiple solutions for $\mathrm{GF}(2)$ discrete logarithms of polynomials with partially known coefficients
I have an LFSR, essentially $x^k \bmod p(x)$ for some characteristic primitive polynomial of degree $N$ with coefficients in $\mathrm{GF}(2)$, as outlined in Clark and Weng's article: it has a period $...
- 663
0
votes
1
answer
190
views
$k$-covering $\mathbb F_p$ with $k+1$ sets
Let $p$ be a (large) prime.
How large can a set $C\subset\mathbb F_p$ be given that there is a function $f\colon\mathbb F_p^\times\to\mathbb F_p$ such that for every element $g\in \mathbb F_p$, ...
- 23k
3
votes
1
answer
177
views
Double-covering $\mathbb F_p$ with three sets
Let $p$ be a (large) prime.
Does there exist a function $f\colon\mathbb F_p^\times\to\mathbb F_p$ such that the three sets
$$ \{f(z)-z\colon z\in\mathbb F_p^\times\},\ \{f(z)\colon z\in\mathbb ...
- 23k
2
votes
0
answers
113
views
Complexity of tensor decomposition vector over $\Bbb F_q$ or $\Bbb Z$
Suppose we have a matrix $$T\in\Bbb K^{n^k\times m}$$ and a target vector $v\in\Bbb F_q^m$ where $m<n^k$ and $1<k$ holds.
We need to find $k$ vectors $u_1,\dots,u_k\in\Bbb K^n$ such that $$v=...
- 13.9k
8
votes
3
answers
385
views
Self-reciprocal polynomials over finite fields
Let $SRMI_q(2n)$ denote the number of self-reciprocal
irreducible monic polynomials of even degree $2n$ over the finite
field $\mathbf{F}_q$ with $q$ elements. Recall that
a polynomial $p(x) \in \...
- 481
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Number of commuting pairs (triples, n-tuples) in GL_n(F_q) (and other groups)?
Question 1 What is the number of pairs of commuting elements in GL_n(F_q) ?
I am aware of many results concerning commuting elements in Mat_n(F_q), but I am interested in GL i.e. non-degenerate ...
- 24.9k
11
votes
2
answers
604
views
Does $q$-Catalan number count subspaces?
Consider the $n$-element subsets $\{a_1<a_2<\cdots <a_n\}$ of $\{1,\ldots ,2n\}$ satisfying $a_i\geq 2i$ for all $i=1,\ldots ,n$. The number of such subsets is given by $${2n\choose n}-{2n\...
- 1,305
1
vote
1
answer
82
views
question about sets of polynomials with a special agreement guarantee
Let $\mathbb{F}$ be a finite field and $S\subset\mathbb{F}_{\leq d}[x,y]$, a set of bivariate polynomials over $\mathbb{F}$ of degree at most $d\ll|\mathbb{F}|$. Assume the linear span of $S$ is all ...
- 125
4
votes
1
answer
271
views
Square-free sets in $\mathbb F_2^n\oplus\mathbb F_2^n$
A square in $\mathbb F_2^n\oplus\mathbb F_2^n$ is a quadruple of the form
$$ (u,v)+\{(0,0),(0,d),(d,0),(d,d)\},\quad u,v,d\in\mathbb F_2^n,\ d\ne 0. $$
A set $A\subset\mathbb F_2^n\oplus\mathbb F_2^...
- 23k
5
votes
2
answers
139
views
Sets blocking every $2$-flat in $AG(n,2)$
The following may be well-known $-$ but not known to me:
What is the smallest possible size of a set in ${\mathbb F}_2^n$ that blocks every $2$-flat?
Here "blocks" means "have a non-empty ...
- 23k
3
votes
0
answers
73
views
Number of classes $\pmod p$ represented by $b_1s^{n-1} + \dots + b_n$ where $ord_p(s) = n$
Let $n \in \mathbb Z$ with $n \ge 3$ and let $p$ be a prime number such that $n|p-1$. Let $a_1,a_2,\dots,a_{2n-1} \in \mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z$. Suppose that the same class is represented by at most $n-1$ ...
- 169
3
votes
0
answers
230
views
On weight enumerators of codes
Are there $[n,k]_q$ constant rate $\frac kn$ and constant alphabet linear code families with automorphism group of size $\Omega((n-n^\beta)!)$ that have minimum distance $d=O(n^\alpha)$ and number of ...
- 13.9k
6
votes
1
answer
457
views
Vector with many non-zero coordinates
Given finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$, positive integers $n$ and $k<n$. Given $k$-dimensional subspace $X$ of $\mathbb{F}_q^n$, for which $m=m(q,k,n)$ may we find for sure a vector in $X$ with at least ...
- 109k