Questions tagged [finite-fields]
A finite field is a field with a finite number of elements. For each prime power $q^k$, there is a unique (up to isomorphism) finite field with $q^k$ elements. Up to isomorphism, these are the only finite fields.
84 questions
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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 ...
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How to recognise that the polynomial method might work
A couple of days ago I was at a nice seminar given by Christian Reiher, during which he told us about a short proof of the following special case of a theorem of Olson.
Theorem. Let $(a_1,b_1),\dots,(...
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Fantastic properties of Z/2Z
Recently I gave a lecture to master's students about some nice properties of the group with two elements $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$. Typically, I wanted to present simple, natural situations where the ...
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How many groups of size at most n are there? What is the asymptotic growth rate? And what of rings, fields, graphs, partial orders, etc.?
Question. How many (isomorphism types of) finite groups of size at most n are there? What is the asymptotic growth rate? And the same question for rings,
fields, graphs, partial orders, etc.
...
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Exhibit an explicit bijection between irreducible polynomials over finite fields and Lyndon words.
Let $q$ be a power of a prime. It's well-known that the function $B(n, q) = \frac{1}{n} \sum_{d | n} \mu \left( \frac{n}{d} \right) q^d$ counts both the number of irreducible polynomials of degree $n$...
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maximal order of elements in GL(n,p)
I am looking for a formula for the maximal order of an element in the group $\operatorname{GL}\left(n,p\right)$, where $ p$ is prime.
I recall seeing such a formula in a paper from the mid- or early ...
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Good source for representation of GL(n) over finite fields?
I'd like to gain some understanding of unitary representations of GL(n) over finite fields. Any good source would be appreciated.
======== edit =========
My original question was ambiguous. ...
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Conjecture: The number of points modulo $p$ of certain elliptic curve is $p$ or $p+2$ for $p$ of form $p=27a^2+27a+7$
Numerical evidence suggests a conjecture that the number of
points of certain elliptic curve over $\mathbb{F}_p$ is
either $p$ or $p+2$ for $p$ of certain form.
Let $p$ be prime of the form $p=27a^2+...
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If number of points on a manifold is $q^n ( [n+1]_q )$ does it imply a geometric relation to $A^n (P^n)$?
Consider an algebraic manifold whose number of points is $q^n ([n+1]_q)$. Is there a geometric relation to $A^n (P^n)$? In particular, is there an equivalence in the Grothendieck ring of varieties ...
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Pointless groups
This question now has two sequels, Pointless groups II (to which @R.vanDobbendeBruyn gave a counterexample for an infinite, imperfect field) and Pointless groups III, both using revised wording ...
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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 $n$, ...
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Primes of the form $p=3a^2+3ab+b^2$ or $p=27a^2+27ab+7b^2$ and the number of points of $y^2=x^3+2$ modulo $p$
Trying to generalize this answered question based on limited numerical evidence.
Let $E / \mathbb{F}_p : y^2=x^3+2$.
Conjecture 1 Let $p=3a^2+3ab_0+b_0^2$ be prime and $a,b_0$
positive integers.
...
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Grothendieck on polyhedra over finite fields
In Grothendieck's Sketch of a Programme he spends a few pages discussing polyhedra over arbitrary rings and concludes with some intriguing remarks on specializing polyhedra over their "most ...
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Existence of a polynomial $Q$ of degree $\geq (p-1)/4$ in $\mathbb F_p[x]$ such that $QQ'$ factorizes into distinct linear factors
For all primes up to $p=89$ there exists a product $Q=\prod_{j=1}^d(x-a_j)$ involving $d\geq (p-1)/4$ distinct linear factors $x-a_j$ in $\mathbb F_p[x]$ such that $Q'$ has all its roots in $\mathbb ...
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Non-split extensions of $GL_n(F_q)$ by $F_q^n$ ?
A very naive question :
I just learned that there is a non-split extension of $GL_3(F_2)$ by $F_2^3$ (with standard action). It can be realized as the subgroup of the automorphism group $G_2$ of ...
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Is $x^p-x+1$ always irreducible in $\mathbb F_p[x]$?
It seems that for any prime number $p$ and for any non-zero element $a$ in the finite field $\mathbb F_p$, the polynomial $x^p-x+a$ is irreducible over $\mathbb F_p$. (It is of course obvious that ...
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Has anyone seen this construction of the Weil representation of $\mathrm{Sp}_{2k}(\mathbb{F}_p)$?
$\def\FF{\mathbb{F}}\def\CC{\mathbb{C}}\def\QQ{\mathbb{Q}}\def\Sp{\text{Sp}}\def\SL{\text{SL}}\def\GL{\text{GL}}\def\PGL{\text{PGL}}$Let $p$ be an odd prime. The Weil representation is a $p^k$-...
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Periodic orbits and polynomials
There are two simple and classic enumerations that still I'm puzzled about. Let's start with a simple counting problem from a well-known dynamical system.
fact 1 Consider the "tent map" f:[0,1]→[...
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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 ...
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Zeta function of Abelian variety over finite field
Let $A/\mathbf{F}_q$ be an Abelian variety of dimension $g$. Suppose one knows $|A(\mathbf{F}_{q^n})|$ for all $1 \leq n \leq g$. Does one know then $\zeta(A,s)$ (equivalently, $|A(\mathbf{F}_{q^n})|$ ...
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Quadratic reciprocity and Weil reciprocity theorem
I was told that Weil reciprocity theorem (one has two meromorphic function $f,g$ on a complex curve $C$, so $\prod\limits_{x\in C} g(x)^{ord_xf}=\prod\limits_{x\in C}f(x)^{ord_xg} \ $ where $ord_xf$ ...
14
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Probability of coprime polynomials
Given positive integer $N$, we choose $m_1, m_2, n_1, n_2$ independently and with equal probabilities from $\{0,1,\ldots,N\}$, and let
$f_1 = x^{m_1} + (1+x)^{n_1}$ and $f_2 = x^{m_2} + (1+x)^{n_2}$ ...
14
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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 ...
13
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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)+\...
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Related Forms for the Riemann Hypothesis over Function Fields
There are several formulations and consequences of the Riemann Hypothesis over Function Fields (RH, from now on). I am interested in the logical implications between those, and in proofs\references ...
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Blocking sets in three dimensional finite affine spaces
What is the smallest possible size of a set of points in $\mathbb{F}_q^3$ which intersects (blocks) every line?
Clearly the union of three affine hyperplanes that intersect in a singleton, say $x = 0,...
11
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Are $E_n$-operads not formal in characteristic not equal to zero?
This is a short question:
Is it just unproven folklore (yet), or is it definitively known that $E_n$-operads are not formal, if the characteristic of the underlying field is not equal to zero?
10
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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|&...
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Richardson varieties over finite fields
Let me start with some background to set the notation before I ask my question.
Let G be a semisimple algebraic group over some algebraically closed field K, and suppose we have fixed a Borel ...
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Are there functions $\mathbb{F}_2^n \to \mathbb{F}_2$ satisfying these special relations?
Let $\mathbb{F}_2=\{0,1\}$ be the field with two elements, and let
$u:\mathbb{F}_2^n\rightarrow \mathbb{F}_2$. Suppose that $n$ is odd.
Is it possible that
$$
\sum_{x \in \mathbb{F}_2^n}(-1)^{u(x)+u(...
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What is an example of a smooth variety over a finite field F_p which does not lift to Z_p?
Somebody answered this question instead of the question here, so I am asking this with the hope that they will cut and paste their solution.
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Algorithms to find irreducible polynomials of a given degree
I need to know what are the efficient algorithms to find all the irreducible polynomials of a given degree, say $d$ over a given finite field, say $\mathbb{F}_{p^n}.$
One way is to factorize the ...
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A strong sum-product "for translates" in finite fields
In the course of some recent research, I've sketched out a proof of the following result. My basis question is: is the result interesting?
Proposition There exists an absolute constant $c$ such ...
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Galois action on $p$-adic Tate module of Abelian variety over finite field semisimple?
Let $A,B$ be positive dimensional Abelian varieties over a finite field and $p$ be an arbritrary prime. By Zarhin, Homomorphisms of abelian varieties over finite fields http://www.math.nyu.edu/~...
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Calculus over finite fields
$P(x,y,z)$ is a polynomial function on an algebraic surface $S$ in $F_{q}^{3}$. Suppose that the derivative of $P$ along any tangent vector of $S$ is zero. Can we say that $P$ is constant on $S$?
...
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Fast Vandermonde matrix multiplication over finite field
Let $V_{i,j}=x_i^j$ where $x_i\in\mathbb F_q$ for $1\le i\le n,1\le j\le n$ be a Vandermonde matrix over finite field $\mathbb F_q$.
I wish to know the currently known fastest algorithms for ...
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Removing rows to reduce the rank
What is the smallest number of rows one can delete from a matrix to reduce its rank (by $1$)? Is there any standard name / notation for this characteristic? Has it been studied?
I am in fact ...
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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 ...
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How can I solve a cubic equation in a finite field with characteristic 2?
I need to solve the usual cubic equation $x^3 + ax^2 + bx + c = 0$ over a finite field $GF(2^n)$. This is to avoid doing a brute-force Chien search in a BCH decoder.
I read in a paper about an easy ...
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What is known about the $q$-analogue of the simplex?
I am interested in the field with one element. I am thus interested in combinatorial interpretations of the Gaussian binomial coefficients. Richard Stanley's "Enumerative combinatorics" mentions ...
6
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1
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Number of points on a linear algebraic group over a finite field
Let $G$ be a linear algebraic group defined over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ as a variety of dimension $d$. What would be a good, simple lower bound for $G(F_q)$?
One can get something fairly nice ...
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Enumeration of field generators of a finite field over $\mathbb{F}_{q}$, which are $m^{th}$ powers in the same field
Consider the finite field extension $\mathbb{F}_{{q}^{d}}$ over $\mathbb{F}_{q}$, where $q=p^a$ for some prime $p$. We assume $d\geq 2$. Let,
$$ S=\{ \alpha \in \mathbb{F}_{q^d}\hspace{0.1 cm} | \...
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Which criteria for "uniformly splitting" polynomials?
Let $P(x)$ be an irreducible monic polynomial of degree $\ge4$ with integer coefficients. We all know that over a finite field $\mathbb F_p$, $P$ will often split, and I am interested in polynomials ...
6
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3
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On the rank of a matrix $S$ with coefficients in $\mathbb F_{2^m}$
Let $\mathbb F$ be a finite field with characteristic 2 and let $S \in M(2k, 2k, \mathbb F)$ be the matrix defined as follows
$$ S=\left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}
0 & \...
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Counting the number of linearly independent primitive elements of a field extension
Let $L/K$ be a field extension with extension degree $n>1$. We say $L/K$ is simple if $L=K(a)$ for some a in $L$. In this case, $a$ is called a primitive element. My question is now about the ...
6
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Do you know which is the minimal local ring that is not isomorphic to its opposite?
The most popular examples are non-local rings and minimal has 16 elements. I am interested in knowing examples of local rings not isomorphic to their opposite.
5
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1
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$(n-2)$-blocking sets in $AG(n,2)$
Let's define $k$-blocking set in affine space $AG(n,q)$ a set that meets every coset (translate of subspace) of dimension $k$.
I have seen a lot work related to minimal $(n-1)$-blockings set.
...
5
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1
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Image of a polynomial function $x^2+y^2-x+y-axy$ over $\mathbb{F}_p$
Let $p$ be an odd prime and $h(x)=x^2+ax+1$ be an irreducible polynomial over the field $\mathbb{F}_p$. I need to prove that the function
$$\Psi: \mathbb{F}_p^2 \longrightarrow \mathbb{F}_p, \quad (x,...
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1
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Number of roots of a quadratic form over GF(2)
If $Q(x) = x^T A x$ with $x \in GF(2)^n$ and $A \in GF(2)^{n \times n}$, is there a way to find how many roots $Q(x)$ has based on any properties of $A$ (e.g., rank, etc.)?
5
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1
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Full-rank rectangular matrices over GF(2)
Given positive integers $k$, $m$, $n$, let $A$ be an $m \times n$ matrix over $GF(2)$ constructed as follows. Let $X_1, \ldots, X_m$ be independent random subsets of $\{1,\ldots,n\}$ with cardinality ...