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Daniel Moskovich
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Order of "one minus automorphism"

This is something I am stuck on (it might well be trivial- in which case this is an embarassing question):
Let V be a dimension r vector space over Fp, the field with p prime elements (I also care about this when V is over Zn with n composite). Let t be an automorphism of V of order q (prime different from p, although I am also interested in more general cases), meaning tq=1. It is given that:

  1. For any non-zero vector v in V, the elements of the set {ti v} together generate V, where i is between 1 and q.
  2. 1-t is also an automorphism of V.
Question: What is the order of 1-t? When is it q?
The context is representations of commutator subgroups of knot groups onto vector spaces. Here t is induced by the deck transformations of the infinite cyclic cover.
Daniel Moskovich
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  • 216