Quadratic characters of finite fields #
This file defines the quadratic character on a finite field F and proves
some basic statements about it.
Tags #
quadratic character
Definition of the quadratic character #
We define the quadratic character of a finite field F with values in ℤ.
Define the quadratic character with values in ℤ on a monoid with zero α.
It takes the value zero at zero; for non-zero argument a : α, it is 1
if a is a square, otherwise it is -1.
This only deserves the name "character" when it is multiplicative,
e.g., when α is a finite field. See quadraticCharFun_mul.
We will later define quadraticChar to be a multiplicative character
of type MulChar F ℤ, when the domain is a finite field F.
Equations
- quadraticCharFun α a = if a = 0 then 0 else if IsSquare a then 1 else -1
Instances For
Basic properties of the quadratic character #
We prove some properties of the quadratic character.
We work with a finite field F here.
The interesting case is when the characteristic of F is odd.
Some basic API lemmas
If ringChar F = 2, then quadraticCharFun F takes the value 1 on nonzero elements.
If ringChar F is odd, then quadraticCharFun F a can be computed in
terms of a ^ (Fintype.card F / 2).
The quadratic character is multiplicative.
The quadratic character as a multiplicative character.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The value of the quadratic character on a is zero iff a = 0.
For nonzero a : F, quadraticChar F a = 1 ↔ IsSquare a.
The quadratic character takes the value 1 on nonzero squares.
The square of the quadratic character on nonzero arguments is 1.
The quadratic character is 1 or -1 on nonzero arguments.
The quadratic character is 1 or -1 on nonzero arguments.
For a : F, quadraticChar F a = -1 ↔ ¬ IsSquare a.
If F has odd characteristic, then quadraticChar F takes the value -1.
If ringChar F = 2, then quadraticChar F takes the value 1 on nonzero elements.
If ringChar F is odd, then quadraticChar F a can be computed in
terms of a ^ (Fintype.card F / 2).
The quadratic character is quadratic as a multiplicative character.
The quadratic character is nontrivial as a multiplicative character when the domain has odd characteristic.
The number of solutions to x^2 = a is determined by the quadratic character.
The sum over the values of the quadratic character is zero when the characteristic is odd.
Special values of the quadratic character #
We express quadraticChar F (-1) in terms of χ₄.
The value of the quadratic character at -1