On congruences for binomial coefficients (Q1823972): Difference between revisions

For primes \(p=1+4f=a^ 2+b^ 2\), \(a\equiv 1 (mod 4)\), Gauss proved that \(\left( \begin{matrix} 2f\\ f\end{matrix} \right)\equiv 2a (mod p)\). For primes \(p=1+kf\) (k\(\geq 3)\), many congruences modulo p, for the binomial coefficients \(\left( \begin{matrix} rf\\ sf\end{matrix} \right)\) \((0<s<r<k)\) have since been determined by various authors in terms of representations of p by certain quadratic forms. Recently Chowla, Dwork and Evans have considered such congruences modulo \(p^ 2\), their result being \[ \left( \begin{matrix} 2f\\ f\end{matrix} \right)\equiv (1+\frac{2^{p-1}-1}{2})(2a- \frac{p}{2a})\quad (mod p^ 2). \] In the present paper the author works on similar such congruences modulo \(p^ 2\) by using the p-adic gamma function and the Gross-Koblitz formula. The paper is self-contained; the final results for the binomial coefficients modulo \(p^ 2\) include complete and elegant results for \(\left( \begin{matrix} rf\\ sf\end{matrix} \right)\) when \(k=3\), 4 and 6.