A combinatorial problem in finite fields. I (Q1243308)

Given a subgroup \(G\) of the multiplicative group of a finite field, we investigate the number of representations of an arbitrary field element as a sum of elements, one from each coset of \(G\). When \(G\) is of small index, the theory of cyclotomy yields exact results. For all other \(G\), we obtain good estimates. Let \(p=2n+1\) be an odd prime. Consider the \(2n\) sums represented by the expression \(\pm 1 \pm 2 \pm 3 \pm \dots \pm n.\) How do these sums distribute themselves among the residue classes modulo \(p\)? The answer is, as uniformly as possible; in fact, if we define \(N(a)\) as the number of ways of choosing the signs so that \(\pm 1 \pm 2 \pm 3 \pm \dots \pm n \equiv a \pmod p\) then we have Theorem 1. \[ N(a) = \frac 1p (2^n - (2/p))\quad \text{for}\quad a\not\equiv 0 \pmod p , \] \[ N(0) = \frac 1p (2^n - (2/p))+(2/p). \] Here \((2/p)\) is the Legendre symbol. This paper formed a portion of the author's doctoral dissertation.