Witt vectors and Fermat quotients (Q2483169)

The Fermat quotient of a number \(n\) with respect to the prime number \(p\) is given by \(q(n) = (n^{p-1}-1)/p\). Elementary properties of the Fermat quotient are here shown to be a consequence of the elementary arithmetic of Witt vectors. Readers should be warned that the symbol \(\mathbb Z_p\), which is used without explanation, stands for \(\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z\), whereas \(\mathbb Q_p\) denotes the field of \(p\)-adic numbers.