Iterations of quadratic polynomials over finite fields (Q365960)

Polynomial maps over finite fields are believed to behave like random maps, even though there are very few rigorous results in this direction. The normalised length of an orbit of a random map obeys a limiting smooth distribution function. The author computes the length of the forward orbit of a quadratic polynomial \(f(z)=z^2+c\) over the field of \(p\) elements, for fixed parameter \(c\) and fixed integer initial condition \(\alpha\).NEWLINENEWLINEThe data collected from approximately two million primes provide convincing evidence that the normalised length of polynomial orbits is asymptotically (large \(p\)) distributed according to the aforementioned distribution. A related problem -- the density of the set of primes for which the orbit through \(\alpha\) passes through the origin -- is also considered and analysed using similar methods. These findings lead to the formulation of two conjectures.