Trigonometry in finite fields
Let \(p\) be an odd prime, \(\overline{\mathbb{F}_ p}\) an algebraic closure of a finite field \(\mathbb{F}_ p\) and \(k\) an integer such that \(p\nmid k\). Then define the set \[ \cos[k]= \Biggl\{ {{\zeta+ \zeta^{-1}} \over 2} \Biggl|\;\zeta \text{ is a primitive \(k\)th root of unity} \Biggr\}. \] Then we have \(\cos[k]\subset \mathbb{F}_ p\) iff \(p\equiv \pm 1(k)\). As a corollary, we obtain \(\sqrt{ 2+ \sqrt{ 2+\dots+ \sqrt {2}}}\in \mathbb{F}_ p \Leftrightarrow p\equiv \pm 1 (2^{n+2})\) where \(n\) is the number of 2's occurring under the root signs. Some other corollaries of a similar nature are discussed. This work extends and complements some previous work of Gauss, Sylvester and Schur. [The quoted reference [J-W] which is meant to be ``\textit{B. Jacob} and \textit{R. Ware}, A recursive description of the maximal pro-2 Galois group via Witt rings, Math. Z. 200, 379-396 (1989) is surprisingly missing from the list of references].
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