On the degrees of divisors of T^n-1

MaRDI QIDQ374052zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Paul Pollack, Lola Thompson

Publication date 25 October 2013

Published in The New York Journal of Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1206.2084, http://www.emis.de/journals/NYJM/j/2013/19-7.html

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zbMATH Keywords

cyclotomic polynomialsmultiplicative orderpractical number

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Distribution of integers with specified multiplicative constraints (11N25) Asymptotic results on arithmetic functions (11N37)

Abstract: Fix a field $F$. In this paper, we study the sets $D_F(n)subset[0,n]$ defined by [D_F(n):= {0 leq m leq n: T^n-1 ext{has a divisor of degree $m$ in} F[T]}.] When $D_F(n)$ consists of all integers $m$ with $0leqmleqn$, so that $T^n-1$ has a divisor of every degree, we call $n$ an $F$-practical number. The terminology here is suggested by an analogy with the practical numbers of Srinivasan, which are numbers $n$ for which every integer $0leqmleqsigma(n)$ can be written as a sum of distinct divisors of $n$. Our first theorem states that, for any number field $F$ and any $xgeq2$, [#{ ext{$F$-practical $nleqx$}} asymp_{F} frac{x}{log{x}};] this extends work of the second author, who obtained this estimate when $F=Q$. Suppose now that $xgeq3$, and let $m$ be a natural number in $[3,x]$. We ask: For how many $nleqx$ does $m$ belong to $D_F(n)$? We prove upper bounds in this problem for both $F=Q$ and $F=F_p$ (with $p$ prime), the latter conditional on the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis. In both cases, we find that the number of such $nleqx$ is $l{l}_{F}x/(logm{)}^{2/35}$, uniformly in $m$.

Review text

Fix a finite field \({\mathbb F}\). In the paper under review, the authors look at the sets NEWLINE\[NEWLINE {\mathcal D}_{\mathbb F}(n)=\{0\leq m\leq n: T^n-1~{\text{ has a divisor of degree }}~m~{\text{ in }}~{\mathbb F}[T]\}. NEWLINE\]NEWLINE When \({\mathcal D}_{\mathbb F}\) consists of all integers \([0,n]\), then \(n\) is called an \textit{\({\mathbb F}\)-practical number} in analogy with the notion of practical numbers which is similar to the present one in case \({\mathbb F}\) is replaced by \({\mathbb Q}\). The authors prove several theorems about the sets \({\mathcal D}_{\mathbb F}(n)\). For example, they show that the counting function up to \(x\) of the set of \({\mathbb F}\)-practical numbers has order of magnitude \(x/\log x\) as \(x\) tends to infinity. Assume now that \(m\geq 2\) is given. The authors ask what is the counting function of the set of \(n\leq x\) such that \(m\in {\mathcal D}_{\mathbb F}(n)\). They prove that it is \(O(x/(\log m)^{\delta})\), where we can take any \(\delta<1-(1+\log\log 2)/\log 2\) when \({\mathbb F}\) is replaced by \({\mathbb Q}\), and we can take \(\delta=2/35\) when \({\mathbb F}={\mathbb F}_p\) is the finite field with \(p\) elements this last result being conditional under the GRH. The results in this paper are analogs of results obtained by the second author in her Ph.D. dissertation when \({\mathbb F}\) is replaced by \({\mathbb Q}\). The proofs use results of \textit{K. Ford} [Ann. Math. (2), 153, No. 2, 367--433 (2008; Zbl 1181.11058)] and \textit{G. Tenenbaum} [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 19, No. 1, 1--30 (1986; Zbl 0599.10037)] concerning the distribution of integers \(n\leq x\) with a divisor in an interval \((y,z]\), results concerning the distribution of the multiplicative order \(\ell(p)\) modulo \(p\) of a fixed integer \(a\neq 0,\pm 1\) for varying prime \(p\) due to \textit{P. Kurlberg} and \textit{C. Pomerance} [Algebra Number Theory 7, No. 4, 981--999 (2013; Zbl 1282.11131)], and results concerning the distribution of positive integers \(n\) with small values of the Carmichael \(\lambda\)-function due to \textit{J. B. Friedlander, C. Pomerance} and \textit{I. E. Shparlinski} [Math. Comput. 70, 1591--1605 (2001; Zbl 1029.11043)].

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Cited in

(2)

• On the divisors of \(x^n-1\) in \(\mathbb F_p[x]\)
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