Friday, 25 October 2013

polynomials - Number Theory: Prove that xp2+dots+x2+x+1equiv0pmodp has exactly p2 solutions

I just completed this homework problem, but I was wondering if my proof was correct:



If p is an odd prime, then prove that the congruence x^{p-2}+\dots+x^2+x+1\equiv 0\pmod{p} has exactly p-2 incongruent solutions, and they are the integers 2,3,\dots,p-1.




Proof



Let f(x)=x^{p-2}+\dots+x^2+x+1 and g(x)=(x-1)f(x).



Note that f(1)=(p-2)+1=p-1\not\equiv 0\pmod{p}.



So, g(x)=(x-1)(x^{p-2}+\dots+x^2+x+1)=x^{p-1}-1.



Now, x^{p-1}-1\equiv 0\pmod{p} has exactly p-1 incongruent solutions modulo p by Lagrange's Theorem.




Note that g(1)=(1-1)f(1)=0\equiv 0\pmod{p}, so 1 is a root of g(x) modulo p. Hence, the incongruent roots of g(x) modulo p are 1,2,3,\dots,p-1.



But every root of g(x) other than 1 is also a root of f(x) (This is the part I'm concerned about. Is it clear that this is the case?), hence f(x) has exactly p-2 incongruent roots modulo p, which are 2,3,\dots,p-1. \blacksquare

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