Finite field
A finite field is a field with a finite number of elements; e,g, the fields (with the addition and multiplication induced from the
same operations on the integers). For any prime number p, and natural number n, there exists a unique finite field with pn elements; this
field is denoted by
or
(where GF stands for "Galois field").
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[edit] Proofs of basic properties:
[edit] Finite characteristic:
Let F be a finite field, then by the pigeonhole principle there are two different natural numbers number n, m such that .
Hence there is some minimal natural number N such that
. Since F is a field, it has no divisors of 0, and hence N is prime.
[edit] Existence and uniqueness of Fp
To begin with it is follows by inspection that is a field. Furthermore, given any other field F with p elements, one immediately get an isomorphism
by mapping
for all N.
[edit] Existence - general case
Working over , let
. Let F be the splitting field of f over
.
Note that f' = − 1, and hence the gcd of f, f' is 1, and all the roots of f in F are distinct. Furthermore, note that the set of roots of f is closed under addition and multiplication; hence
F is simply the set of roots of f.
[edit] Uniqueness - general case
Let F be a finite field of characteristic p, then it contains ; i.e. it contains a copy of
.
Hence, F is a vector field of finite dimension over
. Moreover since the non-zero elements of F form a group, they are all roots of the polynomial
; hence the elements of F are all roots of this polynomial.
[edit] The Frobenius map
Let F be a field of characteristic p, then the map is the generator of the Galois group
.
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