Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Goksel, Vefa, Micheli, Giacomo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.19642
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911818566336512
author Goksel, Vefa
Micheli, Giacomo
author_facet Goksel, Vefa
Micheli, Giacomo
contents Let $q$ be an odd prime power. Let $f\in \mathbb{F}_q[x]$ be a polynomial having degree at least $2$, $a\in \mathbb{F}_q$, and denote by $f^n$ the $n$-th iteration of $f$. Let $χ$ be the quadratic character of $\mathbb{F}_q$, and $\mathcal{O}_f(a)$ the forward orbit of $a$ under iteration by $f$. Suppose that the sequence $(χ(f^n(a)))_{n\geq 1}$ is periodic, and $m$ is its period. Assuming a mild and generic condition on $f$, we show that, up to a constant, $m$ can be bounded from below by $|\mathcal{O}_f(a)|/q^\frac{2\log_{2}(d)+1}{2\log_2(d)+2}$. More informally, we prove that the period of the appearance of squares in an orbit of an element provides an upper bound for the size of the orbit itself. Using a similar method, we can also prove that, up to a constant, we cannot have more than $q^\frac{2\log_2(d)+1}{2\log_2(d)+2}$ consecutive squares or non-squares in the forward orbit of $a$. In addition, we provide a classification of all polynomials for which our generic condition does not hold.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_19642
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Square patterns in dynamical orbits
Goksel, Vefa
Micheli, Giacomo
Number Theory
Dynamical Systems
11T55, 37P25, 12E05, 20E08
Let $q$ be an odd prime power. Let $f\in \mathbb{F}_q[x]$ be a polynomial having degree at least $2$, $a\in \mathbb{F}_q$, and denote by $f^n$ the $n$-th iteration of $f$. Let $χ$ be the quadratic character of $\mathbb{F}_q$, and $\mathcal{O}_f(a)$ the forward orbit of $a$ under iteration by $f$. Suppose that the sequence $(χ(f^n(a)))_{n\geq 1}$ is periodic, and $m$ is its period. Assuming a mild and generic condition on $f$, we show that, up to a constant, $m$ can be bounded from below by $|\mathcal{O}_f(a)|/q^\frac{2\log_{2}(d)+1}{2\log_2(d)+2}$. More informally, we prove that the period of the appearance of squares in an orbit of an element provides an upper bound for the size of the orbit itself. Using a similar method, we can also prove that, up to a constant, we cannot have more than $q^\frac{2\log_2(d)+1}{2\log_2(d)+2}$ consecutive squares or non-squares in the forward orbit of $a$. In addition, we provide a classification of all polynomials for which our generic condition does not hold.
title Square patterns in dynamical orbits
topic Number Theory
Dynamical Systems
11T55, 37P25, 12E05, 20E08
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.19642