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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cohen, Stephen D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.21429
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author Cohen, Stephen D.
author_facet Cohen, Stephen D.
contents Let $q$ be an odd prime power and write \[ θ_q := \frac{ϕ(q-1)}{q-1}. \] If $θ_q < \tfrac{1}{3}$, or if $θ_q = \tfrac{1}{3}$ and $q \notin \{7,13,19,25,37\}$, then the finite field $\F$ contains a pair of consecutive elements that are both non-square and non-primitive. This extends a result of Jarso and Trudgian for prime fields $\Fp$, where the same conclusion was obtained under the stronger condition $θ_p \le \tfrac{1}{4}$. More generally, let $\ell$ be the least odd prime divisor of $q-1$. If $θ_q \le \tfrac{1}{3}$, then $\F$ contains a pair of consecutive elements that are non-squares and $\ell$th powers, with the sole exceptions $q \in \{7,13,19,25,37,43\}$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_21429
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Consecutive non-square non-primitive pairs in a finite field
Cohen, Stephen D.
Number Theory
11T30
Let $q$ be an odd prime power and write \[ θ_q := \frac{ϕ(q-1)}{q-1}. \] If $θ_q < \tfrac{1}{3}$, or if $θ_q = \tfrac{1}{3}$ and $q \notin \{7,13,19,25,37\}$, then the finite field $\F$ contains a pair of consecutive elements that are both non-square and non-primitive. This extends a result of Jarso and Trudgian for prime fields $\Fp$, where the same conclusion was obtained under the stronger condition $θ_p \le \tfrac{1}{4}$. More generally, let $\ell$ be the least odd prime divisor of $q-1$. If $θ_q \le \tfrac{1}{3}$, then $\F$ contains a pair of consecutive elements that are non-squares and $\ell$th powers, with the sole exceptions $q \in \{7,13,19,25,37,43\}$.
title Consecutive non-square non-primitive pairs in a finite field
topic Number Theory
11T30
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.21429