Abstract

Let GF(p n ) be the finite field with p n elements where p is prime. We consider the problem of how to deterministically generate in polynomial time a subset of GF(p n ) that contains a primitive root, i.e., an element that generates the multiplicative group of nonzero elements in GF(p n ). We present three results. First, we present a solution to this problem for the case where p is small, i.e., p = n O(1) . Second, we present a solution to this problem under the assumption of the Extended Riemann Hypothesis (ERH) for the case where p is large and n = 2. Third, we give a quantitative improvement of a theorem of Wang on the least primitive root for GF(p) assuming the ERH. Appeared in Mathematics of Computation 58, pp. 369--380, 1992. An earlier version of this paper appeared in the 22nd Annual ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (1990), pp. 546-554. 1980 Mathematics Subject Classification (1985 revision): 11T06. 1. Introduction Consider the problem of finding a primitive ...

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