Polynomial p-adic Low-Discrepancy Sequences

Abstract

The classic example of a low-discrepancy sequence in $\mathbb{Z}_p$ is $(x_n) = an+b$ with $a \in \mathbb{Z}_p^x$ and $b \in \mathbb{Z}_p$. Here we address the non-linear case and show that a polynomial $f$ generates a low-discrepancy sequence in $\mathbb{Z}_p$ if and only if it is a permutation polynomial $\mod p$ and $\mod p^2$. By this it is possible to construct non-linear examples of low-discrepancy sequences in $\mathbb{Z}_p$ for all primes $p$. Moreover, we prove a criterion which decides for any given polynomial in $\mathbb{Z}_p$ with $p \in \left\{ 3,5, 7\right\}$ if it generates a low-discrepancy sequence. We also discuss connections to the theories of Poissonian pair correlations and real discrepancy.