arXiv · 2509.21094
Power residues, digit expansions and relative class numbers
Abstract
This is a survey of a connection between the distribution of certain power residues modulo $p$, $p$ a prime, and relative class numbers. The focus lies on quadratic residues and sixth power residues. Dirichlet's class number formula yields a number of results about the distribution of quadratic residues, for instance, the well-known fact that the interval $[0,p/2]$ contains more quadratic residues than nonresidues. This class number formula is also responsible for some properties of the digit expansions of numbers $m/p$, $p\NDIV m$. In a certain sense the results based on Dirichlet's formula can be extended to sixth power residues, where geometry plays an important role.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Kurt Girstmair. 2025-09-25. Power residues, digit expansions and relative class numbers. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21094
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.