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Algebra Commons

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Number Theory

Claremont Colleges

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Full-Text Articles in Algebra

Splitting Fields And Periods Of Fibonacci Sequences Modulo Primes, Sanjai Gupta, Parousia Rockstroh '08, Francis E. Su Apr 2012

Splitting Fields And Periods Of Fibonacci Sequences Modulo Primes, Sanjai Gupta, Parousia Rockstroh '08, Francis E. Su

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We consider the period of a Fibonacci sequence modulo a prime and provide an accessible, motivated treatment of this classical topic using only ideas from linear and abstract algebra. Our methods extend to general recurrences with prime moduli and provide some new insights. And our treatment highlights a nice application of the use of splitting fields that might be suitable to present in an undergraduate course in abstract algebra or Galois theory.