MATH Seminar

Title: Variations on a theme of Shinzel and Wójcik
Seminar: Algebra and Number Theory
Speaker: Matthew Just of Emory University
Contact: David Zureick-Brown, dzureic@emory.edu
Date: 2021-10-19 at 4:00PM
Venue: MSC W301
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Abstract: Let $\alpha$ and $\beta$ be rational numbers not equal to 0 or $\pm 1$. How does the order of $\alpha$ (mod $p$) compare to the order of $\beta$ (mod $p$) as $p$ varies? A result of Shinzel and W\'ojcik states that there are infinitely many primes $p$ for which the order of $\alpha$ (mod $p$) is equal to the order of $\beta$ (mod $p$). In this talk, we discuss the problem of determining whether there are infinitely many primes $p$ for which the order of $\alpha$ (mod $p$) is strictly greater than the order of $\beta$ (mod $p$). This is joint work with Paul Pollack.