I have just begun delving into $p$-adic number theory. I was wondering, given a poynomial $f(x)$ with integer coefficients, what does it mean when we say, $f(x)$ has a root in $\mathbb{Z}_2$, for instance.
What does it mean for a polynomial with integer coefficients to have a root in $p$-adic integers?
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number-theory
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0@J.D.: Well, mostly because I keep spotting titles that could use formatting... – 2012-03-05
1 Answers
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If $f(x) = f_0 + f_1 x + \ldots + f_d x^d \in \mathbb{Z}[x]$, and $f(r) = 0$ over $\mathbb{Z}_2$ then $f_0 + f_1 r + \ldots + f_d r^d \equiv 0 \bmod 2.$ Equivalently, $f(x) \equiv (x-r) g \bmod 2$ for some polynomial $g(x) \in \mathbb{Z}_2[x].$