Quartic residues and binary quadratic forms

Let be a prime, m∈Z and . In this paper we obtain a general criterion for m to be a quartic residue in terms of appropriate binary quadratic forms. Let d>1 be a squarefree integer such that , where is the Legendre symbol, and let ε_d be the fundamental unit of the quadratic field . Since 1942 many mathematicians tried to characterize those primes p so that ε_d is a quadratic or quartic residue . In this paper we will completely solve these open problems by determining the value of , where p is an odd prime, and . As an application we also obtain a general criterion for , where {u_n(a,b)} is the Lucas sequence defined by and .     

Arithmetical properties of wendt's determinant

Wendt's determinant of order n is the circulant determinant W_n whose (i,j)-th entry is the binomial coefficient , for 1?i,j?n, where n is a positive integer. We establish some congruence relations satisfied by these rational integers. Thus, if p is a prime number and k a positive integer, then and . If q is another prime, distinct from p, and h any positive integer, then . Furthermore, if p is odd, then . In particular, if p?5, then . Also, if m and n are relatively prime positive integers, then W_mW_n divides W_mn.     

The structure of analytic τ-sheaves

Let R be a complete discrete valuation -algebra whose residue field is algebraic over , and let K denote its fraction field. In this paper, we study the structure of τ-sheaves M without good reduction on the curve , seen as a rigid analytic space. One motivation is the Tate uniformization theorem for t-motives of Drinfeld modules, which we want to extend to general τ-sheaves. On the other hand, we are interested in the action of inertia on a generic Tate module T_?(M) of M.For a given τ-sheaf M on , we prove the existence of a maximal model for M on , an R-model of , and, over a finite separable extension R′ of R, of nondegenerate models for M.We prove the following ‘semistability’ theorem: there exists a finite extension K′ of K, a nonempty open subscheme C′⊂C, and a filtration