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Frobenius Automorphism


The Frobenius automorphism of a finite field F of field characteristic p is the Frobenius map phi:F->F given by phi(alpha)=alpha^p. By the freshman's dream, this map is an injection: phi(alpha)=phi(beta) implies (alpha-beta)^p=0 and hence alpha=beta (O'Sullivan 2006, p. 19). Since F is finite, the map is also a surjection, and so is a field automorphism.

For a general field of field characteristic p>0, the same Frobenius map remains a ring homomorphism and an injection but need not be a surjection.


Portions of this entry contributed by David Terr

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References

O'Sullivan, M. E. Lecture Notes for Math 696: Coding Theory. Jan. 19, 2006. https://mosullivan.sdsu.edu/Teaching/Coding06/finite_fields.pdf.

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Frobenius Automorphism

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W., with contributions by David Terr. "Frobenius Automorphism." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/FrobeniusAutomorphism.html

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