We present an intuitively satisfying geometric proof of Fermat's result for positive integers that for prime moduli p, provided p does not divide a. This is known as Fermat’s Little Theorem. The proof is novel in...We present an intuitively satisfying geometric proof of Fermat's result for positive integers that for prime moduli p, provided p does not divide a. This is known as Fermat’s Little Theorem. The proof is novel in using the idea of colorings applied to regular polygons to establish a number-theoretic result. A lemma traditionally, if ambiguously, attributed to Burnside provides a critical enumeration step.展开更多
文摘We present an intuitively satisfying geometric proof of Fermat's result for positive integers that for prime moduli p, provided p does not divide a. This is known as Fermat’s Little Theorem. The proof is novel in using the idea of colorings applied to regular polygons to establish a number-theoretic result. A lemma traditionally, if ambiguously, attributed to Burnside provides a critical enumeration step.
