Let p>2 be a prime.
(a) What does it mean to say that an integer g is a primitive root modp ?
(b) Let k be an integer with 0⩽k<p−1. Let
Sk=x=0∑p−1xk
Show that Sk≡0(modp). [Recall that by convention 00=1.]
(c) Let f(X,Y,Z)=aX2+bY2+cZ2 for some a,b,c∈Z, and let g=1−fp−1. Show that for any x,y,z∈Z,g(x,y,z)≡0 or 1(modp), and that
x,y,z∈{0,1,…,p−1}∑g(x,y,z)≡0(modp).
Hence show that there exist integers x,y,z, not all divisible by p, such that f(x,y,z)≡0 (modp).