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THE PROBABILITY THAT THE NUMBER OF POINTS ON AN ELLIPTIC CURVE OVER A FINITE FIELD IS PRIME

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2001

STEVEN D. GALBRAITH
Affiliation:
Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX; s.galbraith@rhbnc.ac.uk
JAMES McKEE
Affiliation:
Pembroke College, Oxford OX1 1DW; mckee@maths.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

The paper gives a formula for the probability that a randomly chosen elliptic curve over a finite field has a prime number of points. Two heuristic arguments in support of the formula are given as well as experimental evidence. The paper also gives a formula for the probability that a randomly chosen elliptic curve over a finite field has kq points where k is a small number and q is a prime.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
The London Mathematical Society 2000

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