On the continued fraction expansion of the unique root in F(p) of the equation x^4+x^2-Tx-1:12=0 and other related hyperquadratic expansions

Abstract

In 1985, Robbins observed by computer the continued fraction expansion of certain algebraic power series over a finite field. Incidentally, he came across a particular equation of degree 4 in characteristic p=13. This equation has an analogue for all primes p>=5. There are two patterns for the continued fraction of the solution of this equation, according to the residue of p modulo 3. We describe this pattern in the first case, considering especially p=7 and p=13. in the second case we only give indications.