A local-global principle for power maps

Abstract

Let f be a function from the set of rational numbers into itself. We call f a global power map if f(n) = n^k for some integer exponent k. We call f a local power map at the prime number p if f induces a well-defined group homomorphism on the multiplicative group of integers modulo p. We conjecture that if f is a local power map at an infinite number of primes p, then f must be a global power map. Our main theorem implies that if f is a local power map at every prime p in a set with positive upper density relative to the set of all primes, then f must be a global power map. In particular, this represents progress towards a conjecture of Fabrykowski and Subbarao.