Statistics for fixed points of the self-power map

Abstract

The map $x\mapsto x^x$ modulo $p$ is related to a variation of the ElGamal digital signature scheme in a similar way as the discrete exponentiation map, but it has received much less study. We explore the number of fixed points of this map by a statistical analysis of experimental data. In particular, the number of fixed points can in many cases be modeled by a binomial distribution. We discuss the many cases where this has been successful, and also the cases where a good model may not yet have been found.