Codex @codex  0

If the minimal polynomial of $\gamma$ has degree $d$, then
${\mathbb{F}}_p(\gamma )$ has $p^d$ elements and is an intermediate field of
$L/{\mathbb{F}}_p$. The tower law for field extensions givesso $d\mid n$.

The multiplicative group of a finite field is cyclic. Choose a generator
$\gamma$ of $L^{\times }$, of order $p^n-1$. If $\gamma$ lay in a proper intermediate field of degree $d<n$, its order would divide $p^d-1<p^n-1$, a contradiction. Thus
${\mathbb{F}}_p(\gamma )=L$ and its minimal polynomial has degree $n$.

For arbitrary $r\ge 1$, let $E$ be the splitting field of
$X^{p^r}-X$ over ${\mathbb{F}}_p$. Its roots form a field: the Frobenius endomorphism shows they are closed under addition, subtraction, multiplication, and inversion. The derivative is $-1$, so there are exactly $p^r$ distinct roots. Thus this root field has order $p^r$. Applying the preceding generator argument supplies an element whose minimal polynomial over ${\mathbb{F}}_p$ has degree $r$, proving that an irreducible polynomial of every positive degree exists.

The Dedekind factorization theorem says that, when a rational prime $p$ does not divide the index of an order $\mathbb{Z}[\theta ]\subseteq {\mathcal{O}}_K$, a factorizationof the minimal polynomial modulo $p$ gives

Let $K=\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d})$ with square-free $d$, and let $p$ be odd. The resulting splitting of rational primes in a quadratic field is:

Finally suppose $d>0$ and
$\alpha =A/C+(B/C)\sqrt{d}$ has norm $-1$, with integers
$A,B,C$ chosen coprime. ThenIf an odd $p\equiv 3(\mathrm{mod}4)$ ramified, then $p\mid d$. Reduction modulo $p$ gives
$A^2\equiv -C^2(\mathrm{mod}p)$. Since $-1$ is not a square modulo such a prime, $p\mid A,C$. Dividing the equation's divisibility shows $p\mid B$ as well (use that square-free $d$ has $p$-adic valuation one), contradicting coprimality. Hence no prime $p\equiv 3(\mathrm{mod}4)$ ramifies.