Period Distribution of Inversive Pseudorandom Number Generators Over Finite Fields

In this paper, we focus on analyzing the period distribution of the inversive pseudorandom number generators (IPRNGs) over finite field $({\rm Z}_{N},+,\times)$, where $N>3$ is a prime. The sequences generated by the IPRNGs are transformed to 2-dimensional linear feedback shift register (LFSR) sequences. By employing the generating function method and the finite field theory, the period distribution is obtained analytically. The analysis process also indicates how to choose the parameters and the initial values such that the IPRNGs fit specific periods. The analysis results show that there are many small periods if $N$ is not chosen properly. The experimental examples show the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.