On the Skitovich--Darmois theorem for the group of p-adic numbers

Abstract: Let $\Omega_p$ be the group of $p$-adic numbers, $ \xi_1$ and $\xi_2$ be independent random variables with values in $\Omega_p$ and distributions $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$. Let $\alpha_j, \beta_j$ be topological automorphisms of $\Omega_p$. Assuming that the linear forms $L_1=\alpha_1\xi_1 + \alpha_2\xi_2$ and $L_2=\beta_1\xi_1 + \beta_2\xi_2$ are independent, we describe possible distributions $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$ depending on the automorphisms $\alpha_j, \beta_j$. This theorem is an analogue for the group $\Omega_p$ of the well-known Skitovich--Darmois theorem, where a Gaussian distribution on the real line is characterized by the independence of two linear forms.