Canonical Forms of $2 \times 2 \times 2$ and $2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2$ Symmetric Tensors over Prime Fields

Abstract: We consider symmetric tensors of format $2 \times 2 \times 2$ and $2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2$ over prime fields. Using computer algebra we compute the canonical forms of these tensors. For $2 \times 2 \times 2$ symmetric tensors, we consider the prime fields $\mathbb{F}_p$ for $p = 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17$. For $2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2$ symmetric tensors, we consider the prime fields $\mathbb{F}_p$ for $p = 2, 3, 5, 7$. For each canonical form, we determine the size of its orbit and the symmetric rank of the symmetric tensors in its orbit.