Constructing modular separating invariants

We consider a finite dimensional modular representation V of a cyclic group of prime order p. We show that two points in V that are in different orbits can be separated by a homogeneous invariant polynomial that has degree one or p and that involves variables from at most two summands in the dual representation. Simultaneously, we describe an explicit construction for a separating set consisting of polynomials with these properties. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.