7/16/2017 Zsigmondy's theorem - Wikipedia

In number theory, Zsigmondy's theorem, named after

Karl Zsigmondy, states that if a > b > 0 are coprime
integers, then for any integer n 1, there is a prime
number p (called a primitive prime divisor) that divides an
bn and does not divide ak bk for any positive integer k <
n, with the following exceptions:

n = 1, a b = 1; then an bn = 1 which has no prime

divisors

n = 2, a + b a power of two; then any odd prime factors

of a - b = (a + b)(a1 - b1) must be contained in a1 - b1,
which is also even

n = 6, a = 2, b = 1; then a6 b6 = 63 = 37 = (a2
b2)2(a3 b3)

This generalizes Bang's theorem, which states that if n > 1

and n is not equal to 6, then 2n 1 has a prime divisor not
dividing any 2k 1 with k < n.

Similarly, an + bn has at least one primitive prime divisor

with the exception 23 + 13 = 9.

Zsigmondy's theorem is often useful, especially in group

theory, where it is used to prove that various groups have

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distinct orders except when they are known to be the

same.

History

The theorem was discovered by Zsigmondy working in

Vienna from 1894 until 1925.

Generalizations

Let be a sequence of nonzero integers. The

Zsigmondy set associated to the sequence is the set

i.e., the set of indices such that every prime dividing

also divides some for some . Thus
Zsigmondy's theorem implies that
, and Carmichael's theorem says
that the Zsigmondy set of the Fibonacci sequence is
, and that of the Pell sequence is . In
2001 Bilu, Hanrot, and Voutier[1] proved that in general, if
is a Lucas sequence or a Lehmer sequence,
then . Lucas and Lehmer
sequences are examples of divisibility sequences.
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It is also known that if is an elliptic divisibility

sequence, then its Zsigmondy set is finite.[2]
However, the result is ineffective in the sense that the
proof does give an explicit upper bound for the largest
element in , although it is possible to give an
effective upper bound for the number of elements in
.[3]

See also

Carmichael's theorem

References

1. Y. Bilu, G. Hanrot, P.M. Voutier, Existence of primitive

divisors of Lucas and Lehmer numbers, J. Reine Angew.
Math. 539 (2001), 75-122

2. J.H. Silverman, Wieferich's criterion and the abc-

conjecture, J. Number Theory 30 (1988), 226-237

3. P. Ingram, J.H. Silverman, Uniform estimates for

primitive divisors in elliptic divisibility sequences, Number
theory, Analysis and Geometry, Springer-Verlag, 2010,
233-263.

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K. Zsigmondy (1892). "Zur Theorie der Potenzreste".

Journal Monatshefte fr Mathematik. 3 (1): 265284.
doi:10.1007/BF01692444 .

Th. Schmid (1927). "Karl Zsigmondy" . Jahresbericht

der Deutschen Mathematiker-Vereinigung. 36: 167168.

Moshe Roitman (1997). "On Zsigmondy Primes".

Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society. 125
(7): 19131919. JSTOR 2162291 . doi:10.1090/S0002-
9939-97-03981-6 .

Walter Feit (1988). "On Large Zsigmondy Primes".

Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society.
American Mathematical Society. 102 (1): 2936.
JSTOR 2046025 . doi:10.2307/2046025 .

Everest, Graham; van der Poorten, Alf; Shparlinski,

Igor; Ward, Thomas (2003). Recurrence sequences.
Mathematical Surveys and Monographs. 104. Providence,
RI: American Mathematical Society. pp. 103104. ISBN 0-
8218-3387-1. Zbl 1033.11006 .

External links

Weisstein, Eric W. "Zsigmondy Theorem" .

MathWorld.
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