Math 324, Fall 2011

Assignment 6
Solutions

Exercise 1. (a) Find all positive integers n such that φ(n) = 12.
(b) Show that there is no positive integer n such that φ(n) = 14.
(c) Let k be a positive integer. Show that if the equation φ(n) = k has exactly one solution n then 36
divides n.
αk
Solutions :(a) If n = pα1 · · · pk is the prime factorization of n then
1

k
Y
12 = φ(n) = pαj −1 (pj − 1)
j=1

If pj > 13 then pj − 1 > 12, hence could not divide 12. It follows that the prime divisors of n must be less
than or equal to 13. As 10 = 11 − 1 does not divide 12, we deduce that

n = 2a 3b 5c 7d 13e .

Since 12 is not divisible by 5, 7, nor 13, we see that

c ≤ 1, d ≤ 1, and e ≤ 1.

In fact, we must have c = 0. For otherwise, we can write

n = 5n′ , gcd(5, n′ ) = 1.

The multiplicativity of φ would lead us to

12 = φ(n) = φ(5n′ ) = φ(5)φ(n′ ) = 4φ(n′ ),

hence
3 = φ(n′ ).
On the other hand, from class, φ(n′ ) is even if n′ > 2, while

φ(1) = φ(2) = 1.

Therefore there are no numbers n′ for which φ(n′ ) = 3.

(I) e = 1 : In this case, one has
n = 13l
where gcd(13, l) = 1. The multiplicativity of φ yields

12 = φ(n) = φ(13l) = φ(13)φ(l) = 12φ(l)

hence
φ(l) = 1.
The remarks made above show l = 1 or 2, hence

n = 13 or n = 13 · 2 = 26.

(II) e = 0 : We have number of subcases.

(i) d = 1 : In this case,
n = 7l

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 where gcd(7, l) = 1. The multiplicativity of φ yields

12 = φ(n) = φ(7l) = φ(7)φ(l) = 6φ(l),

hence
φ(l) = 2.
Writing
l = 2a 3b ,
we deduce b ≤ 1, since 3 does not divide 2. If b = 1 then

2 = φ(l) = φ(2a · 3) = φ(2a ) · 2,

and hence
1 = φ(2a ).
in which case a = 0 or 1. If b = 0 then a ≥ 1 ( since φ(1) = 1) and

2 = φ(l) = φ(2a ) = 2a−1 ,

hence a = 2. In summary, if 7 is the largest prime dividing n and φ(n) = 12 then

n = 7 · 3 = 21 or n = 7 · 3 · 2 = 42 or n = 7 · 4 = 28.

(ii) d = 0 : In this case,

n = 2a 3b .
Since 9 does not divide 12, b ≤ 2. On the other hand, b > 1, for otherwise φ(2a 3b ) is a power of 2. Thus
the only posibilty is b = 2, in which case the multiplicativity of φ yields

12 = φ(n) = φ(2a · 9) = φ(2a )φ(9) = φ(2a ) · 6,

hence
2 = φ(2a ).
It was earlier observed that the last equation implies a = 2, hence

n = 4 · 9 = 36.

In summary, the integers n for which φ(n) = 12 are 13, 21, 26, 28, 36, and 42.
(b) Observing φ(2a ) is a power of 2, if
φ(n) = 14
then n necessarily has an odd prime divisor p. Observing p − 1 divides φ(n) = 14, we deduce

p − 1 ∈ {1, 2, 7, 14},

hence
p ∈ {2, 3, 8, 15}.
The fact p is an odd prime forces p = 3. Since 3 does not divide 14 = φ(n), we conclude

n = 2a · 3

for some integer a. The multipcativity of φ thus yields

14 = φ(2a · 3) = φ(2a )φ(3) = 2φ(2a ),

2
hence
7 = φ(2a ),
a contradiction of the fact φ(2a ) is a power of 2. Thus, there does not exist a positive integer n such
that φ(n) = 14.
(c) Note that it is sufficient to show that if φ(n) = k has a unique solution then n is divisible by 4 and 9.
For if the latter conditions hold, the fact gcd(4, 9) = 1 implies that that n is divisible by 4 · 9 = 36.
If n is odd then the multiplicativity of φ yields

φ(2n) = φ(2)φ(n) = 1 · φ(n) = φ(n).

The hypothesis that φ(n) = k has a unique solution ensures that n must be even. Write n = 2n′ . If n′ were
odd, the preceding argument shows that φ(n′ ) = φ(n), contradicting the uniqueness of the solution. Thus n′
is even, allowing us to conclude that 4 divides n.
We can thus write n = 2a m where m is odd and a ≥ 2. If gcd(3, m) = 1, consider

l = 2a−1 · 3 · m.

Using the multiplicativity of φ, since a − 1 ≥ 1,

φ(l) = φ(2a−1 )φ(3)φ(m) = 2a−2 · 2φ(m) = 2a−1 φ(m) = φ(2a )φ(m) = φ(2a m) = φ(n),

a contradiction of the uniquness of the solution to φ(n) = k. Thus, we have

n = 2 a · 3 · m′

for some odd m′ . If m′ were not divisible by 3, the same argument would allow us to conclude

φ(2a+1 · m′ ) = φ(2a · 3 · m′ ) = φ(n)

another contradiction of the uniqueness of the solution. We conclude that m′ is divisible by 9; since m′
divides n, it follows that n is divisible by 9.

Exercise 2. (a) For which positive integers n is φ(n) divisible by 4 ?

(b) For which positive integers n does φ(n)|n ?
Solution : (a) If n is even, say
n = 2α0 n′
with n′ odd, then
φ(n) = φ(2α0 )φ(n′ ) = 2α0 −1 φ(n′ ).
If α0 ≥ 3 then α0 − 1 ≥ 2, hence φ(n) is divisible by 4. If α0 = 2 then

φ(n) = 2φ(n′ ).

If n′ > 1 then φ(n′ ) is known to be even, in which case φ(n) will be divisible by 4. If n′ = 1 then n = 4
and φ(4) = 2 is not divisible by 4. The preceding two cases show that φ(n) is divisible by 4 if n = 4l
with l > 1.
If α0 = 1 then
φ(n) = φ(2n′ ) = φ(n′ ).
In this case φ(n) is divisible 4 if and only if φ(n′ ) is divisible by 4. In the latter case, since φ(1) = 1, it would
follow that n′ > 1 hence has a prime factorization

n′ = pα αk
1 · · · pk
1

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where k ≥ 1 and the pj are distinct odd primes. The multiplicativity of φ thus yields

k
Y
φ(n′ ) = pα
i
i −1
(pi − 1).
i=1

Observing pi − 1 is even for each i, we see that φ(n′ ) is divisible by 4 if k > 1. If k = 1 then

φ(n′ ) = φ(pα αi −1
1 ) = p1
1
(p1 − 1)

is divisible by 4 if and only if p1 ≡ 1 mod 4.

In summary, φ(n) is divisible by 4 precisely when n has one of the following forms.
(i) n = 4l, l ∈ N, l > 1.
(ii) n = 2n′ , n′ is odd with at least two distinct prime divisors or is a power of a prime p ≡ 1 mod 4.
(iii) n is odd with at least two distinct prime divisors or is a power of a prime p ≡ 1 mod 4.
αk
(b) Let n = pα
1 · · · pk . If φ(n) divides n then
1

k
n Y pi
l= =
φ(n) i=1 pi − 1

must be an integer. Formally, at most one factor of 2 can occur in the numerator of l, hence the denominator
can have at most one factor of the form pi − 1 with pi as an odd prime. It follows that n must have the form

2α , α ≥ 0, (i)

or
2 α pβ , α ≥ 0, β ≥ 1, p odd prime . (ii)
It is readily verified that φ(n) divides n for all n of the form (i). If n is of the form (ii) then the
denominator of l must be even, which shows that the numerator must also be even, hence α > 0. In this
case,
n 2p
l= = ∈Z
φ(n) p−1
shows that p−1 divides 2p. Since p and p−1 are relatively prime, p−1 must divide 2; in particular, p−1 ≤ 2,
hence p ≤ 3. On the other hand, p ≥ 3, being an odd prime, so p = 3. Thus, in case (ii), n must be of the
form 2α 3β with α, β > 1. It is readily checked that all n of this form satisfy φ(n)|n.
In summary, if φ(n) divides n then either n = 2α for some non-negative α or n = 2α 3β with α, β > 1.

Exercise 3. (a) Which positive integers have exactly 4 positive divisors ? Be sure to justify your answer.
(b) Let k be a positive integer. Show that the equation σ(n) = k has at most a finite number of solutions.
Solution :(a) We are required to find all integers n such that

τ (n) = 4. (1)

Since τ (1) = 1, any solution n of (1) must be greater than 1. hence it has a prime factorization of the form
αk
n = pα
1 · · · pk
1

where k ≥ 1 and each αk > 0. In this case,

k
Y k
Y
4 = τ (n) = τ (pα
i )
i
= (1 + αi ).
i=1 i=1

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Observing 1 + αi ≥ 2, it follows immediately that k ≤ 2. If k = 1 then

4 = 1 + α1 ,

hence
α1 = 3.
3
Therefore, n = p for some prime p. If k = 2 then

4 = (1 + α1 )(1 + α2 )

with both 1 + α1 and 1 + α2 both > 1. The prime factorization of 4 allows us to conclude

1 + α1 = 1 + α2 = 2,

hence
α1 = α2 = 1.
Therefore, n = pq for distinct primes p and q.
In summary, if τ (n) = 4 then either n = p3 for a prime p or there exists distinct primes p and q such
that n = pq. On the other hand, it is readily checked that if n has either of the two forms described then it
has exactly 4 positive divisors.
(b) We recall that if n has prime factorization

n = pα αl
1 · · · pl
1

then
l
Y pαi +1 − 1
i
σ(n) = .
i=1
pi − 1

Observing
pα i +1
−1
i
= pα αi
i + · · · + pi + 1 ≥ pi ,
i

pi − 1
if σ(n) = k then
l
Y
k = σ(n) ≥ pα
i = n.
i

i=1

It follows that the equation

σ(n) = k
has at most k solutions, as required.

Exercise 4. Let k be a positive integer. Given a positive integer n, let σk (n) be the sum of the k-th powers
of the (positive) divisors of n, that is X
σk (n) = dk .
d|n

(a) Find a closed formula for σk (pα ) where p is prime and α is a positive integer.
(b) Prove that σk (n) is multiplicative.
(c) Find a closed formula for σk (n).
Solution : (a) If p is prime then the positive divisors of pα are precisely pi , 0 ≤ i ≤ α. Therefore,
α α
α
X
α k
X (pk )α+1 − 1
σk (p ) = (p ) = (pk )α = .
i=0 i=0
pk − 1

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(b) If n and m are positive integers then the exponentiation rules yield

(mn)k = mk nk .

This shows that the function n 7→ nk is a (completely) multiplicative function fk . The multiplicativity of σk
thus follows from the fact that it is the summatory function of the multiplicative function fk .
(c) In light of (a) and (b), if the integer n has the prime factorization

n = pα αl
1 · · · pl
1

then αl
σk (n) = σk (pα
1 · · · pl )
1

α1
= σk (p1 ) · · · σk (pα
l )
l

l
(pk )αi +1 − 1
Y  
= .
i=1
pk − 1

Exercise 5. (a) Let n be a positive integer. Show that τ (2n − 1) ≥ τ (n).

(b) An integer n is said to be k-perfect if σ(n) = kn. Find all 3-perfect numbers of the form n = 2k · 3 · p
where p is an odd prime.
Solution : (a) We recall that if d|n then 2d − 1 divides 2n − 1. Furthermore, if d1 and d2 are divisors of n
with
2d1 − 1 = 2d2 − 1
then
d1 = d2 .
It follows that the map
d 7→ 2d − 1, d|n,
provides an injective map from the set of divisors of n to the set of divisors of 2n − 1. We deduce that

τ (2n − 1) = |{ divisors of 2n − 1 }| ≥ |{ divisors of n }| = τ (n).

(b) Let n = 2k · 3 · p is a 3-perfect number. We first observe that p must be different from 3. Indeed, if p = 3
then
33 − 1
2k 33 = 3n = σ(2k 32 ) = σ(2k ) · .
2
Multiplying both sides by 2,
2k+1 33 = 26σ(2k ) = 2 · 13 · (2k+1 − 1),
a contradiction of the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, as the prime 13 appears on the right but not
on the left.
Since p is an odd prime different from 3, we have

2k 32 p = 3n = σ(2k · 3 · p) = σ(2k ) · 4 · (p + 1). (1)

Observing that the right hand side is divisible by 8, the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic allows us to
conclude that k ≥ 3. In this case, σ(2k ) = 2k+1 − 1, so (1) yields

2k−2 32 p = (2k+1 − 1)(p + 1). (2)

Observing gcd(2k−2 , 2k+1 − 1) = gcd(p, p + 1) = 1, the identity (2) allows us to conclude

2k−2 |p + 1 and p|2k+1 − 1.

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Writing
p + 1 = 2k−2 s and 2k+1 − 1 = pt,
the equation (2) allows us to conclude
32 = st.
There are three cases to consider.
(i) s = 1, t = 9 : In this case,

p + 1 = 2k−2 and 9p = 2k+1 − 1,

hence
2k+1 − 1 = 9p = 9(2k−2 − 1).
It follows that
8 = 9 · 2k−2 − 2k+1 = 2k−2 (9 − 23 ) = 2k−2 ,
hence k = 5 and thus
p = 25−2 − 1 = 23 − 1 = 7.
In this case, we see n = 25 · 3 · 7 = 672.
(ii) s = t = 3 : In this case,
p + 1 = 3 · 2k−2 and 3p = 2k+1 − 1.
From the first of these equations p = 3 · 2k−2 − 1. Substituting into the second equation,

2k+1 − 1 = 9 · 2k−2 − 3,

hence
2 = 9 · 2k−2 − 2k+1 = 2k−2 (9 − 8) = 2k−2 .
We deduce k = 3, hence
p = 3 · 23−2 − 1 = 3 · 2 − 1 = 5.
In this case, we see n = 23 · 3 · 5 = 120.
(iii) s = 9, t = 1 : In this case,

p + 1 = 9 · 2k−2 and 2k+1 − 1 = p.

Substituting for p in the first equation,

2k+1 = 9 · 2k−2 ,

an obvious contradiction.
In summary, if n is a 3-perfect number of the form 2k · 3 · p where p is an odd prime then n = 120 or 672.

Exercise 6. (a) If n is a positive integer, show

µ(n)µ(n + 1)µ(n + 2)µ(n + 3) = 0.

(b) Find simple formulae for the following expressions.

P
(i) dµ(d).
Pd|n
(ii) d|n τ (d)µ(d).
Solution : (a) One of the four consecutive numbers

n, n + 1, n + 2, and n+3

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is divisible by 4; in particular at least one of them is not square-free. It follows that at least one of

µ(n), µ(n + 1), µ(n + 2), and µ(n + 3)

is zero, hence
µ(n)µ(n + 1)µ(n + 2)µ(n + 3) = 0.

(b) Note that if f is a non-zero multiplicative function then so is the product µf . General theory then asserts
that the function X
G(n) = µ(d)f (d)
d|n

is multiplicative. Observing
α
X
G(pα ) = µ(pi )f (pi ) = 1 − f (p)
i=1

if p is prime, multiplicativity of G allows us to conclude that

X αk
µ(d)f (d) = G(n) = G(pα
1 ) · · · G(pk ) = (1 − f (p1 )) · · · (1 − f (pk ))
1

d|n

where n = pα αk
1 · · · pk is the prime factorization of n
1

(i) Applying the above to f (n) = n, if

αk
n = pα
1 · · · pk
1

is the prime factorization of n then

X
dµ(d) = (1 − p1 ) · · · (1 − pk ).
d|n

(ii) Recalling that τ (p) = 2 if p is prime, if

n = pα αk
1 · · · pk
1

is the prime factorization of n then

X
µ(d)τ (d) = (1 − τ (p1 )) · · · (1 − τ (pk )) = (−1)k .
d|n

Exercise 7. The Margoldt function Λ is defined for all positive integers n by


log p, if n = pk where p is prime and k is a positive integer;
Λ(n) =
0, otherwise.

(a) Show that if n is a positive integer then

X
Λ(d) = log n.
d|n

(b) Prove X
Λ(n) = − µ(d) log d.
d|n

Solution : (a) Let

n = pα αk
1 · · · pk
1

8
 β
be the prime factorization of n. If d|n then Λ(d) = 0 unless d = pj j for some βj , 1 ≤ βj ≤ αj . We deduce

αj
k X
β
X X
Λ(d) = Λ(pj j )
d|n j=1 βj =1
αj
k X
X
= log pj
j=1 βj =1
k
X
= αj log pj
j=1
 
k
α
Y
= log  pj j  = log n.
j=1

(b) By (a), log n is the summatory function of Λ(n). Therefore, Möbius Inversion yields
X
Λ(n) = µ(d) log(n/d)
d|n
X
= µ(d)(log n − log d)
d|n
 
X X
= µ(d) log n − µ(d) log d = − log µ(d) log d,
d|n d|n

since X
µ(d) = 0
d|n

if n > 1 and log n = 0 if n = 1.

Bonus Question. Suppose n is an odd perfect number.

(a) Show n = pα m2 where p is an odd prime, p ≡ α ≡ 1 mod 4, and m is an odd integer.
(b) Deduce n ≡ 1 mod 4.
Solution : (a) Since σ(1) = 1, n > 1. Therefore, if

αk
n = pα
1 · pk
1

is the prime factorization of n then k ≥ 1 and each prime pi is odd. Furthermore, since n is perfect,

k
Y
2n = σ(n) = σ (pα
i ).
i

i=1

Since the left side is even, one of the factors appearing on the right must be even. On the other hand,
the left-side is not divisible by 4, so at most one of the factors on the right is even, in which case it is
precisely divisible by 4. By rearranging the factors, we can assume that σ(pα1 ) is even and the remaining
1

α
factors σ(pj j ), j ≥ 2, are all odd.
Let q be an odd prime. Recalling
Xα
α
σ(q ) = qi ,
i=0

9
σ(q α ) is a sum of α + 1 odd numbers. In particular, σ(q α ) is odd if and only if α + 1 is odd, that is α is
even. Applying to the case at hand, we deduce that αj is even for all j ≥ 2, hence

α /2 α /2
n = pα1 α2 αk α1
1 p2 · · · pk = p1 (p2
2
· · · pk k )2 = pα 2
1 m ,
1

where
α /2 α /2
m = p1 2 · · · pk k
is an odd integer.
On the other hand, the fact σ(pα
1 ) is even forces α1 to be odd. Writing p1 = p and α1 = α, there
1

exist β ≥ 0 such that

α = 2β + 1.
In this case, we have
α
X 2β+1
X
σ(pα ) = pi = pi
i=0 i=0
β
X
= (p2l + p2l+1 )
l=0
β
X β
X
= p2l (1 + p) = (p + 1) p2l .
l=0 l=0
α
Since σ(p ) is divisible by 2 but not divisible by 4, the even number p + 1 must be congruent to 2 modulo 4,
hence
p ≡ 2 − 1 = 1 mod 4.
Furthemore,
β
X β
X
p2l = (p2 )l
l=0 l=0

must be odd, hence β must be even (p2 is odd), which shows that

α = 2β + 1 ≡ 1 mod 4.

(b) Since m = ±1 mod 4,

m2 ≡ 1 mod 4.
Thus,
n = pα m2 ≡ 1α · 1 = 1 mod 4.

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