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, 2022

Combinatorics Difficulty 6.3 National Olympiad Prove it Bulgaria

Find the number of all positive integers 4n20224 \le n \le 2022 that are not primes such that for any positive integer kk in the interval [1,n1][1, \sqrt{n}-1] the following holds: the number of ways to choose kk persons from a group of nn people is divisible by nn.

Solution

The condition of the problem requires (nk)\binom{n}{k} to be divisible by nn for all 1kn11 \le k \le \sqrt{n}-1. Assume there exists a prime divisor pp of nn such that pn1p \le \sqrt{n}-1 and set k=pk = p. Since
p!(np)=n(n1)(n2)(np+1) p! \binom{n}{p} = n(n-1)(n-2)\cdots(n-p+1)
and (np)\binom{n}{p} is divisible by nn, we have that pp is a divisor of (n1)(n2)(np+1)(n-1)(n-2)\cdots(n-p+1). This assertion is not true since pp is a factor of nn and thus it is not a divisor of any of nn-\ell, 1p11 \le \ell \le p-1. From now on we assume that all prime factors of nn are greater than n1\sqrt{n}-1. Assume nn has at least three prime factors (counting pαp^\alpha as α\alpha). Direct verification shows that n=8n=8 is a solution and for n=12n=12 we have factor 2<1212 < \sqrt{12}-1. For n16n \ge 16 we obtain
n>(n1)3(3n4)3=27n3/264n > (\sqrt{n}-1)^3 \ge (\frac{3\sqrt{n}}{4})^3 = \frac{27n^{3/2}}{64}, i.e. n<(6427)2<9n < (\frac{64}{27})^2 < 9, a contradiction. It remains to consider n=pqn = pq for primes pp and qq such that n1<pq\sqrt{n}-1 < p \le q. If qp+3q \ge p+3 then np(p+3)>(n1)(n+2)=n+n2>nn \ge p(p+3) > (\sqrt{n}-1)(\sqrt{n}+2) = n + \sqrt{n}-2 > n, a contradiction. If q=p+1q = p+1 we have p=2,q=3p=2, q=3, i.e. n=6n=6 which is a solution. If q=pq = p and 1kp11 \le k \le p-1 then the left hand side of
k!(p2k)=(p2k+1)(p2k+2)(p21)p2 k! \binom{p^2}{k} = (p^2 - k + 1)(p^2 - k + 2) \cdots (p^2 - 1)p^2
is divisible by p2p^2 and k!k! is not divisible by pp. Therefore p2p^2 is a factor of (p2k)\binom{p^2}{k}. If q=p+2q = p+2 and 1kp11 \le k \le p-1 then the left hand side of
k!(p2+2pk)=(p2+2pk+1)(p2+2pk+2)(p2+2p1)(p2+2p) k! \binom{p^2+2p}{k} = (p^2 + 2p - k + 1)(p^2 + 2p - k + 2) \cdots (p^2 + 2p - 1)(p^2 + 2p)
is divisible by both pp and p+2p+2. Since k!k! is not divisible by both pp and q=p+2q = p+2 we infer that (p2+2pk)\binom{p^2+2p}{k} is divisible by pp and p+2p+2, i.e. it is divisible by p(p+2)p(p+2). Since 2022<2025=4522022 < 2025 = 45^2 all primes 2p<452 \le p < 45 imply the solution n=p2n = p^2. The primes for which p+2p+2 is also a prime imply also the solution n=p(p+2)n = p(p+2). Direct verification shows that there exist 14 primes in this interval: {2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23,29,31,37,41,43}\{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43\}, and for 6 of them ({3,5,11,17,29,41}\{3, 5, 11, 17, 29, 41\}) p+2p+2 is also a prime. Finally, the desired number is (adding 6 and 8): 14+6+2=2214+6+2=22.

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