Number theoryDifficulty 5.9AIME, harderProve itSaudi Arabia
Given an odd number n≥3, let S={k:1≤k≤n,gcd(k,n)=1} and let T={k:k∈S,gcd(k+1,n)=1}. For each k∈S, let rk be the remainder left by nk∣S∣−1 upon division by n. Show that k∈T∏(rk−rn−k)≡∣S∣∣T∣(modn).
Solution
Since n is odd, ∣S∣=ϕ(n)=np∣n∏(1−1/p) is even. Given an element k of S, write k∣S∣≡1+nrk(modn2) and (n−k)∣S∣≡1+nrn−k(modn2), and notice that (n−k)∣S∣≡k∣S∣⋅n⋅k∣S∣−1(modn2), to get rk−rn−k≡∣S∣⋅k∣S∣−1(modn). Hence k∈T∏(rk−rn−k)≡∣S∣∣T∣(k∈T∏k)∣S∣−1(modn). Finally, notice that the product in the right-hand member is congruent to 1 modulo n. To see this, let k′ denote the modulo n multiplicative inverse of an element k of S, and notice that k′+1≡k′(k+1)(modn)and(k−1)(k′+1)≡k−k′(modn). The first congruence shows that if k belongs to T, then so does k′, and the second shows that k=k′ if and only if k=1. Consequently, if k=1, the factors k and k′ in the product can be paired off and the conclusion follows.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: MathNet,
licensed CC-BY-4.0.
Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.