Number theoryDifficulty 5.1AIME, harderProve itUnited States
Problem: Prove that for every integer n greater than 1, σ(n)ϕ(n)≤n2−1 When does equality hold?
Solution
Solution: Note that σ(mn)ϕ(mn)=σ(m)ϕ(m)σ(n)ϕ(n)≤(m2−1)(n2−1)=(mn)2−(m2+n2−1)<(mn)2−1 for any pair of relatively prime positive integers (m,n) other than (1,1). Now, for p a prime and k a positive integer, σ(pk)=1+p+⋯+pk=p−1pk+1−1 and ϕ(pk)=pk−p1⋅pk=(p−1)pk−1. Thus, σ(pk)ϕ(pk)=p−1pk+1−1⋅(p−1)pk−1=(pk+1−1)pk−1=p2k−pk−1≤p2k−1 with equality where k=1. It follows that equality holds in the given inequality if and only if n is prime.
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