Let and be integers bigger than . Prove that there is a positive integer and a finite sequence of positive integers, such that , and for every .
Solution
We'll write if there exists such a sequence. It is easy to see that is an equivalence relation. Notice that for every integer , because in that case the desired finite sequence is
For every , we have and we obtain . For :
i.e. and because , we obtain . From the previous discussion we get that , , and from the transitivity of we obtain for every integer , . Because is symmetric for every integer , . Hence from the transitivity of we obtain the desired result.
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