Problem:
How many positive integers are there such that
has a solution in positive integers ?
, 2013
Solution
Solution:
First, we can let so that where . Making these substitutions yields
so
Because and are relatively prime, shares no common factors with either or , so in order to have be an integer, must divide , and since and are positive, .
We first show that for different possible values of , the values of generated are distinct. In particular, we need to show that
whenever . Assume that such an equality exists, and cross-multiplying yields
Since is relatively prime to , we must have divide . With a similar argument, we can show that must divide , so .
Now, we need to show that for the same denominator , the values of generated are also distinct for some relatively prime non-ordered pair . Let . Assume that
or equivalently, . After some rearrangement, we have . This implies that either or . But in either case, is some permutation of .
Our answer can therefore be obtained by summing up the totients of the factors of (excluding ) and dividing by since and correspond to the same value, so our answer is