Let be a positive integer, and let , respectively , be the set of non-negative integers such that the number of distinct prime factors of is even, respectively odd. Show that if is even, and if is odd.
Solution
Since depends only upon the residue class of modulo , , where is the number of distinct prime factors of , and ranges over any complete residue system modulo .
We shall prove that the above sum equals , prime, whence the conclusion; the latter is precisely the number of positive integers such that and are both coprime to .
In the above notation, let and let . We show that is a numerical multiplicative function — that is, if and are coprime positive integers, then .
If are coprime positive integers, then . Further, if ranges once over a complete residue system modulo , , then ranges once over a complete residue system modulo , and , . Hence , and
Finally, if is a prime, and is a positive integer, then equals the number of 's coprime to , which is , minus the number of 's divisible by , which is , so . This ends the proof.