Problem:
Let be a fixed positive integer. An integer will be called "-free" if it is not a multiple of an -th power of a prime. Let be an infinite set of rational numbers, such that the product of every elements of is an -free integer. Prove that contains only integers.
, 2008
Solution
Solution:
We first prove that can contain only a finite number of non-integers. Suppose that there are infinitely many of them: , with and for each . Let , where . For each , the number is an integer, so is a divisor of (as and are coprime). But has a finite set of divisors, so there are numbers of with equal denominators. Their product cannot be an integer, a contradiction.
Now suppose that contains a fraction in lowest terms with . Take a prime divisor of . If we take any integers from , their product with is an integer, so some of them is a multiple of . Therefore there are infinitely many multiples of in , and the product of of them is not -free, a contradiction.
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