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ShortlistBMO, 2011

Number theory Difficulty 8.6 Shortlist Prove it Balkan Mathematical Olympiad

Given an odd number n>1n > 1, let S={k:1≤k<n,(k,n)=1}S = \{k : 1 \le k < n, (k,n) = 1\} and let T={k:k∈S,(k+1,n)=1}T = \{k : k \in S, (k+1,n) = 1\}. For each k∈Sk \in S, let rkr_k be the remainder left by (k∣S∣−1)/n(k^{|S|} - 1)/n upon division by nn. Show that
∏k∈T(rk−rn−k)≡∣S∣∣T∣(modn). \prod_{k \in T} (r_k - r_{n-k}) \equiv |S|^{|T|} \pmod{n}.

Solution

Since nn is odd, ∣S∣=ϕ(n)=n∏p∣n(1−1/p)|S| = \phi(n) = n \prod_{p|n} (1 - 1/p) is even. Given an element kk of SS, write
k∣S∣≡1+nrk(modn2)and(n−k)∣S∣≡1+nrn−k(modn2), k^{|S|} \equiv 1 + n r_k \pmod{n^2} \quad \text{and} \quad (n-k)^{|S|} \equiv 1 + n r_{n-k} \pmod{n^2},
and notice that
(n−k)∣S∣≡k∣S∣−∣S∣⋅n⋅k∣S∣−1(modn2), (n-k)^{|S|} \equiv k^{|S|} - |S| \cdot n \cdot k^{|S|-1} \pmod{n^2},
to get
rk−rn−k≡∣S∣⋅k∣S∣−1(modn). r_k - r_{n-k} \equiv |S| \cdot k^{|S|-1} \pmod{n}.
Hence
∏k∈T(rk−rn−k)≡∣S∣∣T∣(∏k∈Tk)∣S∣−1(modn). \prod_{k \in T} (r_k - r_{n-k}) \equiv |S|^{|T|} \left( \prod_{k \in T} k \right)^{|S|-1} \pmod{n}.
Finally, notice that the product in the right-hand member is congruent to 1 modulo nn. To see this, let k′k' denote the modulo nn multiplicative inverse of an element kk of SS, and notice that
k′+1≡k′(k+1)(modn)and(k−1)(k′+1)≡k−k′(modn). k' + 1 \equiv k'(k+1) \pmod{n} \quad \text{and} \quad (k-1)(k'+1) \equiv k-k' \pmod{n}.
The first congruence shows that if kk belongs to TT, then so does k′k', and the second shows that k=k′k = k' if and only if k=1k = 1. Consequently, if k≠1k \ne 1, the factors kk and k′k' in the product can be paired off and the conclusion follows.

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