Let denote the set of positive integers. Find all functions such that the equation
holds for any positive integers and . Here, for positive integers and , denotes their least common multiple.
Solution
We prove that the function is the unique function satisfying the condition in the problem. It is easy to see that this satisfies the condition in the problem.
Suppose that is the function that satisfies the condition in the problem. First, for any positive integer , we prove that is a multiple of . Let be the remainder when dividing by . Substituting and into the equation in the problem, we obtain
Therefore, is a multiple of . Here, leaves a remainder of when divided by , and hence, is coprime to . Therefore, we conclude that is a multiple of .
Let be a positive integer. We prove that . Substituting into the equation in the problem, we get
Therefore, is a multiple of . Since is a multiple of , is a multiple of . Note that we have
Here, the first inequality follows from the fact that is a multiple of . Therefore, we conclude that . Since
and is a multiple of , we conclude that . Hence, we have , and hence . We complete the proof.