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Saudi Arabian Mathematical Competitions, 2012

Number theory Difficulty 6.0 National Olympiad Prove it Saudi Arabia

Find all positive integers nn with the following property: there are two divisors aa and bb of the number nn such that a2+b2+1a^2 + b^2 + 1 is a multiple of nn.

Solution

Since aa divides nn divides a2+b2+1a^2 + b^2 + 1, it follows that a∣b2+1a \mid b^2 + 1. Similarly b∣a2+1b \mid a^2 + 1. Thus we have gcd⁡(a,b)=1\gcd(a, b) = 1.
We have ab∣a2+b2+1ab \mid a^2 + b^2 + 1. By symmetry, we can assume a≤ba \le b. It follows that
a2+b2+1=kab(1) a^2 + b^2 + 1 = kab \quad (1)
for some positive integer kk. In the case a=ba = b we have 2a2+12a^2 + 1 is a multiple of aa, meaning a=1a = 1. Consequently, (a,b)=(1,1)(a, b) = (1, 1) and k=3k = 3.

Assume now a>ba > b. The equation (1) considered as a quadratic equation in aa has a positive integer solution. Its second solution is
a′=kb−a=b2+1a, a' = kb - a = \frac{b^2 + 1}{a},
and it is also a positive integer. Moreover,
a′=b2+1a≤b2+1b+1≤b<a. a' = \frac{b^2 + 1}{a} \le \frac{b^2 + 1}{b+1} \le b < a.
Thus, if equation (1) has a solution (a,b)(a, b) with a>ba > b, then it also has another solution (b,a′)(b, a') with a strictly smaller sum of numbers. Applying the same argument to this new solution, then to the next solution, etc., we eventually arrive at a pair (a0,b0)(a_0, b_0) that cannot be further reduced. Hence,
a0=b0=1, a_0 = b_0 = 1,
and thus k=3k = 3.
Thus, starting with an arbitrary solution one can descend to the pair (1,1)(1, 1). Therefore, all possible solution (a,b)(a, b) of (1) are constructed in the infinite chain
(1,1)→(2,1)→(5,2)→(13,5)→(34,13)→… (1, 1) \rightarrow (2, 1) \rightarrow (5, 2) \rightarrow (13, 5) \rightarrow (34, 13) \rightarrow \dots
The transfer to the next pair is by the rule (x,y)→(3x−y,x)(x, y) \rightarrow (3x - y, x).
It can easily be observed and then proved by induction that the kthk^{\text{th}} pair, if the pair (1,1)(1, 1) has number 0, consists of numbers (F2k+1,F2k−1)(F_{2k+1}, F_{2k-1}), where (Fi)i≥0(F_i)_{i \ge 0} is the Fibonacci sequence, F0=0F_0 = 0, F1=1F_1 = 1, and Fi+2=Fi+1+FiF_{i+2} = F_{i+1} + F_i, i=0,1,…i = 0, 1, \dots.
Finally, since nn is a multiple of abab and is a divisor of 3ab3ab, it follows that either
n=ab or n=3ab. n = ab \text{ or } n = 3ab.
Thus, the solutions are
n=1,3,n=F2k−1F2k+1,n=3F2k−1F2k+1,k=1,2,… n = 1, 3, \quad n = F_{2k-1}F_{2k+1}, \quad n = 3F_{2k-1}F_{2k+1}, \quad k = 1, 2, \dots

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