For a positive integer that is not a power of two, we define as the greatest odd divisor of and as the smallest positive odd divisor of that is not equal to 1. Determine all positive integers that are not powers of two and for which
Solution
When is odd, so is greater than , contradiction. If is divisible by 2 but not by 4, then and is again greater than , contradiction again. We can conclude that must be divisible by 4 at least. If is divisible by 16, then . Furthermore, , so , contradiction. Therefore, is not divisible by 16. We can thus write or with odd.
Suppose with odd. Then , so , hence . Since is equal to the smallest odd prime divisor of , which is also the smallest prime divisor of , must be of the form with an odd prime number. Thus, or , which gives or . Both solutions are valid.
Suppose with odd. Again, , so , hence , or . We see that is prime. Thus, with an odd prime number. This family of solutions is also valid.
We find the solutions to be and with an odd prime number.