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USA Team Selection Test

Number theory Difficulty 8.1 Shortlist Find the answer

Find all ordered triples of primes (p,q,r)(p, q, r) such that p∣qr+1,q∣rp+1,r∣pq+1. p \mid q^r + 1, \quad q \mid r^p + 1, \quad r \mid p^q + 1. Reid Barton

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

We are tasked with finding all ordered triples of primes (p,q,r)(p, q, r) such that
p∣qr+1,q∣rp+1,r∣pq+1. p \mid q^r + 1, \quad q \mid r^p + 1, \quad r \mid p^q + 1.

Assume p=min⁡(p,q,r) p = \min(p, q, r) and p≠2 p \neq 2 . Note the following conditions:
ordp(q)∣2r  ⟹  ordp(q)=2 or 2r,ordq(r)∣2p  ⟹  ordq(r)=2 or 2p,ordr(p)∣2q  ⟹  ordr(p)=2 or 2q. \begin{align*} \text{ord}_p(q) &\mid 2r \implies \text{ord}_p(q) = 2 \text{ or } 2r, \\ \text{ord}_q(r) &\mid 2p \implies \text{ord}_q(r) = 2 \text{ or } 2p, \\ \text{ord}_r(p) &\mid 2q \implies \text{ord}_r(p) = 2 \text{ or } 2q. \end{align*}

Given that ordp(q)∣ϕ(p)=p−1\text{ord}_p(q) \mid \phi(p) = p-1 and ordp(q)<r<2r\text{ord}_p(q) < r < 2r, we deduce ordp(q)=2\text{ord}_p(q) = 2, implying p∣q+1 p \mid q + 1 .

Similarly, ordq(r)∣gcd⁡(ϕ(q)=q−1,2p)=2\text{ord}_q(r) \mid \gcd(\phi(q) = q-1, 2p) = 2, so ordq(r)=2\text{ord}_q(r) = 2, implying q∣r+1 q \mid r + 1 .

Repeating this process, we get r∣p+1 r \mid p + 1 . This results in a contradiction unless p=2 p = 2 .

Now, with p=2 p = 2 , we have:
q∣r2+1andr∣2q+1. q \mid r^2 + 1 \quad \text{and} \quad r \mid 2^q + 1.

Assume ordr(2)=2q\text{ord}_r(2) = 2q, which implies 2q∣r−1 2q \mid r - 1 . Thus, r=2qk+1 r = 2qk + 1 . Plugging this into q∣r2+1 q \mid r^2 + 1 , we find q∣2 q \mid 2 , leading to a contradiction. Therefore, ordr(2)=2\text{ord}_r(2) = 2, implying r=3 r = 3 .

Thus, q=5 q = 5 or q=3 q = 3 . Since all primes must be distinct, we conclude q=5 q = 5 .

Therefore, the ordered triples of primes (p,q,r)(p, q, r) satisfying the given conditions are:
(p,q,r)=(2,3,5),(2,5,3),(3,2,5),(3,5,2),(5,2,3),(5,3,2). (p, q, r) = (2, 3, 5), (2, 5, 3), (3, 2, 5), (3, 5, 2), (5, 2, 3), (5, 3, 2).

The answer is: (2,\boxed{(2,} 3, 5), (2, 5, 3), (3, 2, 5), (3, 5, 2), (5, 2, 3), (5, 3, 2)}.

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