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Algebra Difficulty 8.4 Shortlist Find the answer

Find all surjective functions f:N→N f: \mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N} such that for every m,n∈N m,n \in \mathbb{N} and every prime p, p, the number f(m+n) f(m + n) is divisible by p p if and only if f(m)+f(n) f(m) + f(n) is divisible by p p.

Author: Mohsen Jamaali and Nima Ahmadi Pour Anari, Iran

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 surjective functions f:N→N f: \mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N} that satisfy the condition: for every m,n∈N m, n \in \mathbb{N} and every prime p p , the number f(m+n) f(m+n) is divisible by p p if and only if f(m)+f(n) f(m) + f(n) is divisible by p p .

To solve this, we consider the given condition:

p∣f(m+n)  ⟺  p∣(f(m)+f(n)). p \mid f(m+n) \iff p \mid (f(m) + f(n)).

Let's explore the implications of this condition:

1. Injectivity:
Assume for contradiction that f(a)=f(b) f(a) = f(b) for a≠b a \neq b . Then, consider m=a m = a and n=0 n = 0 :
f(a+0)≡f(b+0)≡f(a)+f(0)=f(b)+f(0). f(a+0) \equiv f(b+0) \equiv f(a) + f(0) = f(b) + f(0).
Since f f is assumed to be surjective, it must be injective as well because if f(a)=f(b) f(a) = f(b) , any number c c in the codomain cannot have two different pre-images, which would violate surjectivity.

2. Additivity and Linear Form:
For simplicity, consider m=n=1 m = n = 1 :
f(2)≡2f(1). f(2) \equiv 2f(1).
Now generalize this idea. Suppose by induction that f(k)=k⋅f(1) f(k) = k \cdot f(1) holds for some k k . Then, for m=k m = k and n=1 n = 1 :
f(k+1)≡f(k)+f(1)=kf(1)+f(1)=(k+1)f(1), f(k+1) \equiv f(k) + f(1) = kf(1) + f(1) = (k+1)f(1),
thereby maintaining the linearity f(n)=nf(1) f(n) = nf(1) .

3. Scaling:
Consider a=1 a = 1 , then f(1+1)=2f(1) f(1+1)=2f(1) should hold. Scaling continues to suggest that f(n)=nf(1) f(n) = nf(1) and let's assume f(1)=1 f(1) = 1 for surjectivity f(n)=n f(n) = n .

4. Testing the Condition:
Given f(n)=n f(n) = n , check the condition in both directions:

- If n+m=kp n+m = kp , then f(n+m)=n+m≡0(modp) f(n+m) = n + m \equiv 0 \pmod{p} .
- If f(n)+f(m)=n+m=kp f(n) + f(m) = n + m = kp , similarly f(n+m)=kp≡0(modp) f(n+m) = kp \equiv 0 \pmod{p} .

The only function which satisfies all constraints and maintain surjectivity is f(n)=n f(n) = n .

Thus, the function that satisfies the given condition is:
f(n)=n. \boxed{f(n) = n}.

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