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number theory senior
Problem
For , let , where there are zeros between the and the . Let be the number of factors of in the prime factorization of . What is the maximum value of ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
The number can be written as . For we have . The first value in the parentheses is odd, the second one is even, hence their sum is odd and we have . For we have . For the value in the parentheses is odd, hence . This leaves the case . We have . The value is obviously even. And as , we have , and therefore . Hence the largest power of that divides is , and this gives us the desired maximum of the function : .
Final answer
B