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United States number theory
Problem
For every positive integer , let denote the sum of the positive integer divisors of . Find all integers satisfying
Solution
The answer is that and should be powers of the same prime number. These all work because for a prime power we have So we now prove these are the only ones. Let be the common value of the three fractions.
Claim — Any solution should satisfy .
Proof. The divisors of include the divisors of , plus times the divisors of (counting only once). Let be the common value; then this gives and so equality holds. Thus these are all the divisors of , for a count of .
Claim — If and , then and are powers of the same prime.
Proof. Let denote the set of divisors of and denote the set of divisors of . Then and , so and are geometric progressions with the same ratio. It follows that and are powers of the same prime.
Claim — Any solution should satisfy .
Proof. The divisors of include the divisors of , plus times the divisors of (counting only once). Let be the common value; then this gives and so equality holds. Thus these are all the divisors of , for a count of .
Claim — If and , then and are powers of the same prime.
Proof. Let denote the set of divisors of and denote the set of divisors of . Then and , so and are geometric progressions with the same ratio. It follows that and are powers of the same prime.
Final answer
m = p^a and n = p^b for some prime p and integers a ≥ b ≥ 1
Techniques
σ (sum of divisors)τ (number of divisors)Prime numbers