Number theory

Pham Nguyen Khang

Contents
• Divisibility and Modular Arithmetic
• Primes and Greatest Common Divisors
• Solving Congruences
• Applications of Congruences
Divisibility
• Definition (Divisibility - Chia hết)
• If a and b are integers, a != 0, we say that a divides b if
there is an integer c such that b = ac, or equivalently, if
b/a is an integer.
• When a divides b we say that a is a factor (thừa số) or
divisor (số chia, ước số) of b, and b is a multiple (bội số)
of a.
• a | b denotes that a divides b (a chia hết b hoặc b chia
hết cho a).
• a ∤ b when a does not divide b.
Divisibility
• Theorem 1

• Corollary 1
• If a, b, and c are integers, where a != 0, such that a | b
and a | c, then a | mb + nc whenever m and n are
integers.
Divisibility
• Theorem 2 (division algorithm)
• Let a be an integer and d a positive integer. Then there
are unique integers q and r, with 0 ≤ r < |d|, such that
a = dq + r
• a: dividend (số bị chia)
• d: divisor (số chia)
• r: remainder (số dư)
• q = a div d, r = a mod d.
• Example
• What are the quotient and remainder when −11 is
divided by 3?
Modular Arithmetic
• Definition 2 (Congruence - Đồng dư)
• If a and b are integers and m is a positive integer, then a is
congruent to b modulo m if m divides a − b.

• We use the notation a ≡ b (mod m) to indicate that a is

congruent to b modulo m. We say that a ≡ b (mod m) is a
congruence and that m is its modulus (plural moduli).
• If a and b are not congruent modulo m, we write a ≢ b (mod
m).
• Note:
• Although both notations a ≡ b (mod m) and a mod m = b
include “mod,” they represent fundamentally different
concepts.
• When we use “a mod m”, think about % operator in C
language.
Modular Arithmetic
• Theorem 3
• Let a and b be integers, and let m be a positive integer.
Then
a ≡ b (mod m)

if and only if

a mod m = b mod m.
Modular Arithmetic
• Theorem 4
• Let m be a positive integer.

a ≡ b (mod m)

if and only if

there is an integer k such that a = b + km

Modular Arithmetic
• Theorem 5
• Let m be a positive integer.
• If a ≡ b (mod m) and c ≡ d (mod m), then:
a + c ≡ b + d (mod m) and
ac ≡ bd (mod m).
• Corollary 2
• Let m be a positive integer and let a and b be integers.
Then
(a + b) mod m = ((a mod m) + (b mod m)) mod m
ab mod m = ((a mod m)(b mod m)) mod m.
Modular Arithmetic
• Exercises
1. Find the integer a such that
a) a ≡ 43 (mod23) and −22 ≤ a ≤0.
b) a ≡ 17 (mod29) and −14 ≤ a ≤14.
c) a ≡ −11 (mod21) and 90 ≤ a ≤ 110.
2. Show that if n | m, where n and m are integers greater
than 1, and if a ≡ b (mod m), where a and b are
integers, then a ≡ b (mod n).
3. Show that if a, b, c, and m are integers such that m ≥ 2,
c > 0, and a ≡ b (mod m), then ac ≡ bc (mod mc).
Primes
• Definition 1
• An integer p greater than 1 is called prime (số nguyên
tố) if the only positive factors of p are 1 and p. A positive
integer that is greater than 1 and is not prime is called
composite (hợp số).

• Remark: The integer n is composite if and only if there

exists an integer a such that a | n and 1 < a < n.
• Examples:
• 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, … are primes
• 4, 6, 12, 15, … are composites.
Primes
• Theorem 1 (THE FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF
ARITHMETIC)
• Every integer greater than 1 can be written uniquely as a
prime or as the product of two or more primes where
the prime factors are written in order of nondecreasing
size.
• Examples:
• 100 = 2.2.5.5 = 22.52,
• 641 = 641,
• 999 = 3.3.3.37 = 33.37,
• 1024 = 2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2 = 210
Primes
• Theorem 2 (trial division – chia liên tiếp)
• If n is a composite integer, then n has a prime divisor less
than or equal to !.

• It follows that an integer is prime if it is not divisible by

any prime less than or equal to its square root.

• This leads to the brute-force algorithm known as trial

division. To use trial division we divide n by all primes
not exceeding ! and conclude that n is prime if it is
not divisible by any of these primes.
Primes
• Example
• Show that 101 is prime.
• Solution
Primes
• Example
• Show that 101 is prime.
• Solution
• The only primes not exceeding 101 are 2, 3, 5, and 7.
• Because 101 is not divisible by 2, 3, 5, or 7,
• it follows that 101 is prime.
Primes
• Example
• Find the prime factorization of 7007.
• Solution
Primes
• Example
• Find the prime factorization of 7007.
• Solution
• To find the prime factorization of 7007,
• first perform divisions of 7007 by successive primes,
beginning with 2. None of the primes 2, 3, and 5 divides
7007.
• However, 7 divides 7007, with 7007/7 = 1001.
• Next, divide 1001 by successive primes, beginning with
7.
• It is immediately seen that 7 also divides 1001, because
1001/7 = 143.
Primes
• Example
• Find the prime factorization of 7007.
• Solution
• Continue by dividing 143 by successive primes,
beginning with 7.
• Although 7 does not divide 143, 11 does divide 143, and
143/11 = 13.
• Because 13 is prime, the procedure is completed.
• It follows that 7007 = 7·1001 = 7·7·143 = 7·7·11·13.
Consequently, the prime factorization of 7007 is
7.7.11.13 = 72.11.13.
Primes
• The Sieve of Eratosthenes
• is used to find all primes not exceeding a specified
positive integer n.
• Example
• Find the primes not exceeding 100.
• Solution
Primes
• The Sieve of Eratosthenes
• is used to find all primes not exceeding a specified positive
integer n.
• Example
• Find the primes not exceeding 100.
• Solution
• 2 is a prime
• Delete numbers that are divisible by 2, greater than 2 (4, 6, 8,
10, …)
• Because 3 is the first integer greater than 2 that is left
• All those integers divisible by 3, greater than 3, are deleted (6,
9, 12, 15, 18, …)
Primes
• The Sieve of Eratosthenes
• is used to find all primes not exceeding a specified posi3ve
integer n.
• Example
• Find the primes not exceeding 100.
• Solu3on
• Because 5 is the next integer le> a>er 3, those integers
divisible by 5, other than 5, are deleted.
• The next integer le> is 7, so those integers divisible by 7,
other than 7, are deleted.
• Because all composite integers not exceeding 100 are
divisible by 2, 3, 5, or 7, all remaining integers except 1 are
prime.
Primes
Primes
Primes
Primes
Primes
• Sieve of Eratosthenes Algorithm
int p[1001];
void Eratosthenes(int n) {
for (int i = 2; i <= n; i++)
p[i] = 1;

for (int i = 2; i*i <= n; i++)

if (p[i])
for (int j = i*i; j <= n; j += i)
p[j] = 0;
}
Primes
• Theorem 3
• There are infinitely many primes.

• Theorem 4 (THE PRIME NUMBER THEOREM)

• The ratio of the number of primes not exceeding x and
x/ ln (x) approaches 1 as x grows without bound. (Here
ln x is the natural logarithm of x.)
Greatest Common Divisors and
Least Common Multiples
• Defini&on 1 (Greatest Common Divisor)
• Let a and b be integers, not both zero.
• The largest integer d such that d | a and d | b is called
the greatest common divisor of a and b. The greatest
common divisor of a and b is denoted by gcd(a, b).
• Example
• What is the greatest common divisor of 24 and 36?
• Solu%on: The posiBve common divisors of 24 and 36 are
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12. Hence, gcd(24, 36) = 12.
Greatest Common Divisors and
Least Common Multiples
• Example
• What is the greatest common divisor of 17 and 22?
• Solution: The integers 17 and 22 have no positive
common divisors other than 1, so that gcd(17, 22) = 1.
• Because it is often important to specify that two integers
have no common positive divisor other than 1.
Greatest Common Divisors and
Least Common Multiples
• Definition 2
• The integers a and b are relatively prime (nguyên tố
cùng nhau) if their greatest common divisor is 1.
• Example
• 17 and 22 are relatively prime, because gcd(17, 22) = 1.
• Definition 3
• The integers a1, a2, ..., an are pairwise relatively prime
(nguyên tố cùng nhau theo từng cặp/đôi một nguyên tố
cùng nhau) if gcd(ai,aj) = 1 whenever 1 ≤ i < j ≤ n.
Greatest Common Divisors and
Least Common Mul4ples
• Find gcd(120, 500)

• Prime factorizations of 120 and 500 are

• 120 = 23 · 3 · 5
• 500 = 22 · 53
• The greatest common divisor is
• gcd(120, 500) = 2min(3, 2)3min(1, 0)5min(1, 3) = 223051 = 20.
Greatest Common Divisors and
Least Common Multiples
• Defini&on 4 (Least Common Mul&ple)
• The least common mul&ple of the posi+ve integers a
and b is the smallest posi+ve integer that is divisible by
both a and b. The least common mul+ple of a and b is
denoted by lcm(a, b).
• Example
• What is the least common mul+ple of 233572 and 2433 ?
• Solu%on: We have
lcm(233572, 2433 ) =
2max(3, 4)3max(5, 3)7max(2, 0) = 243572.
The Euclidean Algorithm
• Lemma 1
• Let a = bq + r, where a, b, q, and r are integers. Then
gcd(a, b) = gcd(b, r).

• Euclidean algorithm
• Suppose that a and b are positive integers with a ≥ b. Let
r0 = a and r1 = b. When we successively apply the
division algorithm, we obtain:
The Euclidean Algorithm
• Euclidean algorithm
• Suppose that a and b are positive integers with a ≥ b. Let
r0 = a and r1 = b. When we successively apply the
division algorithm, we obtain:
The Euclidean Algorithm
• Example
• Find the greatest common divisor of 414 and 662 using
the Euclidean algorithm.
• Solution
The Euclidean Algorithm
• Example
• Find the greatest common divisor of 414 and 662 using
the Euclidean algorithm.
• Solu+on:
• Successive uses of the division algorithm give:
• 662 = 414·1 + 248
• 414 = 248·1 + 166
• 248 = 166·1 + 82
• 166 = 82 · 2 + 2
• 82 = 2 · 41
• Hence, gcd(414, 662) = 2.
The Euclidean Algorithm
• Euclidean Algorithm
int gcd(int a, int b) {
int r;
while (b != 0) {
r = a % b;
a = b;
b = r;
} int gcd(int a, int b) {
return a; return b == 0 ?
} a : gcd(b, a%b);
}
gcds as Linear Combina0ons
• Bézout’s Theorem
• If a and b are posi.ve integers, then there exist integers
s and t such that gcd(a, b) = sa + tb.
• Defini2on
• If a and b are posi.ve integers, then integers s and t
such that gcd(a, b) = sa + tb are called Bézout
coefficients of a and b.
• The equa.on gcd(a, b) = sa + tb is called Bézout’s
iden.ty.
gcds as Linear Combinations
• Example
• Express gcd(252, 198) = 18 as a linear combina;on of
252 and 198.
• Solu;on
• To show that gcd(252, 198) = 18, the Euclidean
algorithm uses these divisions:
• 252 = 1 · 198 + 54
• 198 = 3 · 54 + 36
• 54 = 1 · 36 + 18
• 36 = 2 · 18.
gcds as Linear Combinations
• Solution
• To show that gcd(252, 198) = 18, the Euclidean
algorithm uses these divisions:
• 252 = 1 · 198 + 54
• 198 = 3 · 54 + 36
• 54 = 1 · 36 + 18
• 36 = 2 · 18
• 18 = 54 - 1.36
= 54 – (198 – 3.54)
= 4.54 – 198
= 4(252 – 1.198) – 198
= 4.252 – 5.198
gcds as Linear Combinations
• Extended Euclidean Algorithm (finding s & t)
• gcd(a, b) = s.a + t.b
• r0 = a r1 = b
• s0 = 1 s1 = 0
• t0 = 0 t1 = 1

• r2 = r0 - r1*q1 s2 = s0 - s1*q1 t2 = t0 - t1*q1

• r3 = r1 - r2*q2 s3 = s1 - s2*q2 t3 = t1 - t2*q2
• …
• rn = rn-2 - rn-1*qn-1 sn = sn-2 - sn-1*qn-1 tn = tn-2 - tn-1*qn-1
Extended Euclidean Algorithm
i q r0 s0 t0 r1 s1 t1 r2 s2 t2
252 1 0 198 0 1

q = r0/r1
r2 = r0 - r1*q
s2 = s0 - s1*q
t2 = t0 - t1*q
Extended Euclidean Algorithm
i q r0 s0 t0 r1 s1 t1 r2 s2 t2
252 1 0 198 0 1
1 1 54 1 -1
1
2

q = r0/r1 r0 = r1; r1 = r2;

r2 = r0 - r1*q s0 = t1; s1 = s2;
s2 = s0 - s1*q t0 = t1; r1 = t2;
t2 = t0 - t1*q
Extended Euclidean Algorithm
i q r0 s0 t0 r1 s1 t1 r2 s2 t2
252 1 0 198 0 1
1 1 198 0 1 54 1 -1 54 1 -1

q = r0/r1 r0 = r1; r1 = r2;

r2 = r0 - r1*q s0 = t1; s1 = s2;
s2 = s0 - s1*q t0 = t1; r1 = t2;
t2 = t0 - t1*q
Extended Euclidean Algorithm
i q r0 s0 t0 r1 s1 t1 r2 s2 t2
252 1 0 198 0 1
1 1 198 0 1 54 1 -1 54 1 -1
2 3 54 1 -1 36 -3 4 36 -3 4

q = r0/r1 r0 = r1; r1 = r2;

r2 = r0 - r1*q s0 = t1; s1 = s2;
s2 = s0 - s1*q t0 = t1; r1 = t2;
t2 = t0 - t1*q
Extended Euclidean Algorithm
i q r0 s0 t0 r1 s1 t1 r2 s2 t2
252 1 0 198 0 1
1 1 198 0 1 54 1 -1 54 1 -1
2 3 54 1 -1 36 -3 4 36 -3 4
3 1 36 -3 4 18 4 -5 18 4 -5

q = r0/r1 r0 = r1; r1 = r2;

r2 = r0 - r1*q s0 = t1; s1 = s2;
s2 = s0 - s1*q t0 = t1; r1 = t2;
t2 = t0 - t1*q
 Extended Euclidean Algorithm
i q r0 s0 t0 r1 s1 t1 r2 s2 t2
252 1 0 198 0 1
1 1 198 0 1 54 1 -1 54 1 -1
2 3 54 1 -1 36 -3 4 36 -3 4
3 1 36 -3 4 18 4 -5 18 4 -5
4 2 18 4 -5 0 -11 14 0 -11 14

18 = 4 x 252 + (-5) x 198

q = r0/r1 r0 = r1; r1 = r2;
r2 = r0 - r1*q s0 = t1; s1 = s2;
s2 = s0 - s1*q t0 = t1; r1 = t2;
t2 = t0 - t1*q
int extended_gcd(int a, int b, int& s, int& t) {
int r0 = a, r1 = b, s0 = 1, t0 = 0, s1 = 0, t1 = 1;
int r2, s2, t2, q;
while (r1 != 0) {
q = r0/r1;
r2 = r0 - r1*q; s2 = s0 - s1*q; t2 = t0 - t1*q;
r0 = r1; r1 = r2;
s0 = s1; s1 = s2;
t0 = t1; t1 = t2;
}
s = s0; t = t0;
return r0;
}
gcds as Linear Combinations
• Lemmas:
• If a, b, and c are positive integers such that gcd(a,b) = 1
and a | bc, then a | c.

• If p is a prime and p|a1a2···an, where each ai is an integer,

then p|ai for some i.

• Let m be a positive integer and let a, b, and c be

integers. If ac ≡ bc (mod m) and gcd(c,m) = 1, then a ≡ b
(mod m).
Linear Congruences
• A congruence of the form
ax ≡ b (mod m),
where m is a positive integer, a and b are integers,
and x is a variable, is called a linear congruence.

• Definition 1
• If a and m are relatively prime integers and m > 1, then
an inverse of a modulo m exists. Furthermore, this
inverse is unique modulo m.
a.a-1 ≡ 1 (mod m)
Linear Congruences
• Example
• Find an inverse of 3 modulo 7 by first finding Bézout
coefficients of 3 and 7.
• SoluAon
Linear Congruences
• Example
• Find an inverse of 3 modulo 7 by first finding Bézout
coefficients of 3 and 7.
• SoluAon
• Because gcd(3, 7) = 1, an inverse of 3 modulo 7 exists.
• The Euclidean algorithm ends quickly when used to find
the greatest common divisor of 3 and 7:
7 = 2 · 3 + 1.
• From this equaAon we see that
−2 · 3 + 1 · 7 = 1.
• Inverse of 3 modulo 7 is -2 or 5, -9, 12, …
Linear Congruences
• Example
• Find an inverse of 101 modulo 4620.
• Solution
• Try it yourself.
Linear Congruences
• Algorithm for finding inverse of a modulo m
• Find a-1 such that
a-1.a ≡ 1 (mod m)
• Algorithm:
• Find s, t such that: sa + tm = gcd(a, m) = 1 (using
extended gcd)
• a-1 = s
int inverse(int a, int m) {
int s, t;
if (extended_gcd(a, m, s, t) == 1)
return s;
return 0; //error
}
Linear Congruences
• Solution for congruence equation:
ax ≡ b (mod m)
x ≡ a-1b (mod m)
• Ex:
7x ≡ 5 (mod 10)
x ≡ 7-1.5 (mod 10)
x ≡ 3.5 (mod 10) (since 7-1 ≡ 3.5 (mod 10))
x ≡ 15 (mod 10)
x ≡ 5 (mod 10)
Exercise
• Lan buys 15 candy boxes. She opens all boxes and
distributes candies into 8 disks such that all disks
contain a same number of candies. After
distributing candies into disks, Lan find that there
are 3 candies left.
• How many candy does each box contain ?
The Chinese Remainder Theorem
• In the first century, the Chinese mathematician
Sun-Tsu asked:
• There are certain things whose number is unknown.
When divided by 3, the remainder is 2; when divided by
5, the remainder is 3; and when divided by 7, the
remainder is 2. What will be the number of things?
The Chinese Remainder Theorem
• Tính S = 2*70 + 3*21 + 2*15
• x ≡ S (mod 105)

• x ≡ 2*70 + 3*21 + 2*15

• = 233 (mod 105)
• x ≡ 23 (mod 105)
The Chinese Remainder Theorem
The Chinese Remainder Theorem
• Compute:
• m = m1.m2…mn
• Mk = m/mk (for k = 1..n)
• Solve:
• Mkyk ≡ 1 (mod mk) (for k = 1..n)
• yk ≡ Mk-1 (mod mk)
• Solu>on:
• x ≡ a1M1y1 + a2M2y2 + … + anMnyn (mod m)
The Chinese Remainder Theorem
• Compute:
• M = 3.5.7 = 105
• M1 = 5.7 = 35 M2 = 3.7 = 21
• M3 = 3.5 = 15
• Solve:
• 35y1 ≡ 1 (mod 3)è y1 ≡ 2 (mod 3)
• 21y2 ≡ 1 (mod 5)è y2 ≡ 1 (mod 5)
• 15y3 ≡ 1 (mod 7)è y3 ≡ 1 (mod 7)
• Solution:
• x ≡ 2 · 35 · 2 + 3 · 21 · 1 + 2 · 15 · 1 (mod 105)
• x ≡ 233 ≡ 23 (mod 105)
Back substitution
• Example:
• Use the method of back substitution to find all integers x
such that x ≡ 1 (mod 5), x ≡ 2 (mod 6), and x ≡ 3 (mod 7).
• Solution:
Back substitution
• Example:
• Use the method of back subs5tu5on to find all integers x such
that x ≡ 1 (mod 5), x ≡ 2 (mod 6), and x ≡ 3 (mod 7).
• Solu5on:
• Rewrite x ≡ 1 (mod 5) as x = 5t + 1
• Subs5tu5ng this expression to the second congruence gives:
5t + 1 ≡ 2 (mod 6)
• Rewrite 5t + 1 ≡ 2 (mod 6) as 5t ≡ 1 (mod 6)
• Solving it gives t ≡ 5 (mod 6)
• Rewrite t = 6u + 5
• Subs5tu5ng back to x: x = 5(6u+5) + 1 = 30u + 26.
• 30u + 6 ≡ 3 (mod 7) => u ≡ 6 (mod 7) => u = 7v + 6
• Subs5tu5ng back to x: x = 30(7v + 6) + 26 = 210v + 206
• x ≡ 206 (mod 210).
Fermat’s little theorem
• If p is prime and a is an integer not divisible by p,
then
ap−1 ≡ 1 (mod p).
• Furthermore, for every integer a we have
ap ≡ a (mod p).
Fermat’s little theorem
• Example: find 7222 % 11.
• Solution:
• 710 ≡ 1 (mod 11) (By Fermat’s little theorem)
• (710)22 ≡ 1 (mod 11)
• 7220 ≡ 1 (mod 11)
• 7220.72 ≡ 1.72 (mod 11)
• 7222 ≡ 72 (mod 11)
• 7222 ≡ 49 (mod 11)
• 7222 ≡ 5 (mod 11)
• So, 7222 % 11 = 5
Euler theorem
• Euler function:
• The value of the Euler φ-function at the positive integer
n is defined to be the number of positive integers less
than or equal to n that are relatively prime to n.
• Example:
• φ(6) = 2 (1,2,3,4,5, 6)
• φ(10) = 4 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

• If gcd(a, m) = 1, then
aφ(m) ≡ 1 (mod m).
Euler theorem
• Euler func*on:
• The value of the Euler φ-func+on at the posi*ve integer
n is defined to be the number of posi*ve integers less
than or equal to n that are rela*vely prime to n.
• Example:
• φ(6) = 2 (1,2,3,4,5, 6)
• φ(10) = 4 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

• If m = p1k1.p2k2…pnkn (pi’s are primes)

φ(m)= m(1-1/p1)(1 – 1/p2)…(1 – 1/pn)
Euler theorem
• If gcd(a, m) = 1, then
aφ(m) ≡ 1 (mod m).
• Example:
• Find the last digit of 32019.
• SoluDon:
Euler theorem
• If gcd(a, m) = 1, then
aφ(m) ≡ 1 (mod m).
• Example:
• Find the last digit of 32019.
• Solution:
• Find 32019 % 10.
• 34 ≡ 1 (mod 10) (By Euler’s theorem, φ(10) = 4)
• (34)504 ≡ 1 (mod 10)
• 34 x 504 ≡ 1 (mod 10)
• 34 x 504.33≡ 33 (mod 10)
• 32019 ≡ 27 (mod 10)
• 32019 ≡ 7 (mod 10)
• So, the last digit of of 32019 is 7.