Theorem

When applying the Euclidean algorithm for the integers a and b �= 0, the
last non-zero remainder is the greatest common divisor of a and b.
Furthermore, if d := gcd(a, b), then the equation
ax + by = d

can be solved among integers. That is, there exist x, y ∈ Z solutions.

Example: gcd(1227, 216) =?, gcd(−1227, −216) =?

1227 = 216 · 5 + 147

216 = 147 · 1 + 69
147 = 69 · 2 + 9
69 = 9 · 7 + 6
9=6·1+ 3
6=3·2+0

gcd(1227, 216) = 3
Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 1 / 15
Definition
Equations of the form ax + by = c (where a, b, c ∈ Z are known, x, y ∈ Z
are unknown) are called linear Diophantine equations.

Theorem
The linear Diophantine equation ax + by = c is solvable if, and only if,
gcd(a, b)|c.

Theorem
If the Diophantine equation ax + by = c is solvable, then it has infinitely
many solutions, which can be written in the form
b a
x = x0 + t , y = y0 − t , t ∈ Z,
gcd(a, b) gcd(a, b)

where (x0 , y0 ) is a particular solution.

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 2 / 15

Examples
. Solve the following Diophantine equations.
1. 168x − 45y = 12, where x, y ∈ Z
2. 700x + 539y = 21, where x, y ∈ Z
3. 300x − 147y = 14, where x, y ∈ Z

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 3 / 15

Prime numbers
Every n > 1, n ∈ N has two positive divisors: 1 and n, these are called the
trivial divisors of n. All the other divisors are called non-trivial divisors.
Definition
Natural numbers which are greater than 1 and has only trivial divisors are
called prime numbers or primes. Natural numbers with also non-trivial
divisors are called composite numbers. 1 is a unit.

Theorem
An integer p > 1 is prime if, and only if, p|ab implies p|a or p|b.

Theorem – the fundamental theorem of arithmetic

(also called unique-prime-factorization theorem)
Every natural number greater than 1 is either a prime itself or is the
product of prime numbers. Furthermore, this product is unique up to the
order of the factors. The obtained unique product is called the canonical
representation or the standard form of n, which is n = p1α1 p2α2 . . . prαr ,
where p1 , p2 , . . . , pr are pairwise different primes, α1 , α2 , . . . , αr ∈ N.
Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 4 / 15
Number of divisors
Theorem
The number of positive divisors of a natural number n = p1α1 p2α2 . . . prαr is
d(n) = (α1 + 1)(α2 + 1) . . . (αr + 1).

Example: 1260 = 22 · 32 · 5 · 7 and 14850 = 2 · 33 · 52 · 11

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 5 / 15

gcd and lcm from the canonical representation

Example
Determine gcd(1260, 14850) and lcm(1260, 14850).

1260 = 22 · 32 · 5 · 7 and 14850 = 2 · 33 · 52 · 11

gcd: take the common prime factors to the smaller power

1260 = 22 · 32 · 51 · 7 and 14850 = 21 · 33 · 52 · 11
gcd(1260, 14850) = 2 · 32 · 5 = 90

lcm: take all the prime factors to the greater power

1260 = 22 · 32 · 5 · 71 and 14850 = 2 · 33 · 52 · 111
lcm(1260, 14850) = 22 · 33 · 52 · 7 · 11 = 207900

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 6 / 15

Theorem
There are infinitely many prime numbers.
Proof: Suppose that there are only finitely many prime numbers, let them
be p1 , p2 , . . . , pk . Consider the number b = p1 · p2 · · · · · pk + 1. Then
b �= 1 and b is a composite � number, thus for some index i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , k}
we have pi |b. But pi | pj as well, thus pi |1, which is a contradiction.

Remark
The integers a and b are coprime numbers if there are no common prime
factors in their canonical representation.

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 7 / 15

Congruence
Let a, b ∈ Z, m ∈ N.
Definition
We say that a and b are congruent modulo m if m|(a − b).
Notation: a ≡ b (mod m), m: is the modulus of the congruence.
Example: for m = 4 we have 3 ≡ 11 (mod 4)
The integers a, b ∈ Z are congruent modulo m if they provide the same
remainder when divided by m.
Theorem
The congruence modulo m is a so-called equivalence relation: reflexive,
symmetric, transitive.
Definition
Let us consider the class of integers which are congruent with each other
modulo m. The obtained classes are called the congruence classes or
residue classes modulo m. The residue classes are represented by the
integers 0, 1, . . . , m − 1. Thus, there are m residue classes modulo m.
Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 8 / 15
The properties of congruence
Proposition – the properties of congruence
Let m ∈ N (m ≥ 2) and a, b, c, d ∈ Z.
1 If a ≡ b and c ≡ d (mod m), then
a ± c ≡ b ± d (mod m) and a · c ≡ b · d (mod m).
2 If a · c ≡ b · c (mod m) and gcd(c, m) = 1, then a ≡ b.
Example: 15 ≡ 63 (mod 8)

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 9 / 15

Definition
Any set of m integers, no two of which are congruent modulo m, is called
a complete residue system modulo m. The set of integers
{0, 1, 2, . . . , m − 1} is called the least residue system modulo m.
Example: for m = 5 the set {5, 6, 12, 28, 9} is a complete residue system,
while {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} is the least residue system.
Proposition
If a ≡ b (mod m), then gcd(a, m) = gcd(b, m).

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 10 / 15

Reduced residue system
Definition
A residue class is a member of the reduced residue system if its members
are coprime to the modulus. Notation: the number of elements of a
reduced residue system modulo m is denoted by ϕ(m). That is
ϕ(m) = #{a ∈ {1, . . . , m} | gcd(a, m) = 1}.
The name of the function ϕ: Euler’s ϕ function or Euler’s totient function.
By definition, ϕ(1) = 1.
m complete reduced ϕ(m)
m=2 0,1 1 ϕ(2) = 1
m=3 0,1,2 1,2 ϕ(3) = 2
m=4 0,1,2,3 1,3 ϕ(4) = 2
m=5 0,1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 ϕ(5) = 4
m=6 0,1,2,3,4,5 1,5 ϕ(6) = 2
m=7 0,1,2,3,4,5,6 1,2,3,4,5,6 ϕ(7) = 6
Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 11 / 15
Euler’s ϕ function
Proposition
If p is a prime, then ϕ(p) = p − 1.

Theorem
The value of Euler’s ϕ function can be calculated by the formula
�r � �
1
ϕ(m) = m · 1− ,
pi
i=1

where m has canonical representation m = p1α1 p2α2 . . . prαr .

Example: m = 24, ϕ(24) =?

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 12 / 15

Theroem – Euler’s theorem
If gcd(a, m) = 1, then aϕ(m) ≡ 1 (mod m).

Corollary – Fermat’s little theorem

If p is a prime and p� | a, then ap−1 ≡ 1 (mod p).

Example: what is the remainder when dividing 22019 by 15?

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 13 / 15

Congruence equations

Theorem
The (linear) congruence equation ax ≡ b (mod m) is solvable among
integers if, and only if, gcd(a, m)|b.
Proof: we can derive a Diophantine equation from the congruence
equation:

ax ≡ b (mod m) ⇔ m|(ax − b) ⇔
⇔ ∃y ∈ Z : my = ax − b ⇔ ax − my = b

Remark: if c ∈ Z is a solution, then so is c + km.

Example: 12x ≡ 8 (mod 16)

gcd(12, 16)|8 =⇒ the equation is solvable

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 14 / 15

Example
Solve the linear congruence equation 12x ≡ 8 (mod 16).

gcd(12, 16) = 4|8 =⇒ the equation is solvable

Solution 1:
Solve the linear Diophantine equation 12x − 16y = 8 (i.e. 3x − 4y = 2)

Solution 2:
12 8 16
Consider the equation gcd(12,16) x ≡ gcd(12,16) (mod gcd(12,16) )
Then

3x ≡ 2 (mod 4)
3x ≡ 2 + 4 = 6 (mod 4)
x ≡2 (mod 4) (because gcd(3, 4) = 1)

The solutions:
x = . . . , −10, −6, −2, 2, 6, 10, . . .

Bernadett Aradi, Ágnes Baran Discrete mathematics 2021 Fall 15 / 15