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Euler's Totient Function

Euler's totient function, denoted as φ(n), counts the positive integers up to n that are relatively prime to n. It is a multiplicative function introduced by Leonhard Euler in 1763, and it plays a significant role in number theory and cryptography, particularly in the RSA encryption system. The function can be computed using various formulas, including Euler's product formula, which involves the prime factorization of n.

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174 views3 pages

Euler's Totient Function

Euler's totient function, denoted as φ(n), counts the positive integers up to n that are relatively prime to n. It is a multiplicative function introduced by Leonhard Euler in 1763, and it plays a significant role in number theory and cryptography, particularly in the RSA encryption system. The function can be computed using various formulas, including Euler's product formula, which involves the prime factorization of n.

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Euler's totient function

In number theory, Euler's totient function counts the positive integers up to a given integer n that are
relatively prime to n. It is written using the Greek letter phi as or , and may also be called
Euler's phi function. In other words, it is the number of integers k in the range 1 ≤ k ≤ n for which the
greatest common divisor gcd(n, k) is equal to 1.[2][3] The integers k of this form are sometimes
referred to as totatives of n.

The first thousand values of φ(n). The


points on the top line represent φ(p)
when p is a prime number, which is
p − 1.[1]

For example, the totatives of n = 9 are the six numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8. They are all relatively prime
to 9, but the other three numbers in this range, 3, 6, and 9 are not, since gcd(9, 3) = gcd(9, 6) = 3 and
gcd(9, 9) = 9. Therefore, φ(9) = 6. As another example, φ(1) = 1 since for n = 1 the only integer in the
range from 1 to n is 1 itself, and gcd(1, 1) = 1.

Euler's totient function is a multiplicative function, meaning that if two numbers m and n are
relatively prime, then φ(mn) = φ(m)φ(n).[4][5] This function gives the order of the multiplicative group
of integers modulo n (the group of units of the ring ).[6] It is also used for defining the RSA
encryption system.

History, terminology, and notation

Leonhard Euler introduced the function in 1763.[7][8][9] However, he did not at that time choose any
specific symbol to denote it. In a 1784 publication, Euler studied the function further, choosing the
Greek letter π to denote it: he wrote πD for "the multitude of numbers less than D, and which have
no common divisor with it".[10] This definition varies from the current definition for the totient
function at D = 1 but is otherwise the same. The now-standard notation[8][11] φ(A) comes from
Gauss's 1801 treatise Disquisitiones Arithmeticae,[12][13] although Gauss did not use parentheses
around the argument and wrote φA. Thus, it is often called Euler's phi function or simply the phi
function.

In 1879, J. J. Sylvester coined the term totient for this function,[14][15] so it is also referred to as
Euler's totient function, the Euler totient, or Euler's totient.[16] Jordan's totient is a generalization of
Euler's.

The cototient of n is defined as n − φ(n). It counts the number of positive integers less than or equal
to n that have at least one prime factor in common with n.

Computing Euler's totient function

There are several formulae for computing φ(n).

Euler's product formula

It states

where the product is over the distinct prime numbers dividing n. (For notation, see Arithmetical
function.)

An equivalent formulation is

where is the prime factorization of (that is, are distinct prime


numbers).

The proof of these formulae depends on two important facts.

Phi is a multiplicative function

This means that if gcd(m, n) = 1, then φ(m) φ(n) = φ(mn). Proof outline: Let A, B, C be the sets of
positive integers which are coprime to and less than m, n, mn, respectively, so that |A| = φ(m), etc.
Then there is a bijection between A × B and C by the Chinese remainder theorem.

Value of phi for a prime power argument

If p is prime and k ≥ 1, then


Proof: Since p is a prime number, the only possible values of gcd(pk, m) are 1, p, p2, ..., pk, and the
only way to have gcd(pk, m) > 1 is if m is a multiple of p, that is, m ∈ {p, 2p, 3p, ..., p k−1
p = pk}, and
there are pk − 1 such multiples not greater than pk. Therefore, the other pk − pk − 1 numbers are all
relatively prime to pk.

Proof of Euler's product formula

The fundamental theorem of arithmetic states that if n > 1 there is a unique expression
where p1 < p2 < ... < pr are prime numbers and each ki ≥ 1. (The case n = 1
corresponds to the empty product.) Repeatedly using the multiplicative property of φ and the
formula for φ(pk) gives

This gives both versions of Euler's product formula.

An alternative proof that does not require the multiplicative property instead uses the inclusion-
exclusion principle applied to the set , excluding the sets of integers divisible by the
prime divisors.

Example

In words: the distinct prime factors of 20 are 2 and 5; half of the twenty integers from 1 to 20 are
divisible by 2, leaving ten; a fifth of those are divisible by 5, leaving eight numbers coprime to 20;
these are: 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 13, 17, 19.

The alternative formula uses only integers:

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