Number Theory

The Divisibility Relation

Given integers m and n, we say “m divides n” and write m | n provided n ÷ m
is an integer. Thus the following assertions mean the same thing:
1. m | n
2. n = mk for some integer k
3. m is a factor (or divisor) of n
4. n is a multiple of m

Notice that m | n is a statement. It is either true or false. On the other hand,

n ÷ m or n/m is some number. If we want to claim that n/m is not an integer,
so m does not divide n, then we can write m ∤ n.
Example
Decide whether each of the statements below are true or false
• 4 | 20
True. 4 “goes into” 20 five times without remainder. In other words, 20 ÷ 4 =5, an
integer. We could also justify this by saying that 20 is a multiple of 4:
20 = 4 · 5.
• 20 | 4
False. While 20 is a multiple of 4, it is false that 4 is a multiple of 20
•0|5
False. 5 ÷ 0 is not even defined, let alone an integer
•5|0
True. In fact, x | 0 is true for all x. This is because 0 is a multiple of every number: 0
= x · 0.
The Division Algorithm
Given any two integers a and b, we can always find an integer q such
that
a = qb + r
where r is an integer satisfying 0 ≤ r < |b|

For example, 1642 | 136299. 136299/1642=83.0079

Start finding multiples of 1642:
1642 · 83 = 136286.
136299 −136286 = 13.
136299 = 83 · 1642 + 13.
Since 13 < 1642, we can now safely say that 1642 ∤ 136299
Congruence Modulo n
We say a is congruent to b modulo n, and write,
a ≡ b (mod n)
provided a and b have the same remainder when divided by n. In other words,
provided a and b belong to the same remainder class modulo n.
Example
Describe the remainder classes modulo 5.
First consider r = 0, {. . . , −15, −10, −5, 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, …}.
Next consider r = 1, {. . . , −14, −9, −4, 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, . . .}.
There are three more to go. The remainder classes for 2, 3, and 4 are, respectively
{. . . , −13, −8, −3, 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, . . .}
{. . . , −12, −7, −2, 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, . . .}
{. . . , −11, −6, −1, 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, . . .}.
• Congruence and Divisibility
For any integers a, b, and n, we have
a ≡ b (mod n) if and only if n | a − b.

• Congruence and Equality

For any integers a, b, and n, we have
a ≡ b (mod n) if and only if a = b+kn for some integer k
Congruence Modulo n is an Equivalence Relation
Given any integers a, b, and c, and any positive integer n, the following
hold:
1. a ≡ a (mod n).
2. If a ≡ b (mod n) then b ≡ a (mod n).
3. If a ≡ b (mod n) and b ≡ c (mod n), then a ≡ c (mod n).
In other words, congruence modulo n is reflexive, symmetric, and
transitive, so is an equivalence relation.
•Congruence
  and Arithmetic
Suppose a ≡ b (mod n) and c ≡ d (mod n). Then the following hold:
1. a + c ≡ b + d (mod n).
2. a − c ≡ b − d (mod n).
3. ac ≡ bd (mod n).
4. a + k ≡ b + k (mod n).
5. If a ≡ b (mod n), then
•Example
 
Find the remainder of 3491 divided by 9.
Solution
We could do long division, but there is another way. We want to find x such that
x ≡ 3491 (mod 9).
+ ≡ 3000 + 400 + 90 + 1 (mod 9) a + c ≡ b + d (mod n)
≡ 1 (mod 9),
≡ 400 (mod 9)
≡ 90 (mod 9),
≡ 3000 (mod 9),
So our original congruence becomes
x ≡ 3 + 4 + 0 + 1 (mod 9) x ≡ 8 (mod 9).
Therefore 3491 divided by 9 has remainder 8
• 
Example
Find the remainder when is divided by 7.
Solution
Of course, we are working with congruence because we want to find
the smallest positive x such that x ≡ (mod 7).
Now first write .
We have: ≡ (mod 7), since 27 ≡ 6 (mod 7).
Notice further that 36 is congruent to 1 modulo 7. Thus we can simplify
further:
≡ (mod 7).
But , so we are done: ≡ 6 (mod 7
Congruence and Division
Suppose ad ≡ bd (mod n). Then a ≡ b (mod n / gcd(d, n)).
If d and n have no common factors then gcd(d, n) = 1, so a ≡ b (mod n)
Example
Simplify the following congruences using division:
(a) 24 ≡ 39 (mod 5) and (b) 24 ≡ 39 (mod 15).
Solution
(b) Both 24 and 39 are divisible by 3, and 3 and 5 have no common factors, so
we get 8 ≡ 13 (mod 5).
(b) Again, we can divide by 3. However, doing so blindly gives us 8 ≡ 13 (mod
15) which is no longer true. Instead, we must also divide the modulus 15 by the
greatest common factor of 3 and 15 which is 3.
Again we get 8 ≡ 13 (mod 5).
Solving Congruences
Example
Solve the following congruences for x
1. 3x + 2 ≡ 4 (mod 5)
Solution a + k ≡ b + k (mod n)
First, we know we can subtract 2 from both sides: 3x ≡ 2 (mod 5).
Then to divide both sides by 3, we first add 0 to both sides. Of course, on the right-hand
side, we want that 0 to be a 10 (yes, 10 really is 0 since they are congruent modulo 5).
This gives, 3x ≡ 12 (mod 5)
Now divide both sides by 3. Since gcd(3, 5) = 1, we do not need to change the modulus:
x ≡ 4 (mod 5).
Notice that this in fact gives the general solution: not only can x = 4, but x can be any
number which is congruent to 4. We can leave it like this, or write “x = 4 + 5k for any
integer k.
2. 7x ≡ 12 (mod 13).
Solution
All we need to do here is divide both sides by 7. We add 13 to the right-
hand side repeatedly until we get a multiple of 7 (adding 13 is the same
as adding 0, so this is legal). We get 25, 38, 51, 64, 77 – got it. So we
have:
7x ≡ 12 (mod 13)
7x ≡ 77 (mod 13)
x ≡ 11 (mod 13).
x = 11 + 13k
Congruences with no solutions.
Given the congruence ax ≡ b (mod n), if a and n are divisible by a
number which b is not divisible by, then there will be no solutions.
In fact, we really only need to check one divisor of a and n: the greatest
common divisor.
Thus, a more compact way to say this is:
If gcd(a, n) ∤ b, then ax ≡ b (mod n) has no solutions
3. 20x ≡ 23 (mod 14).
Solution
First, reduce modulo 14:
20x ≡ 23 (mod 14)
6x ≡ 9 (mod 14).
We could now divide both sides by 3, or try to increase 9 by a multiple of 14 to
get a multiple of 6. If we divide by 3, we get,
2x ≡ 3 (mod 14).
Now try adding multiples of 14 to 3, in hopes of getting a number we can
divide by 2. This will not work! Every time we add 14 to the right side, the
result will still be odd. We will never get an even number, so we will never be
able to divide by 2. Thus there are no solutions to the congruence.
• 
Diophantine Equations
• An equation in two or more variables is called a Diophantine equation
if only integers solutions are of interest. A linear Diophantine equation
takes the form
• for constants , . . . , , .
A solution to a Diophantine equation is a solution to the equation
consisting only of integers
To summarize the process, to solve ax + by = c, we,
1. Divide both sides of the equation by gcd(a, b) (if this does not leave the
right-hand side as an integer, there are no solutions). Let’s assume that ax +
b y c has already been reduced in this way.
2. Pick the smaller of a and b (here, assume it is b), and convert to a
congruence modulo b: ax + b y ≡ c (mod b). This will reduce to a
congruence with one variable, x: ax ≡ c (mod b).
3. Solve the congruence as we did in the previous section. Write your solution
as an equation, such as, x = n + kb.
4. Plug this into the original Diophantine equation, and solve for y.
5. If we want to know solutions in a particular range (for example, 0 ≤ x, y ≤
20), pick different values of k until you have all required solutions.
Example
Solve the following linear Diophantine equation, using modular arithmetic
(describe the general solutions). 51x + 87y = 123.
Solution
we just need to check whether gcd(51, 87) | 123. This greatest common divisor is
3, and yes 3 | 123. So instead, we will solve: 17x + 29y = 41.
In particular, if we divide both sides by 17, we must get the same remainder.
Thus we can safely write
17x + 29y ≡ 41 (mod 17).
We choose 17 because 17x will have remainder 0.
• we reduce the congruence as follows:
17x + 29y ≡ 41 (mod 17)
0x + 12y ≡ 7 (mod 17)
12y ≡ 24 (mod 17)
y ≡ 2 (mod 17).
Now at this point we know y = 2 + 17k will work for any integer k
we should be able to plug this back into our original Diophantine equation to
find x:
17x + 29(2 + 17k) = 41
17x = −17 − 29 · 17k
x = −1 − 29k.
We have now found all solutions to the Diophantine equation.
For each k, x = −1 − 29k and y = 2 + 17k will satisfy the equation.
We could check this for a few cases. If k = 0, the solution is (−1, 2), and yes,
−17 + 2 · 29 = 41.