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Number Theory

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Introduction to Number Theory

Number theory is about integers and their

properties.

We will start with the basic principles of

• divisibility,
• greatest common divisors,
• least common multiples, and
• modular arithmetic

and look at some relevant algorithms.

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Division
If a and b are integers with a ≠ 0, we say that
a divides b if there is an integer c so that b = ac.

When a divides b we say that a is a factor of b

and that b is a multiple of a.

The notation a | b means that a divides b.

We write a X b when a does not divide b

(see book for correct symbol).

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Divisibility Theorems
For integers a, b, and c it is true that

• if a | b and a | c, then a | (b + c)
Example: 3 | 6 and 3 | 9, so 3 | 15.

• if a | b, then a | bc for all integers c

Example: 5 | 10, so 5 | 20, 5 | 30, 5 | 40, …

• if a | b and b | c, then a | c
Example: 4 | 8 and 8 | 24, so 4 | 24.

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Primes
A positive integer p greater than 1 is called prime
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.

The fundamental theorem of arithmetic:

Every positive integer can be written uniquely as
the product of primes, where the prime factors
are written in order of increasing size.

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Primes
Examples:
15 = 3·5
48 = 2·2·2·2·3 = 24·3
17 = 17
100 = 2·2·5·5 = 22·52
512 = 2·2·2·2·2·2·2·2·2 = 29
515 = 5·103
28 = 2·2·7
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Primes

If n is a composite integer, then n has a prime

divisor less than or equal .

This is easy to see: if n is a composite integer, it

must have two prime divisors p1 and p2 such that
p1⋅p2 = n.

p1 and p2 cannot both be greater than

, because then p1⋅p2 > n.

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The 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.

In the above equation,

• d is called the divisor,
• a is called the dividend,
• q is called the quotient, and
• r is called the remainder.

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The Division Algorithm
Example:

When we divide 17 by 5, we have

17 = 5⋅3 + 2.

• 17 is the dividend,
• 5 is the divisor,
• 3 is called the quotient, and
• 2 is called the remainder.

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The Division Algorithm
Another example:
What happens when we divide -11 by 3 ?
Note that the remainder cannot be negative.
-11 = 3⋅(-4) + 1.

• -11 is the dividend,

• 3 is the divisor,
• -4 is called the quotient, and
• 1 is called the remainder.

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Greatest Common Divisors
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 1: What is gcd(48, 72) ?
The positive common divisors of 48 and 72 are
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 24, so gcd(48, 72) = 24.
Example 2: What is gcd(19, 72) ?
The only positive common divisor of 19 and 72 is
1, so gcd(19, 72) = 1.
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Greatest Common Divisors
Using prime factorizations:
a = p1a1 p2a2 … pnan , b = p1b1 p2b2 … pnbn ,
where p1 < p2 < … < pn and ai, bi ∈ N for 1 ≤ i ≤ n

gcd(a, b) = p1min(a1, b1 ) p2min(a2, b2 ) … pnmin(an, bn )

Example:
a = 60 = 22 31 51
b = 54 = 21 33 50
gcd(a, b) = 21 31 50 = 6
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Relatively Prime Integers
Definition:
Two integers a and b are relatively prime if
gcd(a, b) = 1.

Examples:
Are 15 and 28 relatively prime?
Yes, gcd(15, 28) = 1.
Are 55 and 28 relatively prime?
Yes, gcd(55, 28) = 1.
Are 35 and 28 relatively prime?
No, gcd(35, 28) = 7.
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Relatively Prime Integers
Definition:
The integers a1, a2, …, an are pairwise relatively
prime if gcd(ai, aj) = 1 whenever 1 ≤ i < j ≤ n.

Examples:
Are 15, 17, and 27 pairwise relatively prime?
No, because gcd(15, 27) = 3.
Are 15, 17, and 28 pairwise relatively prime?
Yes, because gcd(15, 17) = 1, gcd(15, 28) = 1 and
gcd(17, 28) = 1.
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Least Common Multiples
Definition:
The least common multiple of the positive
integers a and b is the smallest positive integer
that is divisible by both a and b.
We denote the least common multiple of a and b
by lcm(a, b).
Examples:
lcm(3, 7) = 21
lcm(4, 6) = 12
lcm(5, 10) = 10
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Least Common Multiples
Using prime factorizations:
a = p1a1 p2a2 … pnan , b = p1b1 p2b2 … pnbn ,
where p1 < p2 < … < pn and ai, bi ∈ N for 1 ≤ i ≤ n

lcm(a, b) = p1max(a1, b1 ) p2max(a2, b2 ) … pnmax(an, bn )

Example:
a = 60 = 22 31 51
b = 54 = 21 33 50
lcm(a, b) = 22 33 51 = 4⋅27⋅5 = 540
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GCD and LCM

a = 60 = 22 31 51

b = 54 = 21 33 50

gcd(a, b) = 21 3 1 5 0 =6

lcm(a, b) = 22 3 3 5 1 = 540

Theorem: a⋅b = gcd(a,b)⋅lcm(a,b)

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Modular Arithmetic
Let a be an integer and m be a positive integer.
We denote by a mod m the remainder when a is
divided by m.

Examples:

9 mod 4 = 1
9 mod 3 = 0
9 mod 10 = 9
-13 mod 4 = 3

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Congruences
Let a and b be integers and m be a positive integer.
We say that 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.

In other words:
a ≡ b (mod m) if and only if a mod m = b mod m.

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Congruences
Examples:
Is it true that 46 ≡ 68 (mod 11) ?
Yes, because 11 | (46 – 68).
Is it true that 46 ≡ 68 (mod 22)?
Yes, because 22 | (46 – 68).
For which integers z is it true that z ≡ 12 (mod 10)?
It is true for any z∈{…,-28, -18, -8, 2, 12, 22, 32, …}

Theorem: Let m be a positive integer. The integers

a and b are congruent modulo m if and only if there
is an integer k such that a = b + km.

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Congruences
Theorem: 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).
Proof:
We know that a ≡ b (mod m) and c ≡ d (mod m)
implies that there are integers s and t with
b = a + sm and d = c + tm.
Therefore,
b + d = (a + sm) + (c + tm) = (a + c) + m(s + t) and
bd = (a + sm)(c + tm) = ac + m(at + cs + stm).
Hence, a + c ≡ b + d (mod m) and ac ≡ bd (mod m).

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The Euclidean Algorithm
The Euclidean Algorithm finds the greatest
common divisor of two integers a and b.
For example, if we want to find gcd(287, 91), we
divide 287 by 91:
287 = 91⋅3 + 14
We know that for integers a, b and c,
if a | b and a | c, then a | (b + c).
Therefore, any divisor of 287 and 91 must also be
a divisor of 287 - 91⋅3 = 14.
Consequently, gcd(287, 91) = gcd(14, 91).

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The Euclidean Algorithm
In the next step, we divide 91 by 14:
91 = 14⋅6 + 7
This means that gcd(14, 91) = gcd(14, 7).

So we divide 14 by 7:
14 = 7⋅2 + 0
We find that 7 | 14, and thus gcd(14, 7) = 7.

Therefore, gcd(287, 91) = 7.

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The Euclidean Algorithm
In pseudocode, the algorithm can be implemented
as follows:

procedure gcd(a, b: positive integers)

x := a
y := b
while y ≠ 0
begin
r := x mod y
x := y
y := r
end {x is gcd(a, b)}

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Representations of Integers
Let b be a positive integer greater than 1.
Then if n is a positive integer, it can be expressed
uniquely in the form:

n = akbk + ak-1bk-1 + … + a1b + a0,

where k is a nonnegative integer,

a0, a1, …, ak are nonnegative integers less than b,
and ak ≠ 0.

Example for b=10:

859 = 8⋅102 + 5⋅101 + 9⋅100
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Representations of Integers

Example for b=2 (binary expansion):

(10110)2 = 1⋅24 + 1⋅22 + 1⋅21 = (22)10

Example for b=16 (hexadecimal expansion):

(we use letters A to F to indicate numbers 10 to 15)
(3A0F)16 = 3⋅163 + 10⋅162 + 15⋅160 = (14863)10

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Representations of Integers
How can we construct the base b expansion of an
integer n?
First, divide n by b to obtain a quotient q0 and
remainder a0, that is,
n = bq0 + a0, where 0 ≤ a0 < b.
The remainder a0 is the rightmost digit in the base
b expansion of n.
Next, divide q0 by b to obtain:
q0 = bq1 + a1, where 0 ≤ a1 < b.
a1 is the second digit from the right in the base b
expansion of n. Continue this process until you
obtain a quotient equal to zero.
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Representations of Integers
Example:
What is the base 8 expansion of (12345)10 ?

First, divide 12345 by 8:

12345 = 8⋅1543 + 1
1543 = 8⋅192 + 7
192 = 8⋅24 + 0
24 = 8⋅3 + 0
3 = 8⋅0 + 3
The result is: (12345)10 = (30071)8.
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Representations of Integers
procedure base_b_expansion(n, b: positive integers)
q := n
k := 0
while q ≠ 0
begin
ak := q mod b
q := ⎣q/b⎦
k := k + 1
end
{the base b expansion of n is (ak-1 … a1a0)b }

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Addition of Integers
Let a = (an-1an-2…a1a0)2, b = (bn-1bn-2…b1b0)2.
How can we add these two binary numbers?
First, add their rightmost bits:
a0 + b0 = c0⋅2 + s0,
where s0 is the rightmost bit in the binary
expansion of a + b, and c0 is the carry.
Then, add the next pair of bits and the carry:
a1 + b1 + c0 = c1⋅2 + s1,
where s1 is the next bit in the binary expansion of
a + b, and c1 is the carry.
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Addition of Integers

Continue this process until you obtain cn-1.

The leading bit of the sum is sn = cn-1.

The result is:

a + b = (snsn-1…s1s0)2

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Addition of Integers
Example:
Add a = (1110)2 and b = (1011)2.

a0 + b0 = 0 + 1 = 0⋅2 + 1, so that c0 = 0 and s0 = 1.

a1 + b1 + c0 = 1 + 1 + 0 = 1⋅2 + 0, so c1 = 1 and s1 = 0.
a2 + b2 + c1 = 1 + 0 + 1 = 1⋅2 + 0, so c2 = 1 and s2 = 0.
a3 + b3 + c2 = 1 + 1 + 1 = 1⋅2 + 1, so c3 = 1 and s3 = 1.
s4 = c3 = 1.

Therefore, s = a + b = (11001)2.

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Addition of Integers
How do we (humans) add two integers?

1 11 carry
Example: 7583
+ 4932
1 25 1 5
1 1 carry
Binary expansions: (1011)2
+ (1010)2

( 1 0 1 0 1 )2

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Addition of Integers
Let a = (an-1an-2…a1a0)2, b = (bn-1bn-2…b1b0)2.
How can we algorithmically add these two binary
numbers?
First, add their rightmost bits:
a0 + b0 = c0⋅2 + s0,
where s0 is the rightmost bit in the binary
expansion of a + b, and c0 is the carry.
Then, add the next pair of bits and the carry:
a1 + b1 + c0 = c1⋅2 + s1,
where s1 is the next bit in the binary expansion of
a + b, and c1 is the carry.
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Addition of Integers

Continue this process until you obtain cn-1.

The leading bit of the sum is sn = cn-1.

The result is:

a + b = (snsn-1…s1s0)2

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Addition of Integers
Example:
Add a = (1110)2 and b = (1011)2.

a0 + b0 = 0 + 1 = 0⋅2 + 1, so that c0 = 0 and s0 = 1.

a1 + b1 + c0 = 1 + 1 + 0 = 1⋅2 + 0, so c1 = 1 and s1 = 0.
a2 + b2 + c1 = 1 + 0 + 1 = 1⋅2 + 0, so c2 = 1 and s2 = 0.
a3 + b3 + c2 = 1 + 1 + 1 = 1⋅2 + 1, so c3 = 1 and s3 = 1.
s4 = c3 = 1.

Therefore, s = a + b = (11001)2.

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Addition of Integers
procedure add(a, b: positive integers)
c := 0
for j := 0 to n-1
begin
d := ⎣(aj + bj + c)/2⎦
sj := aj + bj + c – 2d
c := d
end
sn := c
{the binary expansion of the sum is (snsn-1…s1s0)2}

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