Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Logic and Discrete Mathematics

Section 5.4
Prime Numbers
The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Slides version: January 2015

Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Relatively Prime Numbers: Definition

The integers a and b are called relatively prime if

gcd(a, b) = 1.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Basic Properties of Relatively Prime Numbers

1. If c | a and gcd(a, b) = 1 then gcd(c, b) = 1.

2. If c | ab and gcd(c, a) = 1 then c | b.
3. If gcd(a, b) = 1 then gcd(a, bc) = gcd(a, c).
4. gcd(a, bc) = 1 if and only if gcd(a, b) = 1 and
gcd(a, c) = 1.
5. If gcd(a, b) = 1 then ab | c if and only if a | c and b | c.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Several Relatively Prime Numbers

Natural numbers a1 , . . . , an are said to be:

1. relatively prime if gcd(a1 , . . . , an ) = 1.
2. relatively prime in pairs if every two of them are relatively
prime.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Prime Number —Definition

Definition
A natural number p > 1 is called a prime (number) if it has
exactly two different positive divisors: 1 and p (called a trivial
divisors of p). Otherwise p is called a composite number.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Basic Theorems 1

Theorem
Every natural number greater than 1 has a prime divisor.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Basic Theorems 2

Theorem (Euclid, about 2350 years ago)

There are infinitely many prime numbers.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Basic Theorems 3

Theorem
For all positive integers a and b and a prime p :
1. Either p | a or gcd(p, a) = 1.
2. If p | ab then p divides at least one of a and b.

Theorem
For all natural numbers a1 , . . . , ak and a prime p, if p | a1 . . . ak
then p divides at least one of a1 , . . . , ak .
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Theorem
Every natural number n > 1 can be decomposed into a product
of primes:
n = p1 . . . pk , k ≥ 1.
Moreover, this decomposition is unique, up to the order of the
factors.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Consequences of the Fundamental Theorem 1

Corollary
Every natural number n > 1 can be decomposed into a product
of powers of different primes:

n = p1α1 . . . pkαk , α1 , . . . , αk , k ≥ 1.

Furthermore, this decomposition is unique up to the order of

the factors.
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Consequences of the Fundamental Theorem 2

Theorem
Let n = p1α1 . . . pkαk and m = p1β1 . . . pkβk be decompositions of m
and n in products of primes, where p1 , p2 , . . . , pk are different
and some of the α0 s and β 0 s can be 0. Then:
1. n | m iff α1 ≤ β1 , . . . , αk ≤ βk .
2. gcd(m, n) = p1γ1 . . . pkγk and lcm(m, n) = p1δ1 . . . pkδk , where
γi = min(αi , βi ) and δi = max(αi , βi ), for i = 1, . . . , k .
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Example

Let a = 4116 and b = 4312. Write a and b as products of

powers of different primes, and determine gcd(a, b) and
lcm(a, b).
Prime Numbers Relatively Prime Numbers The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

On the detection and distribution of prime numbers

Proposition
For any positive integer k there is a sequence of k consecutive
composite natural numbers.
Theorem (Tchebychef, 1850)
For every integer n ≥ 4 there is at least one prime p such that
n < p < 2n − 2.
Theorem (Dirichlet, ca 1880)
Every arithmetic progression a, a + d, a + 2d, . . ., where d > 0
and gcd(a, d) = 1, contains infinitely many primes.
Theorem (Hadamard – de la Vallée Poussin, 1896)
Let π(n) be the number of primes amongst {1, ..., n}. Then:

π(n)
lim = 1.
n→∞ n/ ln n