Problem 1: Generalizing Perfectness.

Team: Romania

Abstract:
This paper is devoted to some commentaries and some mathematical perspectives on natural
numbers f-perfects, some conditions for ! perfectness for different arithmetic functions. In solving this
problem we remind some general properties for the ! function (which denotes the sum of divisors)and for
the ! function (which denotes the number of divisors). We prove that a natural number ! 1 is
! !"#$"%& if and only if ! is the square of a prime. For as many values of ! as possible, we find all
! !"#$"%& natural numbers ! 1 for ! ! = ! ! + !. We also proved that for k 1 and

f (n) = (n) + k there are no f-perfect numbers. We find all f -perfect numbers n, for !(n) the Eulers
totient function. We prove that if ! is a natural number such that 2!!! 2! 1 is a prime, then
! = 2! (2!!! 2! 1) is ! !"#$"%& for ! (!) = ! 1. We find similar sucient conditions for
! !"#$"%&'"(( for polynomial functions of degree 1 such as ! (!) = ! 2 or ! (!) = ! + 1. We
find all f -perfect numbers n, for f (n) = ln(n), taking into consideration 3 cases. . We find all
! !"#$"%& numbers ! for ! (!) = 1

and we analyze the general case that ! = ! ! , where

! is a root of unity. We also find all ! !"#$"%& numbers n, f!" !(!) =

2012
and we study the
!

general case where 2012 is replaced by a natural number m. In the end, we analyze other functions such
as : f(n)=1, f(n)=n, f(n)= (n) , f(n)=ln(n) , f (n) = (1) n , in finding ! perfect numbers and
! amicable pairs and their properties.

Any function !: is called arithmetic. Recall that a natural number ! ! is said to be

perfect if it is equal to the sum of its positive proper divisors (that is all divisors except !). Examples
of perfect numbers are 6, 28 and 496. Euclid proved that if ! is a natural number such that !! !
is prime, then ! = !!!! (!! !) is perfect.
Generalizing this notion, we say that a natural number ! is ! !"#$"%& for some
arithmetic function ! if
! ! =

! ! .
!|!
!!!!!!!

Thus, ! is perfect if and only if ! is ! !"#$"%& for ! (!) = !. For another example, note that a
natural number ! ! is ! !"#$"%& for the constant function ! (!) = ! if and only if ! is a
prime.
1. Let ! (!) denote the number of positive divisors of ! (including !).
a) Prove that a natural number ! ! is ! !"#$"%& if and only if ! is the square of a prime.
Let us define ! as following
!: , ! ! =

1 1.1
!|!
!!!!!

For n to be ! !"#$"%& then

! ! =

! ! (1.2)
!|!
!!!!!!!

It is obvious that ! 1 = 1 !"#$ ! > 1, ! , ! > 1.

The sum

!
!|!
!!!!!!!

! has ! ! 1 addends equal or lager than 1 and also integers. Therefore, for

equation (1.2) to be true, the sum must have one summand equal with 2 and all the others equal with 1.
This means that a ! !"#$"%& number has only one divisor 1 < ! < !"!#$ ! = 2 which means ! is
prime and that ! ! = 3 ! , ! !"#$"%&.
We know that ! !! !! !! !! !! !! = 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! where !! , p! , , !!
are primes. Therefore,since! ! = 3 then ! = ! ! , ! !"#$%&'$(%".

b) Find all ! !"#$"%& natural numbers ! ! for the function !(!) = !(!) !. For as many
values of ! as possible, find all ! !"#$"%& natural numbers ! ! for !(!) = !(!) + !.

For f (n) = (n) 1, an! perfect number! must satisfy the equation

( n) 1 =

( (d ) 1)

d1 ,..d ( n )1

(n) 1 =

d1 ,..d n 1
( )

For n = 1 ,

(d ) ( ( n) 1) 2( (n) 1) =

(n) 1 = 0 so we can have by convention

(d )

d1 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) = 0 = (n) 1 = f (n) so 1 is

d1 ,..d ( n )1

an! perfect number. From now on we only consider n 2 . So (n) 2 .

We notice that

d1 = 1and di 2 for i 2 . Therefore:

2( (n) 1) =

(d ) 1 + 2( (n) 2) = 2( ( n) 1) 1

d1 ,..d ( n )1

From this inequality we obtain (d1 , d2 ,...d ( n )2 , d ( n)1 ) = (1, p2 ,.. p ( n) 2 , p 2 ) , where p2 ,.. p ( n ) 2 , p are
primes. It is easily seen that the only ! with this group of divisors is
for any ! prime. So only

n = p3 . Indeed, this value verifies

n = p3 is ! perfect, with ! prime.

Now we move on to analysing ! perfect numbers when f (n) = (n) + k , ! integer. In previous parts of
the problem we already solved the cases ! = 0 and ! = 1.
Proposition 1: For k 1 and f (n) = (n) + k there are no ! perfect numbers.
Proof.
Firstly, it is easily seen that 1 is not ! perfect, for any value ! 1 . From now on we consider n 2 ,

(n) 2 . We will use that d1 = 1and di 2 for i 2 .

We continue to analyse ! = 1, ! = 2 and ! 3 .

! is ! pefect (n) + 1 =

For k=1:

2=

(d ) = 1 +

d1 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) 1 =

d 2 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) 4 =

d1 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) , which is false.

d 2 ,..d ( n )1

Fork=2: ! is ! perfect (n) + 2 =

4 ( n) =

+ ( ( n) 1)
(

(
d
)
+
1)

(
n
)
+
1
=

(
d
)

d1 ,..

d ( n )1
d1 ,..d ( n )1

+ 2( (n) 1)
(

(
d
)
+
2)

(
n
)
+
2
=

(
d
)

d1 ,..

d ( n )1
d1 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) = 1 +

d1 ,..d ( n )

(d ) 3 =

(d ) 2( (n) 1) .

d 2 ,..d ( n )

d2 ,..d ( n )

From 3 2( (n) 1) and (n) 2 we obtain (n) = 2 and therefore n is prime. But introducing this
value in 3 =

(d ) we obtain 3 = 2, false.

d 2 ,..d ( n )

For k 3 : ! ! perfect (n) + k =

2k (k 1) (n) =

+ k ( (n) 1)
(

(
d
)
+
k
)

(
n
)
+
k
=

(
d
)

d1 ,..

d ( n )1
d1 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) 2k (k 2) (n) =

d1 ,..d ( n )1

(d ) .

d1 ,..d ( n )

(n) 2 2k (k 2) (n) 2k 2(k 2) = 4 , therefore

d1 ,..d ( n )

(d ) 4 1 +

(d ) 4

d 2 ,..d ( n )

(d ) 3 .

d 2 ,..d ( n )

We suppose there are two distinct prime numbers ! and ! that divide !. But this means we would have

(d ) ( p) + (q) + ( pq) = 8 > 3 , false.

d 2 ,..d ( n )

So n can only be of the form

n = p .

We suppose 2 . Then we would have

(d ) ( p) + ( p 2 ) = 5 > 3 , again false.

d2 ,..d ( n )

So ! could only be of the form n = p , where p is prime.

Substituting in 2k (k 2) (n) =

(d ) we would obtain 2k (k 2) (n) =3, which is false

d1 ,..d ( n )

because of the different parities of the left and right sides of the equation.QED for proposition 1.

We continue to analyse the ! perfect numbers when f (n) = (n) k with k 2 .

! is ! perfect (n) k =

( (d ) k ) (n) k = (d ) k ( (n) 1)
d1 ,..d n 1

d1 ,..d ( n )1
( )

(k + 2) (n) 2k =

(d ) .

d1 ,..d ( n )

Proposition 2: If ! is ! perfect for f (n) = (n) k with k 2 , then (n) divides 2i +1 k , where ! is
the number of distinct prime divisors of !. We will factorize !: n = p11 ... pii .
Proof:
We will first demonstrate the following Lemma (1):
i

(d ) =

(n) ( l + 2)

d1 ,..d ( n )

l =1

2i

All the divisors of n have the form d = p1j1 ... piji so

d1 ,..d ( n )

(d ) =

( j1 ,.. ji )

( p1j ... pij ) =

1

0 jl l

( j1 ,.. ji )

0 jl l

(1
+
j
)
=
1
+
2
+
..
+

+
(

+
1)
[
] (1 + jl ) =
l
1
1

l =1

( j2 ,.. ji ) l = 2
0 jl l

( + 1)( l + 2)
(1 + 1)(1 + 2)

(1 + jl ) = ... = l
=

2
2
l =1

( j2 ,.. ji ) l = 2
i

0 jl l

(
l =1

+ 1) ( l + 2)
l =1

2i

(n) ( l + 2)
l =1

2i
QED

Using this result we obtain: (k + 2) (n) 2k =

(d ) =

(n) ( l + 2)
l =1

d1 ,..d ( n )

. Multiplying by 2 we get

i
i

2i (k + 2) (n) 2i +1 k = (n) ( l + 2) 2i +1 k = (n) 2i (k + 2) ( l + 2) and from this final

l =1
l =1

equation we find that (n) divides 2i +1 k . QED for Proposition 2.

2. Find all f -perfect numbers n, where f (n) = !(n) is Eulers totient function.
Eulers totient function is:
!: ,

! ! = # !" (!, !) = 1, ! ! }

Now we will demonstrate that

1
!!

! ! =! 1

1
1
1
, (2.1)
!!
!!

!!"! !! , !! !! !"# !"#$%& !"# ! = !! !! !! !! !! !!

Let ! ! = ! ! ! !!"! ! ! = # !" (!, !) 1, ! !} . If the only divisors of n are
!! , !! !! , then a number 1 ! ! !"#"!$% !if and only if !|!! , !! !" !! .
Let !! = ! 1 < ! , !! ! , ! = 1, ! !!"
!

! ! = #

!! =
!!!

!!!

!
!"# #!! = ,
!!

#!!

# !! !!

#(!! !! ) +
!!!!!!!

!
!!

!!!!!!!!!

!
!
=
, # !! !! !! =

!! !!
!! !! !!
1
+
!!

!!"!!"#$ ! ! = ! 1
!!" ! ! = ! 1

#(!! !! !! )

!!
!

! !!

1
+
!! !! !!

(1) !"

!!

! ! = !! ! !! !

!! !!

! !!

!! ! !! !

! !!

!!! !!!

A classical identity of Eulers totient function states that

! ! = ! (2.2)
!|!
!!!!!

!!" !"#$%

! ! = ! ! !
!|!
!!!!!!!

Then for ! to be ! !"#$"%& it must satisfy the condition

 ! ! = ! ! !!" !"#$% ! ! = ! ! ! (2.3)

!|!
!!!!!!!

!!" ! = 2! ! which means that 2|! !"# ! = 2! !! !! !! !! . Also, from (1) we have
! = 2! 1

1
2

1
!!

1
1
1
1
1
= 1
!!
!!
2
2

!"#$% 1

1
< 1 !!" ! = 2! ,
!!

1
!!

1
1
1
!!
!!

3. a) Prove that if ! is a natural number such that !!!! !" ! is a prime, then ! = !! (!!!!
!" !) is ! !"#$"%& for ! (!) = ! !.
We define !: where
! ! =

!
!|!
!!!!!

we know that
! !!

! !!

! !!

!! ! 1 !! ! 1 !!! 1
! ! =

(3.1)
!! 1
!! 1
!! 1
!

!!"! ! = !! ! !! ! !!! !"# !! , !! , !! !"# !"#$%&

therefore
! ! =
!|!
!!!!!!!

!
!|!
!!!!!!!

1 = ! ! ! ! ! 1 (3.2)
!|!
!!!!!!!

For ! to be ! !"#$"%&, the following relation needs to be true !(!) = ! ! ! ( ! ! 1)

If ! = 2! 2!!! 2! 1 and2!!! 2! 1 is prime then
! ! =

2!!! 1 (2!!! 2! 1)! 1

= 2!!! 1 2!!! + 2! 1 + 1 !"#
21
2!!! 2! 1 1
! ! = 1 + ! 1 + 1 = 2! + 2 (3.3)

From this, we get

! ! = 2!!! 1 2!!! + 2! 1 + 1 ! 2! + 2 1
!|!
!!!!!!!

2! 1 = 2!!! 1 2!!! + 2! 2! 1 ! = 2!!! 1 2! + ! ! which

Then we obtain
means that

! = 2! 2!!! 2! 1 (3.4)
b) Find similar su cient conditions for ! !"#$"%&'"(( for other polynomial functions of degree
1 such as ! (!) = ! ! or ! (!) = ! + !.
For a function !: , ! ! = !" + !, a number ! is ! !"#$"%& only if it satisfies the equation
! ! =

! ! 2! ! =
!|!
!!!!!!!

2! ! =

! !
!|!
!!!!!

!" + ! 2! ! = !
!|!
!!!!!

! +!
!|!
!!!!!

1 (3.5)
!|!
!!!!!

Using the notations above we therefore have

2! ! = !" ! + !"(!)
In the following we will study the ! !"#$"%&'"(( of the family function !! : , !! ! = ! + !
(which means ! = 1).
Euclid proved that if 2!!! 1 is prime, then 2! 2!!! 1 is a perfect number, which means it is
!! !"#$"%&. Regarding this and the solution for 3.b) we shall make an generalization for all ! .
Let ! = 2! !. Supposing ! prime, we have
2!!! 1 ! ! 1
2 2! ! + ! = ! ! + !" ! 2 2! ! + ! =

+! !+1 1+1
21
!1
2!!! ! = 2!!! 1 ! + 1 + 2!" 2!!! ! = 2!!! ! ! + 2!!! 1 + 2!"

Therefore, if 2

!!!

! = 2!!! + 2!" 1
+ 2!" 1is prime, then ! = 2!!! (2!!! + 2!" 1) is !! !"#$"%&.

Remark: By giving to! the value 0, this condition becomes equivalent with Euclids.
4. Let f (n) = ln(n). Find all f -perfect numbers n.
!: ,

! ! = ln(!).

ln ! = ln
!|!
!!!!!!!

!
!|!
!!!!!!!

! is monotonically increasing, therefore, for n to be f-perfect, it must satisfy the condition

!=

! (4.1)
!|!
!!!!!!!

Let ! = !! ! !! ! !!! , !!"! !! , !! , !! !"# !"#$%&. Suppose that !! > 1, then, amongst the divisors
! !!

we can find !!! , !!! , , !! !

whose product is
!! !!
!
!!

!! (!! !!)
!

= !!

!!!
!! (!! !!)
!

Therefore

! is divisible by!!

!! (!! !!)
!

and from 4.1 we can see that!!

|!

!|!
!!!!!!!

It is obvious now that for equation (4.1) to be satisfied

!! (!! 1)
!! !! 3
2
Therefore we have only three values for !! {1; 2; 3}
Case 1.! = ! ! !, where p is prime and ! !, ! . We can see that if ! > 1 among the divisors smaller
than ! there are!, ! ! !"# ! ! whose product is ! ! . Since ! ! !, ! is not ! !"#$"%&
For ! = ! ! , where p is prime the divisors smaller than ! will be 1, !, ! ! whose product is 1 ! ! ! =
! ! = !. Therefore ! = ! ! is ! !"#$"%&.
Case 2. ! = ! ! ! where p is prime and ! !, ! . If ! > 1, amongst the divisors of ! and smaller than
! there will be !, ! ! which analogically means that ! is not ! !"#$"%&.
For ! = 1, the divisors of ! , smaller than ! will be only 1 and ! which means
! = ! ! ! is not ! !"#$"%&
!|!
!!!!!!!

Case 3. ! = !! !! !! , where !! , !! , !! are primes. The divisors are 1, !! , !! , !! and also the
products of these numbers such as!! !! , !, ! = 1, !, ! !, !! !! !! , !, !, ! = 1, !, ! ! ! and so on.
Therefore

!=
!|!
!!!!!!!

Since ! =

!!!

!!! !!!
!! !!
!! !!!

!! !!

!!! !!! !!! !!"! ! < !

!! !!
!! !!! !!!!

!! , for ! to be ! !"#$"%&, the following condition must be satisfied

!

!! =
!!!

!!!
!! !!

!!! !!!
!! !!
!! !!!

!!! !!! !!! !!"! ! < ! (4.2)

!! !!
!! !!! !!!!

From this we can see that for ! > 2 max ! > 1 , equation (4.2) cannot be satisfied since
!

!!! !!! !!! > 1 !"#$%&" !! > 1, ! = 1, ! !"# ! =

!! !!
!! !!! !!!!

!! =
!!!

!!!
!! !!

Cases:
1) For! = 2 (! = !! !! ), the divisors of ! and smaller than ! are 1, !! and!! whose product is
clearly !, which means that ! = !! !! is ! !"#$"%& for any prime numbers !! , !!
2) For ! = 1 (! = !! ), the only divisor of ! and smaller than ! is 1, since !! is prime, ! > 1, which
means that no prime number can be ! !"#$"%&
3) For ! = 1, by convention

!
!|!
!!!!!!!

= 1, thus by convention 1! !"#$"%&.

Therefore, the ! !"#$"%& numbers are ! ! !"# !! !! where !, !! , !! are primes.

5. Let ! (!) = ! ! . Find all ! !"#$"%& numbers !. Study the general case that ! ! = !! ,
where ! is a root of unity.
The function !: , ! = 1

can also be written as

1, 2|!
!=
1, 2 !
! !
!
Let ! = 2! !! ! !! ! !!! , ! be the number of even divisors of ! and ! be the number of odd divisors of !.
Thus
!
!
! = ! !! ! !!! ! = 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! (5.1)
and
! = ! ! ! ! = 1 + ! 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !!
! = ! 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! (5.2)
Therefore, for ! to be ! perfect, the following condition must be satisfied
2! ! = ! ! 2! ! = ! 1 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! (5.3)
Cases:

1) For ! = 0 (which means ! is odd and ! ! = 1 ) we will have 2 = ! ! = !, where

! is prime and odd.
2) For ! = 1, 2 = 0 which is impossible.
3) For ! = 2,2 = 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! therefore ! = 2! ! , where ! is prime, is an !
perfect number.
4) For ! = 3, 2 = 2 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! so we take ! = 0 and ! = 8.
5) For ! 4 we get 2 = ! 1 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! which is impossible since, in this
case ! 1 1 + !! 1 + !! 1 + !! 3.
Therefore the ! perfect numbers are !, 2! ! and 2! where ! is prime and odd.
!"#!
. Find all ! !"#$"%& numbers n. Study the general case where 2012 is
!
replaced by a natural number m.
6.Let !(!) =

Let !! , !! , , !!(!) be the divisors of n.

We know that ! ! =

!"#!
!

The important ideea is to notice that 2012 = 2011 + 1 and that 2011 is prime.
For! to be ! perfect we have
! ! =

! !
!! ,!! ,,!! ! !!

2012!
=
!! 2012 ! !

! ! !!

!!!

2012
=
!

!! ,!! ,,!! ! !!

2012!
1

=
!! ! 2012 + !! !
!! 2012 ! !

1
1
=
+
!! 2012 ! ! 2011!

! ! !!

!!!

2012

!

! ! !!

!!!

1

!! ! 2012 !! !

1

!! ! 2012 !! !

Since !! > 1 , !! < 2011 which is the same as saying 2012 !! > 1 , 2012 !! < 2011 , and as
2011 is prime we can deduce that !! ! (2012 !! )! is not divisible by 2011, for any ! = 1, ! ! .
(because !! ! has no common divisors with 2011 and (2012 !! )! has no common divisors with
2011)
Having in mind the aforementioned facts, we add the terms of the right side of the equation to
obtain a single fraction. When this fraction is brought to the irreductible form, it has the
denominator divisible by 2011 because of the term

!
!"##!

. Therefore, the fraction from the left side

of the equation also has the denominator divisible by 2011 so ! = 2011 or 2012 ! = 2011 which
means ! is 1 or 2011.
Analizing the previous proof we can deduce that 2012 can be replaced by ! + 1 where ! is prime. In
this case we obtain similar relations.
Let !! , !! , , !!(!) be the divisors of ! and ! = ! + 1, where ! is a prime.
We know that ! ! =

!!!
!

For ! to be ! perfect we have

! ! =

!(!)
!! ,!! ,,!! ! !!
! ! !!

=
!!!

!+1
=
!

!! ,!! ,,!! ! !!

!+1
! + 1!

!
!! ! + 1 ! !

! + 1!
1

=
!! ! ! + 1 + !! !
!! ! + 1 ! !

1
1
= +
!! ! + 1 ! ! !!

! ! !!

!!!

! ! !!

!!!

1
!! ! ! + 1 !! !

1

!! ! ! + 1 !! !

Since !! > 1 , !! < ! which is the same as saying ! !! > 1 , ! !! < ! , and as ! is prime we
can

deduce

that

!! ! (! + 1 !! )!

is

not

divisible

by!(because !! ! has no common divisors with ! and (! + 1 !! )! has no common divisors with !)
Having in mind the aforementioned facts, we add the terms of the right side of the equation to
obtain a single fraction. When this fraction is brought to the irreductible form, it has the
!

denominator divisible by !, because of the term . Therefore the fraction from the left side of the
!!

equation has the denominator divizibile by ! so ! = ! or ! + 1 ! = ! which means ! is 1 or !.

For m=p+2(p-odd) and n an odd number the problem goes the same :
1
1
=
+
!! ! + 2 ! ! ! + 1!
Because n is odd the: 2 < d! , d! <

!!!
!

! ! !!
!!!

1
!! ! ! + 2 !! !

< ! => p + 2 d! ! < !!, d! ! < !! =>

=> !! ! p + 2d! ! is not divisible by p.

Summing the terms in the right equation we obtain a fraction with denominator divisible with p
and so n! p + 2 n ! must be divisible by p => ! ! !" p + 2 n p. But n p + 1 and p
odd => ! = 1 !" !.

8. Recall that a pair (!, !) of positive integers is said to be amicable if

!=

! !"# ! =
!|!
!!!!!!!

!
!|!
!!!!!!!

An example is (220, 284). For an arithmetic function, give a reasonable denition for a pair (!, !)
of positive integers to be ! !"#$!%&' . For various arithmetic functions, nd !
!"#$!%&' pairs or prove that no ! !"#$!%&' pair exists.
For two numbers to be ! !"#$!%&', the following equations must be satisfied.
!(!) =

! ! (8.1)
!|!
!!!!!!!

and
!(!) =

! ! (8.2)
!|!
!!!!!!!

In the following we shall consider ! < ! and we remind that the pairs with ! = ! are ! amicable if
and only if ! is ! perfect.
1) Let !: , !(!) = !
In this case, we obtain:
!=

! and ! =
!|!
!!!!!!!

! (8.3)
!|!
!!!!!!!

So, the conclusion is that, in this case, (!, !) are ! amicable if and only if (!, !) are amicable.

2) Let us have a constant function!: , ! ! = !.

For two numbers to be ! !"#$!%&', the following equations must be satisfied.
!=

!(!) and ! =
!|!
!!!!!!!

!=!

!(!)
!|!
!!!!!!!

1 and ! = !
!|!
!!!!!!!

1
!|!
!!!!!!!

! = ! ! ! 1 and a = ! ! ! 1 (8.4)

This means that ! ! = ! ! = 2, so ! and ! have each one exactly one divisor smaller than itself,
which is one. Therefore, ! and ! are primes.
So the only ! amicable pairs for !(!) = 1, are the pairs (!, !), ! and ! being prime numbers.

3)Further we will try to find ! amicable pairs where ! is the Eulers totient function.
As we have already proved at the second point of this problem, we have that
! ! = ! ! ! (8.5)
!|!
!!!!!!!

Therefore, we will have ! ! =

!
!|!
!!!!!!!

! = ! ! ! , and from here we deduce that

m = (n) + (m)
Similarly, we will get : m = (n) + (m)
From the two relations above we deduce that n = m = (n) + (m) .
But we said that we will consider only pairs of different numbers to be ! amicable, so we found
no solution for this case.

4) Now we will study the function !: , ! ! = log ! ! , ! > 1, ! .
log ! ! = log !
!|!
!!!!!!!

! (8.6)
!|!
!!!!!!!

For ! amicability we have the following conditions

log ! ! =

log ! ! and log ! ! =

!|!
!!!!!!!

log ! !
!|!
!!!!!!!

As! > 1, ! , log ! : 0, is a strictly increasing function, thus injective, this results into
!=

! (8.7)
!|!
!!!!!!!

Analogically
!=

! (8.8)
!|!
!!!!!!!

From (8.7), ! is divisible by all the divisors of !, thus ! is divisible by !.

From (8.8), ! is divisible by all the divisors of !, thus ! is divisible by !.
Therefore, we have !|! and !|! , which means that ! = !.

As two ! amicable numbers must be distinct, we conclude that we have no solutions for the
function !: , ! ! = log ! ! , ! > 1, ! .

Remark. For ! (0,1) we will come to the same result since the function log ! (!) will be a strictly
decreasing function, thus injective and the same algorithm can be applied.

Note: the logarithm is not an arithmetic function, but this is an interesting case which we can take
into consideration, and eventually we still end up working with integers.

5)Let!: {1,1}, f (n) = (1) n

The equations which must be satisfied by a pair (!, !) are
1

and 1

!|!
!!!!!!!

8.9 and (8.10)

!|!
!!!!!!!

In the following ! is not necessary greater than !.
Case 1: ! and ! have different parities.
Let ! be odd.
If ! is odd then all the divisors of ! are odd. Thus, we have
1

= 1 ! ! 1 (8.11)

The right side of equation 8.11 is strictly negative as ! ! 1 is strictly positive ( ( m) counts all
the divisors of !, so it is definitely greater than 2, as we have at least the divisors 1 and!) we get
that the left hand side is negative as well, which means that 1

= 1, so ! is odd as well. This is

a contradiction, as we assumed that ! and ! have different parities.

Case 2: ! and ! have the same parity
We have that (1) n = (1)m , so, if (!, !) are ! amicable, we get that
1

= 1

(8.12)

!|!
!!!!!!!

Similarly, we obtain the same relation for !

1

1
!|!
!!!!!!!

(8.13)

From (8.12) and (8.13) we have that! and ! are both ! perfect for f (n) = (1) n , and this is a
case that we solved at the 5-th point of this problem.
So, we get that the pairs of !, ! ! amicable numbers are all the pairs which contain distinct
! perfect numbers with the same parity.We remind that those ! perfect numbers are
!, 2! ! and 2! where ! is prime and odd.
Reference:
Pop, Boroica, et al.Matematic pentru grupele de performan clasa a XII-a. Cluj-Napoca: Dacia
Educaional 2004;