Icebreaker
[SOLVED] Strong Pseudo-Primes
How would I show that a^1729 = a (mod 1729) for all n?
How would I show that a^1729 = a (mod 1729) for all n?
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The discussion revolves around proving the congruence relation a^1729 = a (mod 1729) for all a. The context involves modular arithmetic and properties related to exponents and congruences.
There is an ongoing exploration of the conjecture's validity, with some participants suggesting that the original poster clarify their question. Multiple interpretations of the problem are being discussed, and some guidance has been offered regarding the equivalence of the statement under different moduli.
Participants note that 1729 is not a prime number, which affects the applicability of certain theorems. There is also confusion regarding the presence of 'n' in the original question, leading to further clarification attempts.
Muzza said:Without further hypotheses on a and n, you wouldn't. For example, 5^1729 = 9 (mod 11).
Any similar conjecture will also be false. That is to say, let k be some fixed number. Then "a^k = a (mod n) for all n" is false, since it would imply that there would not be exist a primitive root mod p for p > k - 1, p prime.
The conjecture was that a^k=a. In your counterexample, that is, 5^1729=9, 5!=9.
I must show for all a. The modolus is the same as the exponent. The modulus is not a prime, therefore Fermat's little theorem does not apply.