Eulers and Fermats Theorems Help

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around two problems involving Euler's theorem and Fermat's Little Theorem. The first problem asks to show that the equation x² ≡ -1 (mod p) has no solutions for a prime p ≡ 3 (mod 4). The second problem involves finding x and y such that x² ≡ y² (mod n) with x not congruent to ±y (mod n), where n is a product of two primes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply Fermat's theorem to the first problem by raising both sides of the equation to the power of (p - 1)/2. They express uncertainty about the implications of their calculations and seek further guidance.
  • Some participants question the evenness of (p - 1)/2 given that p is of the form 4k + 3, and they explore the implications of this on the problem.
  • Others suggest experimenting with smaller values of n for the second problem to gain insights.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring various interpretations and approaches to the problems. There is no explicit consensus, but some productive questioning and reasoning are occurring, particularly regarding the assumptions made in the first problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the complexity of the problems and the original poster's request for explanations alongside solutions. There is an emphasis on understanding the implications of theorems and the conditions under which they apply.

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Homework Statement



I'm having a hard time solving two problems I've been looking at for a while, they both involve Eulers theorem and Fermat's Little Theorem, here they are:

Let p ≡ 3 (mod 4 ) be prime. Show that x^2 ≡ -1 (mod p) has no solutions. (Hint: Suppose x exists. Raise both sides to the power (p - 1)/2 and use Fermat's theorem).


The other problem is this:

Let n = 84047 * 65497. Find x and y with x^2 ≡ y^2 (mod n) but x ≠(the symbol should be not congruent, couldn't find the symbol) +- (plus or minus) y mod n.


I've been looking at these for 2 hours and I don't know how to solve these. Any ideas? If you show the solution, please explain how if possible, thanks!

Homework Equations



Fermats little theorem: a^p-1 ≡ 1 mod p if p is a prime and p does not divide a.

[tex]\phi(pq)[/tex] = (p -1)(q - 1) when n = pq and p and q are two distinct primes.


The Attempt at a Solution



For the first one, I took both sides to the power of (p - 1)/2 and got...

x^p-1 ≡ 1 mod p

The reason the -1 goes to 1 is because (p - 1)/2 must be even since p is prime, there -1 raised to an even power goes to 1. From this point on I don't know what to do, I tried making the claim that LaTeX graphic is being generated. Reload this page in a moment. x^p-1 was a in Eulers theorem and using his theorem and showing it was wrong, thus making the whole argument above wrong, but it did in fact work anyway...unless I did something wrong.

For the 2nd problem, I don't know where to begin
 
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Are you sure (p-1)/2 is even? We're given that p=3(mod4), i.e. p=4k+3.

For the second problem, maybe try experimenting with a smaller n.
 
Last edited:
Given that p = 4k + 3, wouldn't p have to be an odd? Anything a multiple of 4 is even, +3 will always result in an odd right? (even plus an odd is always an odd).
 
Oh nevermind, an even divided by an even can be even or odd, its an even * even that is always even. So now, I get the following::

x^p-1 ≡ -1 mod p

which isn't right because fermat stated:

x^p-1 ≡ 1 mod pso x^2 ≡ -1 mod p has no solutionsman I suck.
 

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