GCD of a and b Prime and Odd: 1 or p?

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SUMMARY

The discussion establishes that for positive integers a and b where the greatest common divisor (gcd) is 1, and p is an odd prime, the gcd of (a+b) and the expression (a^p + b^p) / (a+b) is either 1 or p. It demonstrates that if d divides this gcd, then d must also divide p, given that d is coprime to a. This conclusion is derived through modular arithmetic and properties of prime numbers.

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Show that if [itex]a,b\in\mathbb{N}^+,\ \gcd(a,b) = 1[/itex] and [itex]p[/itex] is an odd prime,
then [itex]\gcd\left(a+b,\frac{a^p+b^p}{a+b}\right)\in \{1,p\}[/itex]
 
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Suppose [itex]1\le d \mid \gcd(a+b,\frac{a^p+b^p}{a+b})[/itex], then we have the following

[itex]1\le d \mid a+b\implies b \equiv -a\ (\text{mod }d)\implies \sum_{k=0}^{p-1}(-1)^k a^{p-1-k}b^k \equiv pa^{p-1}(\text{mod }d)[/itex]

[itex]\frac{a^p+b^p}{a+b} \equiv pa^{p-1}(\text{mod }d)[/itex]. Now since [itex]\gcd(d,a)=1[/itex], this means that [itex]d \mid p[/itex]
 

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