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Find all integers $N$ with the following property:

If $n+1$ is divisible by $N$, then the sum of $n$'s factors is also divisible by $N$.

I didn't see how to use the fact that the sum of $n$'s factors is divisible by $N$. How can we find all such numbers $N$?

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    Could you include some examples of such $N$?2017-01-10
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    @coffeemath I believe that $N = 3$ is such a number.2017-01-10
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    wait, are $n$ and $N$ positive integers? because otherwise the problem is trivialized by taking $n=-1$.2017-01-10
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    @JorgeFernándezHidalgo Yes, here $n$ is a positive integer.2017-01-10

1 Answers 1

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If $N$ works then $N$ must satify that $a=a^{-1} \bmod N$ for al invertible $a$.

Proof: take an invertible $a\bmod N$. Take a prime $p$ that is congruent to $a\bmod N$ and another $q$ that is congruent to $-a^{-1}\bmod N$ (possible by dirichlet's theorem). Notice that $pq+1$ is a multiple of $N$ and therefore $\sigma(pq)=pq+1+p+q$ is also a multiple of $N$. We conclude $p\equiv-q\bmod N\implies a \equiv a^{-1}\bmod N$.

Hence the only values of $N$ that work can be $1,2,3,4,6,8,12$ and $24$. (this is a consequence of the fact that the multiplicative groups of $\mathbb Z_p^n$ is cyclic if $p$ is odd and is congruent to $\mathbb Z_{2^{n-2}}\times \mathbb Z_2$ when $p=2$).

$N=1$ clearly works.

$N=2$ does not work, although clearly it's only because of the technical case $n=1$.

$N=3$ works, because if $n\equiv -1 \bmod 3$ then one of the prime factors $p^a$ must be congruent to $-1\bmod 3$ and then we have that $\frac{p^{a+1}-1}{p-1}$ is a multiple of $3$.

$N=4$ works, because one of the prime factors $p^a$ must be congruent to $-1\bmod 4$ and this means that $p^{a+1}-1$ is a multiple of $8$ (because odd squares are $1\bmod 8$). Clearly this implies that $\frac{p^{a+1}-1}{p-1}$ is a multiple of $4$.

$N=8$ works, the proof has a couple of cases and uses the lifting the exponent lemma but it is not too hard.

Finally it is clear from the above that $6,12,24$ also all work.

So the final answer is $1,3,4,6,8,12,24$

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    I'm still checking which ones work, so far we have that $2$ does not work and $1,3,6,4,12$ work.2017-01-10
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    Do you mean $q \equiv -a^{-1} \pmod{N}$?2017-01-10
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    yes of course, sorry about that.2017-01-10