Exercise 2.5

Use the result of Ex. 2.4 to show that there are infinitely many primes. (This proof is due to G.Polya.)

Answers

Proof. Let F n = 2 2 n + 1 , n ∈ ℕ . We know from Ex. 2.4 that n ≠ m ⇒ F n ∧ F m = 1 . Define p n as the least prime factor of F n . If n ≠ m , F n ∧ F m = 1 , so p n ≠ p m . The application φ : ℕ → ℕ , n ↦ p n is injective (one to one), so φ ( ℕ ) is an infinite set of prime numbers. □

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2022-07-19 00:00
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