Exercise 3.23

Extend the notion of congruence to the ring ℤ [ i ] and prove that a + bi is always congruent to 0 or 1 modulo 1 + i .

Answers

Proof. If a , b , c are in ℤ [ i ] we say that a ≡ b ( mod c ) if there exists q ∈ ℤ [ i ] such that a − b = qc .

As i ≡ − 1 ( mod 1 + i ) , a + bi ≡ a − b ( mod 1 + i ) .

( 1 − i ) ( 1 + i ) = 2 , so 2 ≡ 0 ( mod 1 + i ) .

If a − b is even, a − b = 2 k , k ∈ ℤ ⊂ ℤ [ i ] , so a − b ≡ 0 ( mod 1 + i ) .

If a − b is odd, a − b = 2 k + 1 , k ∈ ℤ , so a − b ≡ 1 ( mod 1 + i ) .

Conclusion : for all z ∈ ℤ [ i ] , z ≡ 0 , 1 ( mod 1 + i ) . □

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2022-07-19 00:00
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