On a Theorem on sums of the form 1+ m 1+ 22n + 22n+ .........

+ 22n+ and a result linking Fermat with Mersenne numbers

By Konstantine Hermes Zelator Department Of Mathematics College Of Arts And Sciences Mail Stop 942 University Of Toledo Toledo, OH 43606-3390 U.S.A.

1.

INTRODUCTION
1 n +m . In this paper we study sums of the form 1 +22n +22n + +......... +22

In his book 250 Problems in Elementary Number Theory,

(see reference [1],

1 are problem 123, p. 66), W. Sierpinski shows that the numbers 1 +22n +22n + divisible by 21, for n =1, 2,..... . This leads to the fact that for

n n+ 1 1 are all composite numbers divisible by 7 (for n =1 , n 2, 1 +22 +22 3 one obtains 7). This problem of W. Sierspinski has motivated the study in this paper 1 n +m . of integers of the form 1 +22n +22n + +......... +22 The main theorem in this paper is stated as follows. Let N be an odd

integer 3, n an integer 2 such that 2n 1mod s , where s is the exponent to which 2 belongs modulo N (note that s must be odd). Suppose that a is the exponent to which 2 belongs modulo s . Also, let l be the largest integer so that
l+ 1 2l <s ; thus 2l +1 s and so 2 b mod s , for some b with 0 b <s . Consider

the

integers

n n+ 1 n +l kl =1 +22 +22 +......... +22

a -1

and

k b =2 b +2 b .2 +2b .2 +....... +2 b .2 . Assume that d | kl , where d =( kb , N ) . Then there are infinitely many integers m for which n n+ 1 n +m I n ,m =1 +22 +22 +......... +22 0 mod N . In fact the integers m =l +r.a +i.L.D have precisely this property; where L is the least common
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multiple of N and a , D =( N , a ) and r is the least positive integer that satisfies the congruence kl +r.k b 0 mod N . (The existence of such, an r is guaranteed by the condition d | kl ; r can be effectively computed. ) Below Theorem 1, two examples are presented. The first involves N =31, n =4k (k any positive integer) and the second N =(31)(7) =217, n =4k . In this introduction we present an additional example. Take N =7.127 =889, n =6k , for k =1, 2,.... . The exponent to which 2 belongs modulo N is 3.7 = 21 (note that exponent of 2 mod 7 is 3, while the exponent of 2 mod 127 is 7; thus the exponent of 2 mod 7.127 is 3.7 = 21, the least common multiple of 3 and 7). So s = 21, and 2n =(26 ) k 1mod 21 . Furthermore, a =6; a - 1 =5, and l=4 ; so 2l +1 +25 11mod 21 which means
2

b =11 .
3 4 5

We

have

k l =1 +22 +22 +22 +22 and

k b =211 +211.2 +211.2 +211.2 +211.2 +211.2 . Let us consider k b modulo 7 and 127. We have 211 22 , 211.2 2, 211.2 22 211.2 2, 211.2 22 , 211.2 2 mod 7
2 2 2 and so kD k b =2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 18 4 mod 7 .
3 4 5 2

On the other hand,

211 24 , 211.2 2, 211.2 22

211.2 24 , 211.2 2, 211.2 22 mod127

4 2 4 2 Consequently, k b =2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 44 mod127 .

Thus, since k b 4 mod 7 and k b 44 mod 7 , we have (k b , 7.127) =1 =d and, trivially d | kl , and so the hypothesis of the theorem is satisfied. Let us now find the least positive integer r so that kl +r.k b mod(7.127) Since kl 1mod 7 and kl 27 mod127 , the last congruence yields
1 + 4r 0 mod 7 27 + 4r 0 mod 127 .

The first congruence implies r 5 mod 7 . Write the second as 27 + 11.22.r 0 mod 127 . If we multiply the congruence with 1162 .25 (we have

1163 1, 27 1mod127 ), we obtain 27(1162.25 ) + r 0 mod 127 or r - 27.1162 .25 60 mod127 . The least positive integer r that satisfies both congruences
r 60 mod 127 , is r = 1076.

r 5 mod 7 and

Also the least common multiple L of N = 889 and a = 6 is L = 889.6 = 5334, while D = (N, a) = 1. According to the (main) theorem, it follows, since

m = l + r.a + i.L.D = 4 + 1076.6 + 5334i =6460 + 5334i , that the numbers 1 +22 +22
6k 6k+ 1

+....... +22

6k+ ( 6460+ 5334 i )

are divisible by N = 889

for all k = 1,2,..., and all i = 0,1,2,... . A corollary of this theorem is that there are infinitely many integers m such Fn + Fn +1 +...... + Fn +m m mod N , where Fn +i , i = 0,1,. .., m , is the (n + i)-th Fermat number, and n, N satisfying the hypothesis of the theorem. In the second theorem of this paper (Theorem 2), the following result is proven. If
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2 q- 1 N =2 p - 1 and p = 2q - 1 are both Mersenne primes, and 21 +22 +22 +........ +22 is not

divisible by N, then the integers 1 +22 +22

kq kq + 1

+......... +22

kq + [( q - 1) + rq+ Ni ]

are all divisible by N, for k = 1,2,... and i = 0,1,..., where r positive is some integer effectively found. (It satisfies a certain congruence; refer to Theorem 2. ) As a corollary to this, one sees that there are infinitely many integers m with the property that Fkq +Fkq +1 +........ +Fkq +m ( q - 1) +rq mod(2 p - 1) for k =1, 2,...
THEOREM 1.

Let n, N be positive integers, n, N 2 , such that 2n 1 mod s, where s is the order

of exponent to which 2 belongs modulo N. (Note that both N and s must be odd.) Let l , denote the largest integer such that 2l < s (so 2 l +1 s ). Also let b stand for the nonnegative integer so that b <s and 2 l +1 b mod s . Set k l =1 +2 +22 +22 +.......... +22 . If a denotes the order or
1 2 l

exponent

to

which
2

belongs
a-1

mod

(s

is

odd

and

so

(2,s)

1),

set

k b = 2 b + 2 b .2 +2b .2 + ...... + 2 b .2

. Assume that d | k b , where d =( kb , N ) .

n n+ 1 n+ m

Then the integers of the form I n ,m =1 +22 +22 + ... + 22 infinitely many positive integers m.

are all divisible by N for

In fact, if r is a positive integer such that

kl + r.k b 0 mod N (such an r is guaranteed to exist on account of d | kl and it can be (effectively) computed), and m = l + r.a + i.L.D , where L is the least common multiple of N and a , D = ( a , N ) and i = 0,1,2,... . Then I n ,m 0 mod N . We present two examples. 1. Take N = 31, n any positive integer with n = 0 mod 4, say n = 4k. Then of course 2n = ( 24 )
k

1 mod 5 , and s = 5 (the exponent to which 2 belongs mod 31 is

5

5). We have, in the notation of the theorem l = 2, and 2l +1 = 23 3mod 5 , so b = 3. It is a = 4 and so k b = 23 + 23.2 + 23.2 + 23.2 , kl =1 +21 + 22 +22 =23 . We have, 3 3, 3.2 1, 3.22 2 and 3.23 4 mod 5 . Thus,
2 3 2

k b = 23 + 2 + 22 + 24 = 30 mod 31 , which shows that d =( kb , N ) =1 . Thus the hypothesis d | kl is satisfied. To find an r such that kl + r.k b 0 mod 31 , we must solve the congruence
23 +30r 0 mod 31 . The solution is r 23 mod 31 , and so the smallest positive solution 124i and is r = 23. Thus if we take m = l + r.a + i.L.D. =2 +23.4 + 4.31i = 94 +

since n = 4k, we conclude by the theorem that I n,m =1 +22 +22

4k 4k+ 1

+........... +22

4k+ 94+ 124 i

0 mod 31 ,

for all k = 1,2,..., and i = 0,1,2,. 2. Take N = 7.31 = 217, n any positive integer with n 0 mod 4, n =4k . It is 24 k =( 24 ) 1mod 15 , which shows that 2n 1mod15 . The exponent to which 2 belongs modulo
k

217, is the least common multiple of the exponents modulo 7 and 31, so s = 3.5 = 15. We have l = 3 and 2l +1 = 24 1mod 15 which shows that b =1. Also a = least common multiple of the orders of 2 modulo 3 and 5 = 4. It is

kl

= 1 +21 + 22 + 22 +22 and =1+2+4+16+256 = 279

k b =21 +22 +22 + 22

=2+4+16+256 = 278.

Then

(278,

217)

and

so

d | kl .

We

must

solve

the

congruence

279 + r.278 mod ( 7.31) . This congruence, when viewed mod 7, gives 6 +5r 0 mod 7 which has a solution r 3mod 7 . When considered mod 31, the above congruence gives, since 279 0 mod 31, 278r 0 mod 31 which has solution r 0 mod 31 . The simultaneous congruences r 3mod 7 and r 0 mod 31 have a solution r 31mod 217 (Chinese remainder theorem). The smallest positive integer with this property is 31. If we therefore take

m =l + r.a + i.L.D = 3 + 31.4 +4.217i =3 + 124 +868i =127 +868i, n = 15k , we conclude by the theorem that

I n,m =1 +22 +22

4k

4k+ 1

+........... +22

4k+ 127 + 868 i

0 mod 217

for all k = 1,2,..., and i = 0,1,2,... .

Proof. Since 2n 1 mod s , we may set 2n = k.s+1, for some positive integer k. Consider the integer 22 . We have 22 =2ks +1 which implies 22n 2ks +1 ( 2s ) .2 1.2 2 mod N .
k
n n

(1)

It immediately follows from congruence (1) that

22 22

n+j

( )
n

2j

22 mod N , for j =0,1, 2,......

(2)

If kl = 1 +21 + 22 + 22 + ... + 22 , congruence (2) implies

22 + 22 + . . . + 22

n+ 1

n+ l

= 2 + 22 + . . . + 22 kl mod N .

(3)

According to the hypothesis, l is the largest integer such that 2l < s, and so 2l +1 b mod s , for some 0 b < s . Since a is the exponent to which 2 belongs mod s, it
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follows that 2a i 1 mod s, i = 0,1, 2,... Given an i, we may set 2a i = ki .s + 1 , for some ki + . (4)

Also, since s is the exponent to which 2 belongs modulo N, we have 2 s 1 mod N . Thus

2ki s ( 2s ) 1 mod N
ki

(5)

Congruences (4) and (5) imply

2 b .2

j+ ia

2 b .2

2ia

2 b .2 . 2ki s

( )

b .2 j

2b .2 mod N

(6)

for 0 j a - 1 and i = 0,1,2,...

If k b = 2 b + 22.b + 2 b .2 +... + 2 b .2 , it follows by (2), (3), (6) and kl = 1 + 21 +22 +22 + ... +22 that
1 2 l

a -1

22 + 22 +........ + 22

n+ 1

n ++ l ia

kl +ik b mod N ,

for

i = 0,1,2,...

(7)

By the hypothesis of the theorem, we have d | k b , where d = ( k b , N ) . Consequently there is a positive integer r such that kl +rk b 0 mod N Furthermore, if L is the least common multiple of N and a and D = (N, a ), we must have (8)

D.L 0 mod N a
8

(9)

Hence, if we replace i by r + i

D.L in (7), we obtain a

22 + 22 +........ + 22

n+ 1

n ++ l r .a + i.D.L

i.D.L kl +r + kb a

i.D.L kl +rkb + k b 0 mod N , a

by virtue of (8) and (9), and the theorem is proven.

COROLLARY 1. Let n, N be integers satisfying the hypothesis of Theorem 1, with N a composite integer and 2n N . Then if a is any proper positive divisor of N, there are infinitely

many integers m such that the integers

n n+ 1 n+ m 1 1 +22 + 22 + . . . + 22 d

are composite integers

divisible by

N . d

Proof. By Theorem 1, there are infinitely many integers m such that I n ,m =1 +22 + 22 + . . . + 22
n n+ 1 n+ m

0 mod N .

Hence

n n+ 1 n+ m 1 N 1 +22 + 22 + . . . + 22 0 mod for infinitely many m. Of course d d

1<

N <N , since d is a proper divisor of N. From 2n N it follows that 1 +22n 1 +2 N >N , d

which implies 1 +22 + 22 + . . . + 22 whence

9
n n+ 1 n+ m

>N ,

I n n+ 1 n+ m 1 N 1 +22 + 22 + . . . + 22 = n ,m > d d d

which together with

I n,m

I N 0 mod , establishes that the integers n ,m d d d W

are composite for

infinitely many integer values of m.

COROLLARY 2. Let n, N be integers satisfying the hypothesis of Theorem 1. Then there are infinitely many integers m so that F + Fn +1 + ... + Fn +m m mod N , where Fn +i , i =0,1, 2,...., m

, stands for the ( n +i )-th Fermat number. Proof. According to Theorem 1, there are infinitely many numbers m so that

1 +22 + 22 + . . . + 22

n+ 1

n+ m

0 mod N

We have Fn +i =22 + 1, for i =0,1, 2,...., m . Thus, F + Fn +1 + ... + Fn +m = 22 + 1 + 22 + 1 +.......... + 22

n+ i

) (

n+ 1

n+ m

+ 1

2 2 2 = 1 +2 + 2 + . . . + 2

n+ 1

n+ m

) +[(m +1) - 1]

= m mod N, by virtue of (10). W

THEOREM 2. Let N = 2P- 1 and p = 2q - 1 be both Mersenne primes (such is the case for instance when q = 3 and p = 7; N = 127). Then 1 +22 + 22
kq kq + 1

+ . . . + 22

kq + [( q - 1)+ rq+ Ni ]+ m

0 mod N

for all k = 1,2,..., i = 0,1,2,..., where r is the smallest positive integer such that
10

( 1 +2 + 2
1

21

+ 22 . . . + 22 ) +(21 + 22 + 22 . . . + 22 ) r 0 mod N
1 2 q- 1

q- 1

q- 1

)
k

provided that 21 + 22 + 22 . . . + 22

is no divisible by N =( p + 1) k 1mod p .

Proof. Let n=q.k , k being any positive integer. It is 2n = ( 2q )

However, it is clear that s = p, where s is the exponent to which 2 belongs modulo N. This follows from the fact that 2P = N + l and p is prime. (Thus the exponent x to which 2 belongs modulo N would have to be a divisor of p, since 2P 1 mod N. Therefore, x = 1 or p, since p is a prime. It cannot be x = 1, since N > 1, thus x = p.) We have thus proved 2n 1mod s , which means that Theorem 1, since n, N 2 , does apply. In the notation of that theorem, we have l = q - 1 (This is because 2q - 1 <s = p =2q - 1 , in virtue of q 3 , in particular q 2 ; and because 2l +1 =2q >s = p =2q - 1 ) The exponent a to which 2 belongs modulo s = p, equals q, a = q. (The reasoning is the same by showing that p is the exponent to which 2 belongs modulo N, which was done above.) 1 1mod p which shows that b =1 . Thus Also, 2l +1 =2q = p +

kl =1 +21 + 22 + 22 +. . . + 22 =1 +21 + 22 + 22 +. . . + 22 and

2 q- 1

q- 1

k b =21 + 21.2 + 21.2 + . . . + 22

If, as it is assumed in the hypothesis, N does not divide kb , then, since N is a prime, it follows that d = ( kb ,N) = 1. Thus d | kl , which shows that the hypothesis of Theorem 1 is satisfied. (Note that if k b 0 mod N , then, since ( kl , k b ) =1 and by virtue of kl =1 +kb , the hypothesis of Theorem 1 cannot be satisfied). Consequently there is a smallest positive integer r satisfying
11

kl +rk b 0 mod N .

By taking m =l +r.a +i.L.D , where L = the least common multiple of N and is a prime and q < 2P- 1, by virtue of p = 2q - 1, it follows that (2P-1,

a =( 2 p - 1) q (since 2P - 1 q)= 1; thus L = q(2p-l))

p and D = (N,a ) =(2 p - 1, q) =1 . We find that m = q - 1 + r.q + i.q. ( 2 - 1) , and therefore, by

applying Theorem 1, the proof is concluded.

COROLLARY 3. N = 2P - 1, p = 2q - 1, F and i = 0,1,2,....

If N, p are Mersenne primes, satisfying the hypothesis of Theorem 2, i.e., + Fqk +1 + ... + Fqk [ q - 1+r .q +i .q.(2 p - 1)] q - 1 +rq mod(2 p - 1) for all k = 1,2,...,

qk

Proof. It follows immediately by Corollary 2 to Theorem 1, and by Theorem 2, and by virtue of m =q -1 +rq +iq.(2 p - 1) . W

REFERENCES
[1] SIERPINSKI, W.: 250 Problems in Elementary Number Theory. Polish Academy of Sciences; American Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc., New York; PWN-Polish Scientific Publishers, Warszawa, 1970.

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