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Difficulty: 5/102023 IMO 2023 (Q1)

Determine all composite integers that satisfy the following property: if are all the positive divisors of , then divides for every .

Options:

  • A.

    for some prime and integer , i.e., all prime powers with exponent .

  • for some prime and integer , i.e., all prime powers with exponent .

  • C.

    for some prime and integer , i.e., all prime powers with exponent .

  • D.

    for some prime and integer , i.e., all prime powers with exponent .

Guide / Hint

Hint 1: Check prime powers: divisors of are . Verify the divisibility condition holds.

Hint 2: For with two distinct prime factors : the divisors must satisfy . What is ?

Hint 3: Show that having two distinct prime factors leads to (or similar impossibility). Conclude only prime powers work.

Solution

Step 1 (Prime powers work): If , divisors are . Check: . Since , which is true. So all prime powers work.

Step 2 (Two distinct prime factors fail): Suppose has two distinct prime factors . The divisors include . Consider (or the next divisor). We need (trivially true). We need where is the fourth-smallest divisor.

If (no higher powers), divisors are . Need . Since : , so , giving . Contradiction. So fails.

Step 3 (General two-prime case): For , the first few divisors are The divisibility condition on early triples forces contradictions similar to Step 2.

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