One more Ramanujan Sum

Let c 2015 ( n ) c_{2015}(n) be the sum of the n th n^\text{th} powers of all the primitive 201 5 th 2015^\text{th} roots of unity, ω . \omega. Find the minimal value of c 2015 ( n ) c_{2015}(n) for all positive integers n n .


This year's problem


The answer is -360.

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2 solutions

Andreas Wendler
Jan 4, 2016

Via Moebius' inversion formula we can write a sum:

c 2015 ( n ) = d ( 2015 , n ) μ ( 2015 / d ) × d c_{2015}(n) = \sum_{d|(2015,n)}μ(2015/d) \times d

μ denotes the Moebius function.

This means we only have to consider the dividers of 2015 which are 1, 5, 13, 31, 65, 155, 403 and 2015. For coprime values Ramanujan's sum is -1. The others' sums will be determined by the numbers above.
The minimum value is obtained when n=403: c 2015 ( 403 ) = 1 + 13 + 31 403 = 360 c_{2015}(403) = -1 +13 +31 - 403 = -360

Remark: For all numbers greater than 2015 we can separate a multiplier e 2 π i e^{2\pi i} (equals 1) from any n t h n^{th} power root and the result will not be influenced.

Gut gemacht! (+1)

Otto Bretscher - 5 years, 5 months ago
Otto Bretscher
Jan 4, 2016

The solution I had in mind is analogous to Mr Wendler's.

Since the Ramanujan sum c m ( n ) c_m(n) is multiplicative in m m , we have c 2015 ( n ) = c 5 ( n ) c 13 ( n ) c 31 ( n ) c_{2015}(n)=c_5(n)c_{13}(n)c_{31}(n) . For prime numbers p p we know that c p ( n ) = p 1 c_p(n)=p-1 if p n p|n and c p ( n ) = 1 c_p(n)=-1 otherwise. Thus there are eight possible values for c 2015 ( n ) c_{2015}(n) , the minimal of which is c 2015 ( n ) = ( 1 ) × 12 × 30 = 360 c_{2015}(n)=(-1)\times 12 \times 30=\boxed{-360} , attained when n n is divisible by 13 × 31 = 403 13\times 31=403 but not by 5.

Moderator note:

Good approach. Exploiting the multiplicative nature of these functions allow for a more direct calculation.

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