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Δευτέρα 24 Ιουνίου 2024

How to discover the statement and two proofs of Fermat's little theorem

The statement, and sketches of the usual proofs
Fermat's little theorem states that if p is a prime and x is an integer not divisible by p, then xp1 is congruent to 1(modp).
One proof is to note that x can be regarded as an element of the multiplicative group of non-zero residue classes (modp). It generates a cyclic subgroup, and the order of that subgroup is the minimal r such that xr=1(modp). By Lagrange's theorem, this r must divide p1, from which the theorem readily follows.
Another proof is to deal with a modified statement: that xp=x(modp) for every x.