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arXiv:0801.0805math.NT

One curious proof of Fermat's little theorem

Giedrius Alkauskas

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Abstract

We give a proof of Fermat's little theorem which does not use nor arithmetic(Euclidean algorithm) neither algebra (group theory), but it rather employs the field of the formal power series Q((x)). The note is an example of a mathematical joke, though it contains a rigorous proof. (The paper will appear in print exactly as in the version v3).

arXiv comments
3 pages. To appear in American Mathematical Monthly
Journal reference
Amer. Math. Monthly, 116 (4), (April 2009), 362-364.
DOI
Subjects
math.NTNumber Theory

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  1. Annotated Combinatorial Proof of Fermat’s “Little” Theorem 1 comment

    • There's also a very interesting proof without using any analogue of the Euclidean algorithm - http://arxiv.org/pdf/0801.0805v3.pdf

      cronaldoView on HNParent context

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