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[parent] Fermat numbers are coprime (Theorem)
Theorem   Any two Fermat numbers are coprime.

Proof.
Let $F_m$ and $F_n$ two Fermat numbers, and assume $m<n$ Let $d$ a positive common divisor of $F_n$ and $F_m$ that is $$ d \mid F_m,\qquad d\mid F_n. $$

If $d\mid F_m$ then $d\mid F_1F_2\cdots F_{n-1}$ since some factor must be $F_m$ itself. But $F_n-F_1F_2\cdots F_{n-1}=2$ and so $d \mid 2$ Since $d$ is odd, we must have $d=1$

Therefore, the greatest common divisor of any two Fermat numbers must be $1$

Q.E.D.




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Cross-references: greatest common divisor, odd, factor, divisor, positive, Fermat numbers, proof

This is version 2 of Fermat numbers are coprime, born on 2004-11-25, modified 2007-08-04.
Object id is 6529, canonical name is FermatNumbersAreCoprime.
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Classification:
AMS MSC11A51 (Number theory :: Elementary number theory :: Factorization; primality)

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