Are mersenne numbers with prime exponent cube free?

135 Views Asked by At

It is not known if mersenne numbers with prime exponent are square free. It is an open problem in number theory. Some limitations on the divisors are discussed in: https://mathoverflow.net/questions/149511/squarefree-parts-of-mersenne-numbers

Do we know if a mersenne numbers with prime exponent are cube free?

1

There are 1 best solutions below

5
On BEST ANSWER

Not a full answer, but a proof that $2^p\equiv 1\mod q^2$ with primes $p,q$ implies that $q$ is a Wieferich prime.

Define $m=ord_2(q^2)$ , in other words, $m$ is the smallest positive integer with $$2^m\equiv 1\mod q^2$$

Because of $$2^p\equiv 1\mod q^2$$ the order must be $1$ or $p$. $1$ can be ruled out because of $2\ne 1\mod q^2$ , hence the order must be $p$.

Euler's theorem states $$2^{q(q-1)}\equiv1\mod q^2$$ hence $p|q(q-1)$.

$p|q$ would imply $p=q$ , but $2^q\equiv 2\ne 1\mod q$ , hence $2^q\ne 1\mod q^2$. Hence $p$ must divide $q-1$ implying $$2^{q-1}\equiv 1\mod q^2$$

Hence $q$ is a Wieferich-prime.