Prime divisor of a Fermat number

ID: prime-divisor-of-a-fermat-number

If a prime number divides the Fermat number , it is odd and . The multiplicative order of divides but not , so it is exactly . Fermat's little theorem then gives . For , every prime divisor is modulo . A prime need not divide any Fermat number merely because it is modulo : order excludes the prime from the whole family.

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