An Euler pseudoprime is an odd composite number with satisfying , where the right side is the Jacobi symbol. A weaker convention requires only ; it is distinguished below. A strong pseudoprime, with and odd, satisfies or for some .
By the Chinese remainder theorem for unit groups, the unit group modulo is . Modulo , . Thus the only possible sign in is positive. Modulo , writing for a primitive root, the condition is , equivalently . Consequently has multiplicative order dividing in each factor. Its square is either or in each factor, but these signs must agree: modulo , the Legendre symbol is for square and for square , and the same is true modulo . The Euler pseudoprime condition additionally requires the product of those Legendre symbols to be . Hence
Each sign has two roots modulo each prime, hence four roots modulo . There are eight pseudoprime bases modulo under the Jacobi symbol convention. Under the weaker sign-only convention there are instead sixteen pseudoprime bases, since the two signs of the squares need not agree; the stated equivalence therefore specifically uses the Jacobi symbol convention.
For the strong pseudoprime condition, . Since the unit group has exponent of a finite group , the only possibilities are or . The six pseudoprime bases are . For example , while has but . Thus the strong-pseudoprime pseudoprime bases are not a subgroup.
Put . The odd integer is an Euler pseudoprime to the coprime base when
where is the Jacobi symbol.
Let be the unit group of residue classes modulo , and partition it into the set of bases satisfying the displayed congruence and the set of Euler witnesses that do not. If , multiplication by maps injectively into : indeed, if and also lay in , then the multiplicativity of the Jacobi symbol would give
Cancelling the invertible congruence for would say that , a contradiction. Hence , so at least half of the coprime bases are witnesses.
It remains to construct one witness for every odd composite number . If is not squarefree, choose an odd prime number with . The Chinese remainder theorem gives a unit such that for the full power and modulo every other prime-power factor. The binomial theorem gives
Since , this is neither nor modulo , whereas the Jacobi symbol is always or . Thus is a witness.
If is squarefree and composite, choose distinct primes . By the Chinese remainder theorem, choose to be a quadratic nonresidue modulo and to satisfy modulo every other prime divisor of . Then , while , so the Euler congruence again fails. This proves the existence of an Euler witness for every odd composite integer.
For an odd composite and a unit modulo , is a Fermat pseudoprime to base when
It is an Euler pseudoprime to base when
where the right side is the Jacobi symbol.
By the Chinese remainder theorem,
and . The condition is automatic modulo and . Modulo it has
solutions. Thus there are Fermat bases, giving proportion
For the Euler condition, modulo , so the Jacobi symbol must be . The power condition is automatic modulo , while modulo it again restricts to the two solutions of . For each of those two residues, exactly half of the choices modulo and have Jacobi symbol . Hence there are Euler bases and proportion