Divisor

The divisors of 10 illustrated with Cuisenaire rods: 1, 2, 5, and 10

In mathematics a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer that can be multiplied by some other integer to produce n.

Definition

Two versions of the definition of a divisor are commonplace:

• For integers m and n, it is said that m divides n, m is a divisor of n, or n is a multiple of m, and this is written as

  m \mid n,

if there exists an integer k such that mk = n.^[1] Under this definition, the statement 0 \mid 0 holds.

• As before, but with the additional constraint m \neq 0.^[2] Under this definition, the statement 0 \mid 0 does not hold.

In the remainder of this article, which definition is applied is indicated where this is significant.

General

Divisors can be negative as well as positive, although sometimes the term is restricted to positive divisors. For example, there are six divisors of 4; they are 1, 2, 4, −1, −2, and −4, but only the positive ones (1, 2, and 4) would usually be mentioned.

1 and −1 divide (are divisors of) every integer. Every integer (and its negation) is a divisor of itself.^[3] Every integer is a divisor of 0.^[4] Integers divisible by 2 are called even, and numbers not divisible by 2 are called odd.

1, −1, n and −n are known as the trivial divisors of n. A divisor of n that is not a trivial divisor is known as a non-trivial divisor. A non-zero integer with at least one non-trivial divisor is known as a composite number, while the units −1 and 1 and prime numbers have no non-trivial divisors.

There are divisibility rules which allow one to recognize certain divisors of a number from the number's digits.

The generalization can be said to be the concept of divisibility in any integral domain.

Examples

Plot of the number of divisors of integers from 1 to 1000. Prime numbers have exactly 2 divisors, and highly composite numbers are in bold.

• 7 is a divisor of 42 because 7 \times 6 = 42, so we can say 7 \mid 42. It can also be said that 42 is divisible by 7, 42 is a multiple of 7, 7 divides 42, or 7 is a factor of 42.
• The non-trivial divisors of 6 are 2, −2, 3, −3.
• The positive divisors of 42 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21, 42.
• 5 \mid 0, because 5 \times 0 = 0.
• The set of all positive divisors of 60, A = \{ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60 \}, partially ordered by divisibility, has the Hasse diagram:

Further notions and facts

There are some elementary rules:

• If a \mid b and b \mid c, then a \mid c, i.e. divisibility is a transitive relation.
• If a \mid b and b \mid a, then a = b or a = -b.
• If a \mid b and a \mid c, then a \mid (b + c) holds, as does a \mid (b - c).^[5] However, if a \mid b and c \mid b, then (a + c) \mid b does not always hold (e.g. 2\mid6 and 3 \mid 6 but 5 does not divide 6).

If a \mid bc, and gcd(a, b) = 1, then a \mid c. This is called Euclid's lemma.

If p is a prime number and p \mid ab then p \mid a or p \mid b.

A positive divisor of n which is different from n is called a proper divisor or an aliquot part of n. A number that does not evenly divide n but leaves a remainder is called an aliquant part of n.

An integer n > 1 whose only proper divisor is 1 is called a prime number. Equivalently, a prime number is a positive integer which has exactly two positive factors: 1 and itself.

Any positive divisor of n is a product of prime divisors of n raised to some power. This is a consequence of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic.

A number n is said to be perfect if it equals the sum of its proper divisors, deficient if the sum of its proper divisors is less than n, and abundant if this sum exceeds n.

The total number of positive divisors of n is a multiplicative function d(n), meaning that when two numbers m and n are relatively prime, then d(mn)=d(m)\times d(n). For instance, d(42) = 8 = 2 \times 2 \times 2 = d(2) \times d(3) \times d(7); the eight divisors of 42 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21 and 42. However the number of positive divisors is not a totally multiplicative function: if the two numbers m and n share a common divisor, then it might not be true that d(mn)=d(m)\times d(n). The sum of the positive divisors of n is another multiplicative function \sigma (n) (e.g. \sigma (42) = 96 = 3 \times 4 \times 8 = \sigma (2) \times \sigma (3) \times \sigma (7) = 1+2+3+6+7+14+21+42). Both of these functions are examples of divisor functions.

If the prime factorization of n is given by

n = p_1^{\nu_1} \, p_2^{\nu_2} \cdots p_k^{\nu_k}

then the number of positive divisors of n is

d(n) = (\nu_1 + 1) (\nu_2 + 1) \cdots (\nu_k + 1),

and each of the divisors has the form

p_1^{\mu_1} \, p_2^{\mu_2} \cdots p_k^{\mu_k}

where 0 \le \mu_i \le \nu_i for each 1 \le i \le k.

For every natural n, d(n) < 2 \sqrt{n}.

Also,^[6]

d(1)+d(2)+ \cdots +d(n) = n \ln n + (2 \gamma -1) n + O(\sqrt{n}).

where \gamma is Euler–Mascheroni constant. One interpretation of this result is that a randomly chosen positive integer n has an expected number of divisors of about \ln n.

In abstract algebra

Given the definition for which 0 \mid 0 holds, the relation of divisibility turns the set \mathbb{N} of non-negative integers into a partially ordered set: a complete distributive lattice. The largest element of this lattice is 0 and the smallest is 1. The meet operation ∧ is given by the greatest common divisor and the join operation ∨ by the least common multiple. This lattice is isomorphic to the dual of the lattice of subgroups of the infinite cyclic group \mathbb{Z}.

See also

• Arithmetic functions
• Divisibility rule
• Divisor function
• Euclid's algorithm
• Fraction (mathematics)
• Table of divisors — A table of prime and non-prime divisors for 1–1000
• Table of prime factors — A table of prime factors for 1–1000

Notes

• Durbin, John R. (1992). Modern Algebra: An Introduction (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.  
• Richard K. Guy, Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (3rd ed), Springer Verlag, 2004 ISBN 0-387-20860-7; section B.
• Herstein, I. N. (1986), Abstract Algebra, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company,  
• Øystein Ore, Number Theory and its History, McGraw–Hill, NY, 1944 (and Dover reprints).
• Sims, Charles C. (1984), Abstract Algebra: A Computational Approach, New York: John Wiley & Sons,  

Divisibility-based sets of integers Overview Integer factorization Divisor Unitary divisor Divisor function Prime factor Fundamental theorem of arithmetic Arithmetic number Factorization forms Prime number Composite number Semiprime number Pronic number Sphenic number Square-free number Powerful number Perfect power Achilles number Smooth number Regular number Rough number Unusual number Constrained divisor sums Perfect number Almost perfect number Quasiperfect number Multiply perfect number Hemiperfect number Hyperperfect number Superperfect number Unitary perfect number Semiperfect number Practical number With many divisors Abundant number Primitive abundant number Highly abundant number Superabundant number Colossally abundant number Highly composite number Superior highly composite number Weird number Aliquot sequence-related Untouchable number Amicable number Sociable number Betrothed number Other sets Deficient number Friendly number Solitary number Sublime number Harmonic divisor number Frugal number Equidigital number Extravagant number

Fractions & ratios Division & ratio Dividend : Divisor = Quotient Fraction Numerator / Denominator = Quotient Algebraic Aspect Continued Decimal Dyadic Egyptian Golden Silver Integer Irreducible Reduction LCD Musical interval Percentage Unit