Saturday, 21 May 2016

number theory - How to prove that any (integer)1/n that isn't an integer, is irrational?





Is my proof beneath perfect and complete?



I wanted to prove that for any nth root of an integer, if it's not an integer, than it's irrational:
{m,nNnmNnmQ.




I start by assuming that m1n is rational and non-integer. So there exist co-prime integers a,b so that nm=ab

m=anbnN.

But since a and b have no common factor, an and bn also have no common factor. So:
anbnN,

a contradiction.


Answer



Your proof is fine. You can use essentially the same idea to prove the following more general statement:



Theorem. If P(X)Z[X] is a monic polynomial, then any rational roots of P are integers. In other words, Z is integrally closed.




Proof. Assume that q=a/b is a rational root with a,b coprime, and let P(X)=Xn+cn1Xn1++c0. We have P(q)=0, which gives



an+cn1an1b++c0bn=0



In other words, an is divisible by b. This is a contradiction unless b=±1, since then any prime dividing b also divides a, contradicting coprimality. Hence, b=±1 and qZ.


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