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Let $n$ be a positive odd integer which is not a multiple of $5$.

Prove that there are infinitely many integers of the form $111\ldots111$ that are multiple of $n$.

I learned about Euler's theorem and $\phi$ function, but I don't know how to solve this problem.

José Carlos Santos
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JooE
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  • $10^{k\phi(n)}\equiv1\bmod n$, so that gives you infinitely many integers of the form $999\dots999$. So you just have to work out what to do about that unwanted factor of 9. Alternatively, see https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1323907/prove-that-there-are-infinitely-many-numbers-of-the-form-x-111-1-such-tha – Gerry Myerson Nov 06 '17 at 08:59

2 Answers2

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Try subtracting one of those numbers from another among $n$ consecutive such numbers and see what kind of differences you get. Note also that $n$ and 10 are relatively prime. Also note that once you find one such number, you can make infinitely many more. It's just a pigeonhole problem.

Alexander Burstein
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Let $n$ be your number. So, $n$ is odd and it is not a multiple of $5$. Let $N=9n$. Again, $N$ is odd and it is not a multiple of $5$. So, by the Euler-Fermat theorem, $10^{\phi(N)}\equiv1\pmod N$. And therefore, for each natural $k$, $10^{k\phi(N)}\equiv1\pmod N$. But this means that $N\mid10^{k\phi(N)}-1$, and $10^{k\phi(N)}-1$ is just a long string of $9$'s. Since $N=9n$, it follows from this that $n$ divides a long string of $1$'s of the same length. Since $k$ is arbitrary, there are infinitely many solutions.

José Carlos Santos
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