Binomial Coefficients Modulo a Prime

Author(s): N. J. Fine
Source: The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 54, No. 10, Part 1 (Dec., 1947), pp. 589-592
Published by: Mathematical Association of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2304500 .
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 MATHEMATICAL NOTES
EDITED BY E. F. BECKENBACIE, of California
University
Materialforthisdepartmentshouldbesentdirectly
toE. F. Beckenbach,
University
of
Los Angeles24, California.
California,
NEW PROOF OF A MINIMUM PROPERTY OF THE REGULAR n-GON
L. F. ToTH, Budapest,Hungary
J. Kurschik gives in his paper Ober dem Kreis ein- und urmgeschriebene
Vielecke* among others a complete and entirely elementary geometrical proof
of the well known fact according to which the regular n-gon Pnhas a minimal
area among all n-gons P circumscribed about a circle c. In this proof P. is
carried, after a dismemberment and a suitable reassembly, in n -I steps into
Pnso that the area increasesat every step.
In this note we give an extremely simple proof,t which appears to be new,
showingimmediatelythat if Pnis not regular,then P,,,, where the area is
denoted by the same symbol as the domain.
Consider the circle C circumscribed about P. We show that already for the
part Pn-C of P. lyingin C we have
Pn-C> Pn.
We have Pn C=C-ns+(S1S2+S2s3+ ** +SnSI), where we denote by
S, S** , sn the circularsections of C cut offby the consecutive sides of Pn,
S2,
and by s the circular section of C cut offby a tangent to c. Hence

Pn*C _ C - nS.
Then

P7 >! Pn C > C - ns=Pn.

Equality holds in P.r! P.C resp. in PnC? Pn only if no vertex of Pn lies in
the outside resp. in the inside of C; this completes the proof.

BINOMIAL COEFFICIENTS MODULO A PRIME

N. J. FINE, Universityof Pennsylvania

The followingtheorem,althoughgiven by Lucas in his Theoriedes Nombres

(pp. 417-420), does not appear to be as widely known as it deserves to be:
THEOREM 1. Let p bea prime,and let
M = MO+ MIP + M2p2+ * . + Mkpk (O < Mr< P),
No + Np + N2p2+ ** +Nkpk (O 5 Nr < P).
* Mathematische Annalen30 (1887),pp. 578-581.
t As P. Sz6sz remarked[Bemerkung zu einerArbeitvon K. Ktirschik,Matematikaies
Fizikai Lapok XLIV (1937), p. 167,note 3] Kurschik'sproofis independentof the axiom of
parallels.This advantageis preserved
in thepresentproof.

589

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590 MATHEMATICAL NOTES [December,

Then

(N) (No ) N, )N2

) Nk) P

We offera shortproofof the above theorem:

S( )XX = (1 + x)M 1I {(1 + X)Pr} M

N==O N r=O
k
II (I + xP)Mr (mod p),
r==O
= { r
{E ( f
(Mr) )X-103

CO8'-0 sr

E
N-0O r-o( Sr XN

we the s is taken over all sets (so,s ,, * *

thinnersum M)}
where Sk) such that osrpr N.
But O Sr < Mr<P, so thereis at mostone suchset,givenby Sr= Nr(O 5r? k)
if every Nr5 Mr; if not, the sum is zero. The theoremfollowsby equating co-
of XN, since
efficients

r)=0 for N,>M.r

THEOREM
2. Let T(M) bethenumber Mfor which
N notexceeding
ofintegers

(N ) # 0 (modp).

Then
k
=
T(M) (Mr+ 1).
r_O
?
Proof: Since Mr< p, thereare M + 1 values of Nr, given by 0? Nr M, for
which
Mr
(Mr))#?0(mod p),

and these are the only ones.

THEOREM
3. A necessary
and sufficient thatall thebinomialcoeffi-
condition
cients

( ) < N < M,

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1947] MATHEMATICAL NOTES 591

be divisibe byp is thatM be a powerofp.

Proof: The functionT(M) takes the value 2 ifand only if one of the Mr is 1
and all the othersare 0.
In the opposite direction,we may ask for what values of M none of the
binomial coefficients

)IN < N :!! M,

are divisible by p.
conditionthatnone of thebinomialco-
THEOREM 4. A necessaryand sufficient
of orderM, with
efficients
M=Mo + Mlp + - + Mkpk (O < M < P; Mk > O)
be divisiblebyp is thatMr= p-1 for r<k.
Proof: Let M* = M- Mkpk. Suppose firstthat T(M) = M+ 1. Then
MkApk+? * + 1 = M + 1 = T(M) = (Mk + 1)T(M*) ? (M k+ 1)(M* + 1)
= Mk(M*+ 1) + M* + 1 Mkpk + M* + 1.
From this chain of inequalities it follows that M*=pk-l. Conversely, if
M*=pk-1, then
T(M) = (Mk + i)pk = Mkpk + M* + 1 = M + 1.

Our last theoremdeals with the "probability" that a binomial coefficient

chosen "at random" will be divisible by p. More precisely, consider the
24(m+l)(m+2) binomial coefficients

tN) ? <! N <_!M< n

and let Q(p; m) be the fractionof these whichare not divisible by p.
THEOREM 5. For everyprimep, lim Q(p; m) =0.
m oo
Proof: For k0O, let
pk-I
G(k)= lpk(pk + J)Q(p; pk - 1) = E T(M).
M=O

Clearly G(O) =1. Using the notation introducedin the proof of the preceding
theorem,we have
Vk+1_1

G(k+ 1)= , T(M)

M-0

2
p-1 pk- i
= E (Mk + 1)T(M*)
Mk=O M==O

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592 MATHEMATICAL NOTES [December,
p- 1 \
(Mk + 1)4
Pk_1
= {,iO T(M*)}
M,;=&0 M*-0
=lp(p + 1)G(k).
It followsimmediately
thatG(k)= (4p(p+l))k. Now supposethatpkgSm < pk+'
Then
2
Q(p;m6)
Q(; ) (m + 1)(m + 2)G(k + 1) < 2p-2kG(k+ 1) = 2p-2k(lp(p + 1))k+l
:9(m + 1)(m + 2)

= p(p + 1) (1 + )/

whichtendsto 0 withincreasing m.
By an obviousextensionit followsthat,given an arbitraryfiniteset of
primes,it is "virtuallycertain"that a binomialcoefficient
chosenat random
willbe divisibleby all theprimesin the set.
VOLUME OF AN n-DIMENSIONAL SPHERE
H. P. EVANS,University
ofWisconsin
1. Introduction.
That certaindefiniteintegralsmaybe evaluatedfromprob-
abilityconsiderationsis wellknown[1]. It willbe shownthattheevaluationof
themultipleintegralforthevolumeofan n-dimensional spheremaybe obtained
fromthe probability distribution
of the sum of squaresof n independent and
normallydistributedrandomvariables,all havingthesamestandarddeviation
a and mean zero. Since the studyof thisdistribution is a standardtopicfor
coursesin both probabilitytheory[1] and mathematicalstatistics[2, 3, 4],
and sincetheformula forthevolumeofan n-dimensional sphereis derivableby
the methodsof advancedcalculus [5, 6], a consequenceof the presentnoteis
the establishmentof a furtherconnectionbetweenthe methodsof probability
theoryand the methodsofadvancedcalculus.
2. Analyticaldevelopment. Let xi (i =1, 2, * , n) be n independentand
randomvariables,each havingthe standarddeviationa.
normallydistributed
and themeanvaluezero.Ifwe putx =EZx,wherethesummation is from1 to n,
it is knownfromprobability
theorythat the probability
densityfunctionfor
x is

(2(
f(x) = X-n/2-le-sx2a- x > 0,

f(X) = 0, x<O.
Fromthegivendistribution
ofthexi's it followsthatthedistribution
function
forx =Ex: is

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