Given the factors of $N$, is there a method for computing the factors of $N-1$ or $N+1$?












9












$begingroup$


Given the prime factorization of $N$, is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N-1$ or $N+1$, which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it?



I assume that the factors of $N$ can be "skipped" while searching for the factors of $N-1$ or $N+1$, but I don't see how it can improve the general case performance (i.e., for any given value of $N$).



UPDATE:



This question can also be stated as follows: is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N$, given the prime factorization of either one of its neighbors (which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it)?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    None is known, and the existence of such a method would spoil the widely-used RSA encryption method.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:23










  • $begingroup$
    You can indeed skip the factors of $N$. I guess you might be able to use the factors of $N$ in some complicated prime-factorization algorithm, but I'm not sure.
    $endgroup$
    – Ragnar
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:24










  • $begingroup$
    The link between the additive $(pm 1)$ and multiplicative (prime factorisation) properties of the integers is also one way of looking at the Riemann Hypothesis.
    $endgroup$
    – Mark Bennet
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:26






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark Bennet: This sounds very interesting. Can you please elaborate?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:27






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Btw, if there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac {N pm 1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.
    $endgroup$
    – DanielV
    Apr 16 '14 at 22:14
















9












$begingroup$


Given the prime factorization of $N$, is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N-1$ or $N+1$, which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it?



I assume that the factors of $N$ can be "skipped" while searching for the factors of $N-1$ or $N+1$, but I don't see how it can improve the general case performance (i.e., for any given value of $N$).



UPDATE:



This question can also be stated as follows: is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N$, given the prime factorization of either one of its neighbors (which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it)?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    None is known, and the existence of such a method would spoil the widely-used RSA encryption method.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:23










  • $begingroup$
    You can indeed skip the factors of $N$. I guess you might be able to use the factors of $N$ in some complicated prime-factorization algorithm, but I'm not sure.
    $endgroup$
    – Ragnar
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:24










  • $begingroup$
    The link between the additive $(pm 1)$ and multiplicative (prime factorisation) properties of the integers is also one way of looking at the Riemann Hypothesis.
    $endgroup$
    – Mark Bennet
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:26






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark Bennet: This sounds very interesting. Can you please elaborate?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:27






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Btw, if there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac {N pm 1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.
    $endgroup$
    – DanielV
    Apr 16 '14 at 22:14














9












9








9


3



$begingroup$


Given the prime factorization of $N$, is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N-1$ or $N+1$, which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it?



I assume that the factors of $N$ can be "skipped" while searching for the factors of $N-1$ or $N+1$, but I don't see how it can improve the general case performance (i.e., for any given value of $N$).



UPDATE:



This question can also be stated as follows: is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N$, given the prime factorization of either one of its neighbors (which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it)?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




Given the prime factorization of $N$, is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N-1$ or $N+1$, which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it?



I assume that the factors of $N$ can be "skipped" while searching for the factors of $N-1$ or $N+1$, but I don't see how it can improve the general case performance (i.e., for any given value of $N$).



UPDATE:



This question can also be stated as follows: is there a known method for computing the prime factorization of $N$, given the prime factorization of either one of its neighbors (which is more efficient than the best known method for doing that without it)?







number-theory prime-factorization






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Apr 16 '14 at 21:44







barak manos

















asked Apr 16 '14 at 21:17









barak manosbarak manos

37.8k74199




37.8k74199








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    None is known, and the existence of such a method would spoil the widely-used RSA encryption method.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:23










  • $begingroup$
    You can indeed skip the factors of $N$. I guess you might be able to use the factors of $N$ in some complicated prime-factorization algorithm, but I'm not sure.
    $endgroup$
    – Ragnar
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:24










  • $begingroup$
    The link between the additive $(pm 1)$ and multiplicative (prime factorisation) properties of the integers is also one way of looking at the Riemann Hypothesis.
    $endgroup$
    – Mark Bennet
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:26






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark Bennet: This sounds very interesting. Can you please elaborate?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:27






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Btw, if there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac {N pm 1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.
    $endgroup$
    – DanielV
    Apr 16 '14 at 22:14














  • 4




    $begingroup$
    None is known, and the existence of such a method would spoil the widely-used RSA encryption method.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:23










  • $begingroup$
    You can indeed skip the factors of $N$. I guess you might be able to use the factors of $N$ in some complicated prime-factorization algorithm, but I'm not sure.
    $endgroup$
    – Ragnar
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:24










  • $begingroup$
    The link between the additive $(pm 1)$ and multiplicative (prime factorisation) properties of the integers is also one way of looking at the Riemann Hypothesis.
    $endgroup$
    – Mark Bennet
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:26






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark Bennet: This sounds very interesting. Can you please elaborate?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 16 '14 at 21:27






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Btw, if there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac {N pm 1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.
    $endgroup$
    – DanielV
    Apr 16 '14 at 22:14








4




4




$begingroup$
None is known, and the existence of such a method would spoil the widely-used RSA encryption method.
$endgroup$
– MJD
Apr 16 '14 at 21:23




$begingroup$
None is known, and the existence of such a method would spoil the widely-used RSA encryption method.
$endgroup$
– MJD
Apr 16 '14 at 21:23












$begingroup$
You can indeed skip the factors of $N$. I guess you might be able to use the factors of $N$ in some complicated prime-factorization algorithm, but I'm not sure.
$endgroup$
– Ragnar
Apr 16 '14 at 21:24




$begingroup$
You can indeed skip the factors of $N$. I guess you might be able to use the factors of $N$ in some complicated prime-factorization algorithm, but I'm not sure.
$endgroup$
– Ragnar
Apr 16 '14 at 21:24












$begingroup$
The link between the additive $(pm 1)$ and multiplicative (prime factorisation) properties of the integers is also one way of looking at the Riemann Hypothesis.
$endgroup$
– Mark Bennet
Apr 16 '14 at 21:26




$begingroup$
The link between the additive $(pm 1)$ and multiplicative (prime factorisation) properties of the integers is also one way of looking at the Riemann Hypothesis.
$endgroup$
– Mark Bennet
Apr 16 '14 at 21:26




3




3




$begingroup$
@Mark Bennet: This sounds very interesting. Can you please elaborate?
$endgroup$
– barak manos
Apr 16 '14 at 21:27




$begingroup$
@Mark Bennet: This sounds very interesting. Can you please elaborate?
$endgroup$
– barak manos
Apr 16 '14 at 21:27




3




3




$begingroup$
Btw, if there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac {N pm 1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.
$endgroup$
– DanielV
Apr 16 '14 at 22:14




$begingroup$
Btw, if there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac {N pm 1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.
$endgroup$
– DanielV
Apr 16 '14 at 22:14










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















9












$begingroup$

I am following up on the comment of DanielV, which you did not understand. DanielV said:




If there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac{N±1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.




We hypothesize that there is an algorithm $M$ which takes the factorization of $npm 1$ and efficiently returns the factorization of $n$. Let's see how the existence of $M$ allows us to quickly factor 1005973.



Both 1005973+1 and 1005973-1 are even, and one of them must be a multiple of 4. We can quickly determine that 1005972=4·251493. So we would like to factor 251493; if we could factor 251493, we would append $2^2$ to the factorization, give the result to $M$, and then $M$ would return the factorization of 1005973 that we wanted.



But 251493 is much smaller than 1005973, and using the same method, we can reduce the problem of factoring 251493 to that of factoring an even smaller number.
Using the same method, we determine that:$$begin{array}{rl} 251492 &= 4cdot62873\
62872 & = 8cdot7859 \
7860 &= 4·1965 \
1964 &= 4cdot491 \
492 &= 4·123 \
124 &= 4·31
end{array}$$



We could continue, but I will assume that the prime factorization of 31 is known, so as not to belabor the point.



Now we have a prime factorization for 124, so by hypothesis we can give this to $M$, which will quickly tell us the prime factorization of 123. From this it is trivial to construct the prime factorization of 4·123, because it is the same but with an extra $2^2$. We give this to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 491, which is almost the same as the prime factorization of 4·491 = 1964, which we can give to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 1965. We proceed in that way up the table until $M$ gives us the prime factorization of 251493; appending $2^2$ to this factorization, we obtain the factorization of 1005972=4·251493, which, given to $M$, produces the factorization of our original number 1005973.



Each step involves a small amount of work (a few divisions by 2 plus a bit of bookkeeping) plus a call to $M$; the number of steps is evidently bounded above by $log_4 N$. So the running time of the entire algorithm is $O(log_4(N) cdot m(N))$ where $m$ is the running time of $M$. If $m(N)$ is polynomial in $N$, so is the entire algorithm.



If $M$ is more limited, say it can only produce the factorization of $N+1$, not $N-1$, given a factorization of $N$, the number of steps at most doubles, to $log_2 N$.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 17 '14 at 18:01






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
    $endgroup$
    – Barry Cipra
    Apr 18 '14 at 13:11










  • $begingroup$
    I did think about that.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 18 '14 at 13:26



















2












$begingroup$

Look at the next method. It might help



https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/497370/new-method-derived-out-of-fermats-factorization-method



Case for N=493



  492=4*123
123=11*12-3*3 then 493=(11+12+3+3)(11+12-3-3)=29*17


or by known factors of 123 (this is not general):



 123=3*41=3(44-3) which must be again of the form x(x+1)-y*y 
Let us try:
123=3(11*4-3)
123=11*12-3*3 and we can again find factors of 493


Numbers that behave best, that directly gives us one part factorization, are from so called main branch of the odd Collatz tree: 1,5,21,85,341,...



5=1(6-1)=2*3-1*1 and 21=(2+3-1-1)(2+3+1+1)
21=3(10-3)=5*6-3*3 and 85=(5+6-3-3)(5+6+3+3)
85=5(22-5)=10*11-5*5 and 341=(10+11-5-5)(10+11+5+5)
341=11(42-11)=21*22-11*11
1365=21(86-21)=42*43-21*21


Ratio of found factors for these numbers is 1 to 3 +-2






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 19 '14 at 8:40






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 19 '14 at 8:41










  • $begingroup$
    Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
    $endgroup$
    – Bojan Vasiljević
    Apr 20 '14 at 17:11



















0












$begingroup$

I found a possible relation, but i don't know if it's efficiently. Here a proff:



We know that:



$n!=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ alpha_{i}(n)}$; where:



$alpha_{i}(n)=sum_{t=1}^{r}[frac{n}{p_{i}^{t}}]$ and $p^{r} leq n < p^{r+1}$.



Then:



$n=frac {n!}{(n-1)!}=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n)}$ (Eq. 1)



Where:



$beta_{i}(n)= alpha_{i}(n)-alpha_{i}(n-1)$



In other words:



$n+1=prod_{P_{i} leq n+1}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n+1)}$; where:



$beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n)$.



Finally, this is the relation:



$beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n-1)-beta_{i}(n)$.



In summary, Eq.1 can be used as a method for decomposition in prime factors, let's see an example:



$n=60$



$beta_{i}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{p_{i}^{t}}]-[frac {59}{p_{i}^{t}}]}$



Then:



$beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{2^{t}}]-[frac {59}{2^{t}}]}=2$



$beta_{2}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{3^{t}}]-[frac {59}{3^{t}}]}=1$



$beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{5^{t}}]-[frac {59}{5^{t}}]}=1$



Finally:



$60=2^{2}3^{1}5^{1}$






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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

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    active

    oldest

    votes









    9












    $begingroup$

    I am following up on the comment of DanielV, which you did not understand. DanielV said:




    If there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac{N±1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.




    We hypothesize that there is an algorithm $M$ which takes the factorization of $npm 1$ and efficiently returns the factorization of $n$. Let's see how the existence of $M$ allows us to quickly factor 1005973.



    Both 1005973+1 and 1005973-1 are even, and one of them must be a multiple of 4. We can quickly determine that 1005972=4·251493. So we would like to factor 251493; if we could factor 251493, we would append $2^2$ to the factorization, give the result to $M$, and then $M$ would return the factorization of 1005973 that we wanted.



    But 251493 is much smaller than 1005973, and using the same method, we can reduce the problem of factoring 251493 to that of factoring an even smaller number.
    Using the same method, we determine that:$$begin{array}{rl} 251492 &= 4cdot62873\
    62872 & = 8cdot7859 \
    7860 &= 4·1965 \
    1964 &= 4cdot491 \
    492 &= 4·123 \
    124 &= 4·31
    end{array}$$



    We could continue, but I will assume that the prime factorization of 31 is known, so as not to belabor the point.



    Now we have a prime factorization for 124, so by hypothesis we can give this to $M$, which will quickly tell us the prime factorization of 123. From this it is trivial to construct the prime factorization of 4·123, because it is the same but with an extra $2^2$. We give this to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 491, which is almost the same as the prime factorization of 4·491 = 1964, which we can give to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 1965. We proceed in that way up the table until $M$ gives us the prime factorization of 251493; appending $2^2$ to this factorization, we obtain the factorization of 1005972=4·251493, which, given to $M$, produces the factorization of our original number 1005973.



    Each step involves a small amount of work (a few divisions by 2 plus a bit of bookkeeping) plus a call to $M$; the number of steps is evidently bounded above by $log_4 N$. So the running time of the entire algorithm is $O(log_4(N) cdot m(N))$ where $m$ is the running time of $M$. If $m(N)$ is polynomial in $N$, so is the entire algorithm.



    If $M$ is more limited, say it can only produce the factorization of $N+1$, not $N-1$, given a factorization of $N$, the number of steps at most doubles, to $log_2 N$.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 17 '14 at 18:01






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
      $endgroup$
      – Barry Cipra
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:11










    • $begingroup$
      I did think about that.
      $endgroup$
      – MJD
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:26
















    9












    $begingroup$

    I am following up on the comment of DanielV, which you did not understand. DanielV said:




    If there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac{N±1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.




    We hypothesize that there is an algorithm $M$ which takes the factorization of $npm 1$ and efficiently returns the factorization of $n$. Let's see how the existence of $M$ allows us to quickly factor 1005973.



    Both 1005973+1 and 1005973-1 are even, and one of them must be a multiple of 4. We can quickly determine that 1005972=4·251493. So we would like to factor 251493; if we could factor 251493, we would append $2^2$ to the factorization, give the result to $M$, and then $M$ would return the factorization of 1005973 that we wanted.



    But 251493 is much smaller than 1005973, and using the same method, we can reduce the problem of factoring 251493 to that of factoring an even smaller number.
    Using the same method, we determine that:$$begin{array}{rl} 251492 &= 4cdot62873\
    62872 & = 8cdot7859 \
    7860 &= 4·1965 \
    1964 &= 4cdot491 \
    492 &= 4·123 \
    124 &= 4·31
    end{array}$$



    We could continue, but I will assume that the prime factorization of 31 is known, so as not to belabor the point.



    Now we have a prime factorization for 124, so by hypothesis we can give this to $M$, which will quickly tell us the prime factorization of 123. From this it is trivial to construct the prime factorization of 4·123, because it is the same but with an extra $2^2$. We give this to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 491, which is almost the same as the prime factorization of 4·491 = 1964, which we can give to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 1965. We proceed in that way up the table until $M$ gives us the prime factorization of 251493; appending $2^2$ to this factorization, we obtain the factorization of 1005972=4·251493, which, given to $M$, produces the factorization of our original number 1005973.



    Each step involves a small amount of work (a few divisions by 2 plus a bit of bookkeeping) plus a call to $M$; the number of steps is evidently bounded above by $log_4 N$. So the running time of the entire algorithm is $O(log_4(N) cdot m(N))$ where $m$ is the running time of $M$. If $m(N)$ is polynomial in $N$, so is the entire algorithm.



    If $M$ is more limited, say it can only produce the factorization of $N+1$, not $N-1$, given a factorization of $N$, the number of steps at most doubles, to $log_2 N$.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 17 '14 at 18:01






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
      $endgroup$
      – Barry Cipra
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:11










    • $begingroup$
      I did think about that.
      $endgroup$
      – MJD
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:26














    9












    9








    9





    $begingroup$

    I am following up on the comment of DanielV, which you did not understand. DanielV said:




    If there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac{N±1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.




    We hypothesize that there is an algorithm $M$ which takes the factorization of $npm 1$ and efficiently returns the factorization of $n$. Let's see how the existence of $M$ allows us to quickly factor 1005973.



    Both 1005973+1 and 1005973-1 are even, and one of them must be a multiple of 4. We can quickly determine that 1005972=4·251493. So we would like to factor 251493; if we could factor 251493, we would append $2^2$ to the factorization, give the result to $M$, and then $M$ would return the factorization of 1005973 that we wanted.



    But 251493 is much smaller than 1005973, and using the same method, we can reduce the problem of factoring 251493 to that of factoring an even smaller number.
    Using the same method, we determine that:$$begin{array}{rl} 251492 &= 4cdot62873\
    62872 & = 8cdot7859 \
    7860 &= 4·1965 \
    1964 &= 4cdot491 \
    492 &= 4·123 \
    124 &= 4·31
    end{array}$$



    We could continue, but I will assume that the prime factorization of 31 is known, so as not to belabor the point.



    Now we have a prime factorization for 124, so by hypothesis we can give this to $M$, which will quickly tell us the prime factorization of 123. From this it is trivial to construct the prime factorization of 4·123, because it is the same but with an extra $2^2$. We give this to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 491, which is almost the same as the prime factorization of 4·491 = 1964, which we can give to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 1965. We proceed in that way up the table until $M$ gives us the prime factorization of 251493; appending $2^2$ to this factorization, we obtain the factorization of 1005972=4·251493, which, given to $M$, produces the factorization of our original number 1005973.



    Each step involves a small amount of work (a few divisions by 2 plus a bit of bookkeeping) plus a call to $M$; the number of steps is evidently bounded above by $log_4 N$. So the running time of the entire algorithm is $O(log_4(N) cdot m(N))$ where $m$ is the running time of $M$. If $m(N)$ is polynomial in $N$, so is the entire algorithm.



    If $M$ is more limited, say it can only produce the factorization of $N+1$, not $N-1$, given a factorization of $N$, the number of steps at most doubles, to $log_2 N$.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



    I am following up on the comment of DanielV, which you did not understand. DanielV said:




    If there was a polytime way to factor a number given the factorization of a neighbor, then it would be trivial to factor in polytime, because you could just recursively factor $frac{N±1}{2^k}$ for whichever largest $k$ yields an integer.




    We hypothesize that there is an algorithm $M$ which takes the factorization of $npm 1$ and efficiently returns the factorization of $n$. Let's see how the existence of $M$ allows us to quickly factor 1005973.



    Both 1005973+1 and 1005973-1 are even, and one of them must be a multiple of 4. We can quickly determine that 1005972=4·251493. So we would like to factor 251493; if we could factor 251493, we would append $2^2$ to the factorization, give the result to $M$, and then $M$ would return the factorization of 1005973 that we wanted.



    But 251493 is much smaller than 1005973, and using the same method, we can reduce the problem of factoring 251493 to that of factoring an even smaller number.
    Using the same method, we determine that:$$begin{array}{rl} 251492 &= 4cdot62873\
    62872 & = 8cdot7859 \
    7860 &= 4·1965 \
    1964 &= 4cdot491 \
    492 &= 4·123 \
    124 &= 4·31
    end{array}$$



    We could continue, but I will assume that the prime factorization of 31 is known, so as not to belabor the point.



    Now we have a prime factorization for 124, so by hypothesis we can give this to $M$, which will quickly tell us the prime factorization of 123. From this it is trivial to construct the prime factorization of 4·123, because it is the same but with an extra $2^2$. We give this to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 491, which is almost the same as the prime factorization of 4·491 = 1964, which we can give to $M$ to obtain the prime factorization of 1965. We proceed in that way up the table until $M$ gives us the prime factorization of 251493; appending $2^2$ to this factorization, we obtain the factorization of 1005972=4·251493, which, given to $M$, produces the factorization of our original number 1005973.



    Each step involves a small amount of work (a few divisions by 2 plus a bit of bookkeeping) plus a call to $M$; the number of steps is evidently bounded above by $log_4 N$. So the running time of the entire algorithm is $O(log_4(N) cdot m(N))$ where $m$ is the running time of $M$. If $m(N)$ is polynomial in $N$, so is the entire algorithm.



    If $M$ is more limited, say it can only produce the factorization of $N+1$, not $N-1$, given a factorization of $N$, the number of steps at most doubles, to $log_2 N$.







    share|cite|improve this answer














    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer








    answered Apr 17 '14 at 13:40


























    community wiki





    MJD













    • $begingroup$
      Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 17 '14 at 18:01






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
      $endgroup$
      – Barry Cipra
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:11










    • $begingroup$
      I did think about that.
      $endgroup$
      – MJD
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:26


















    • $begingroup$
      Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 17 '14 at 18:01






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
      $endgroup$
      – Barry Cipra
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:11










    • $begingroup$
      I did think about that.
      $endgroup$
      – MJD
      Apr 18 '14 at 13:26
















    $begingroup$
    Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 17 '14 at 18:01




    $begingroup$
    Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 17 '14 at 18:01




    1




    1




    $begingroup$
    You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
    $endgroup$
    – Barry Cipra
    Apr 18 '14 at 13:11




    $begingroup$
    You could have "belabored the point" in the (very nice) example with one more line: $32=32$.
    $endgroup$
    – Barry Cipra
    Apr 18 '14 at 13:11












    $begingroup$
    I did think about that.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 18 '14 at 13:26




    $begingroup$
    I did think about that.
    $endgroup$
    – MJD
    Apr 18 '14 at 13:26











    2












    $begingroup$

    Look at the next method. It might help



    https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/497370/new-method-derived-out-of-fermats-factorization-method



    Case for N=493



      492=4*123
    123=11*12-3*3 then 493=(11+12+3+3)(11+12-3-3)=29*17


    or by known factors of 123 (this is not general):



     123=3*41=3(44-3) which must be again of the form x(x+1)-y*y 
    Let us try:
    123=3(11*4-3)
    123=11*12-3*3 and we can again find factors of 493


    Numbers that behave best, that directly gives us one part factorization, are from so called main branch of the odd Collatz tree: 1,5,21,85,341,...



    5=1(6-1)=2*3-1*1 and 21=(2+3-1-1)(2+3+1+1)
    21=3(10-3)=5*6-3*3 and 85=(5+6-3-3)(5+6+3+3)
    85=5(22-5)=10*11-5*5 and 341=(10+11-5-5)(10+11+5+5)
    341=11(42-11)=21*22-11*11
    1365=21(86-21)=42*43-21*21


    Ratio of found factors for these numbers is 1 to 3 +-2






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:40






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:41










    • $begingroup$
      Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
      $endgroup$
      – Bojan Vasiljević
      Apr 20 '14 at 17:11
















    2












    $begingroup$

    Look at the next method. It might help



    https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/497370/new-method-derived-out-of-fermats-factorization-method



    Case for N=493



      492=4*123
    123=11*12-3*3 then 493=(11+12+3+3)(11+12-3-3)=29*17


    or by known factors of 123 (this is not general):



     123=3*41=3(44-3) which must be again of the form x(x+1)-y*y 
    Let us try:
    123=3(11*4-3)
    123=11*12-3*3 and we can again find factors of 493


    Numbers that behave best, that directly gives us one part factorization, are from so called main branch of the odd Collatz tree: 1,5,21,85,341,...



    5=1(6-1)=2*3-1*1 and 21=(2+3-1-1)(2+3+1+1)
    21=3(10-3)=5*6-3*3 and 85=(5+6-3-3)(5+6+3+3)
    85=5(22-5)=10*11-5*5 and 341=(10+11-5-5)(10+11+5+5)
    341=11(42-11)=21*22-11*11
    1365=21(86-21)=42*43-21*21


    Ratio of found factors for these numbers is 1 to 3 +-2






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:40






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:41










    • $begingroup$
      Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
      $endgroup$
      – Bojan Vasiljević
      Apr 20 '14 at 17:11














    2












    2








    2





    $begingroup$

    Look at the next method. It might help



    https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/497370/new-method-derived-out-of-fermats-factorization-method



    Case for N=493



      492=4*123
    123=11*12-3*3 then 493=(11+12+3+3)(11+12-3-3)=29*17


    or by known factors of 123 (this is not general):



     123=3*41=3(44-3) which must be again of the form x(x+1)-y*y 
    Let us try:
    123=3(11*4-3)
    123=11*12-3*3 and we can again find factors of 493


    Numbers that behave best, that directly gives us one part factorization, are from so called main branch of the odd Collatz tree: 1,5,21,85,341,...



    5=1(6-1)=2*3-1*1 and 21=(2+3-1-1)(2+3+1+1)
    21=3(10-3)=5*6-3*3 and 85=(5+6-3-3)(5+6+3+3)
    85=5(22-5)=10*11-5*5 and 341=(10+11-5-5)(10+11+5+5)
    341=11(42-11)=21*22-11*11
    1365=21(86-21)=42*43-21*21


    Ratio of found factors for these numbers is 1 to 3 +-2






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



    Look at the next method. It might help



    https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/497370/new-method-derived-out-of-fermats-factorization-method



    Case for N=493



      492=4*123
    123=11*12-3*3 then 493=(11+12+3+3)(11+12-3-3)=29*17


    or by known factors of 123 (this is not general):



     123=3*41=3(44-3) which must be again of the form x(x+1)-y*y 
    Let us try:
    123=3(11*4-3)
    123=11*12-3*3 and we can again find factors of 493


    Numbers that behave best, that directly gives us one part factorization, are from so called main branch of the odd Collatz tree: 1,5,21,85,341,...



    5=1(6-1)=2*3-1*1 and 21=(2+3-1-1)(2+3+1+1)
    21=3(10-3)=5*6-3*3 and 85=(5+6-3-3)(5+6+3+3)
    85=5(22-5)=10*11-5*5 and 341=(10+11-5-5)(10+11+5+5)
    341=11(42-11)=21*22-11*11
    1365=21(86-21)=42*43-21*21


    Ratio of found factors for these numbers is 1 to 3 +-2







    share|cite|improve this answer














    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer








    edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:21









    Community

    1




    1










    answered Apr 18 '14 at 12:30









    Bojan VasiljevićBojan Vasiljević

    8011




    8011












    • $begingroup$
      But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:40






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:41










    • $begingroup$
      Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
      $endgroup$
      – Bojan Vasiljević
      Apr 20 '14 at 17:11


















    • $begingroup$
      But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:40






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
      $endgroup$
      – barak manos
      Apr 19 '14 at 8:41










    • $begingroup$
      Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
      $endgroup$
      – Bojan Vasiljević
      Apr 20 '14 at 17:11
















    $begingroup$
    But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 19 '14 at 8:40




    $begingroup$
    But how can you find $x,y$ such that $x(x+1)-y^2=123$ (or any other number for that matter)?
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 19 '14 at 8:40




    1




    1




    $begingroup$
    BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 19 '14 at 8:41




    $begingroup$
    BTW, the use of the $3n+1$ conjecture here is interesting...
    $endgroup$
    – barak manos
    Apr 19 '14 at 8:41












    $begingroup$
    Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
    $endgroup$
    – Bojan Vasiljević
    Apr 20 '14 at 17:11




    $begingroup$
    Generally and "sadly" the same way as with Fermat factorization method. Although I have found some exceptions as it is with the main branch of odd Collatz. Maybe there are some more complicated patterns in other branches.
    $endgroup$
    – Bojan Vasiljević
    Apr 20 '14 at 17:11











    0












    $begingroup$

    I found a possible relation, but i don't know if it's efficiently. Here a proff:



    We know that:



    $n!=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ alpha_{i}(n)}$; where:



    $alpha_{i}(n)=sum_{t=1}^{r}[frac{n}{p_{i}^{t}}]$ and $p^{r} leq n < p^{r+1}$.



    Then:



    $n=frac {n!}{(n-1)!}=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n)}$ (Eq. 1)



    Where:



    $beta_{i}(n)= alpha_{i}(n)-alpha_{i}(n-1)$



    In other words:



    $n+1=prod_{P_{i} leq n+1}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n+1)}$; where:



    $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n)$.



    Finally, this is the relation:



    $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n-1)-beta_{i}(n)$.



    In summary, Eq.1 can be used as a method for decomposition in prime factors, let's see an example:



    $n=60$



    $beta_{i}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{p_{i}^{t}}]-[frac {59}{p_{i}^{t}}]}$



    Then:



    $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{2^{t}}]-[frac {59}{2^{t}}]}=2$



    $beta_{2}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{3^{t}}]-[frac {59}{3^{t}}]}=1$



    $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{5^{t}}]-[frac {59}{5^{t}}]}=1$



    Finally:



    $60=2^{2}3^{1}5^{1}$






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$


















      0












      $begingroup$

      I found a possible relation, but i don't know if it's efficiently. Here a proff:



      We know that:



      $n!=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ alpha_{i}(n)}$; where:



      $alpha_{i}(n)=sum_{t=1}^{r}[frac{n}{p_{i}^{t}}]$ and $p^{r} leq n < p^{r+1}$.



      Then:



      $n=frac {n!}{(n-1)!}=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n)}$ (Eq. 1)



      Where:



      $beta_{i}(n)= alpha_{i}(n)-alpha_{i}(n-1)$



      In other words:



      $n+1=prod_{P_{i} leq n+1}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n+1)}$; where:



      $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n)$.



      Finally, this is the relation:



      $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n-1)-beta_{i}(n)$.



      In summary, Eq.1 can be used as a method for decomposition in prime factors, let's see an example:



      $n=60$



      $beta_{i}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{p_{i}^{t}}]-[frac {59}{p_{i}^{t}}]}$



      Then:



      $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{2^{t}}]-[frac {59}{2^{t}}]}=2$



      $beta_{2}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{3^{t}}]-[frac {59}{3^{t}}]}=1$



      $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{5^{t}}]-[frac {59}{5^{t}}]}=1$



      Finally:



      $60=2^{2}3^{1}5^{1}$






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$
















        0












        0








        0





        $begingroup$

        I found a possible relation, but i don't know if it's efficiently. Here a proff:



        We know that:



        $n!=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ alpha_{i}(n)}$; where:



        $alpha_{i}(n)=sum_{t=1}^{r}[frac{n}{p_{i}^{t}}]$ and $p^{r} leq n < p^{r+1}$.



        Then:



        $n=frac {n!}{(n-1)!}=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n)}$ (Eq. 1)



        Where:



        $beta_{i}(n)= alpha_{i}(n)-alpha_{i}(n-1)$



        In other words:



        $n+1=prod_{P_{i} leq n+1}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n+1)}$; where:



        $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n)$.



        Finally, this is the relation:



        $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n-1)-beta_{i}(n)$.



        In summary, Eq.1 can be used as a method for decomposition in prime factors, let's see an example:



        $n=60$



        $beta_{i}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{p_{i}^{t}}]-[frac {59}{p_{i}^{t}}]}$



        Then:



        $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{2^{t}}]-[frac {59}{2^{t}}]}=2$



        $beta_{2}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{3^{t}}]-[frac {59}{3^{t}}]}=1$



        $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{5^{t}}]-[frac {59}{5^{t}}]}=1$



        Finally:



        $60=2^{2}3^{1}5^{1}$






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$



        I found a possible relation, but i don't know if it's efficiently. Here a proff:



        We know that:



        $n!=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ alpha_{i}(n)}$; where:



        $alpha_{i}(n)=sum_{t=1}^{r}[frac{n}{p_{i}^{t}}]$ and $p^{r} leq n < p^{r+1}$.



        Then:



        $n=frac {n!}{(n-1)!}=prod_{P_{i} leq n}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n)}$ (Eq. 1)



        Where:



        $beta_{i}(n)= alpha_{i}(n)-alpha_{i}(n-1)$



        In other words:



        $n+1=prod_{P_{i} leq n+1}p_{i}^{ beta_{i}(n+1)}$; where:



        $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n)$.



        Finally, this is the relation:



        $beta_{i}(n+1)= alpha_{i}(n+1)-alpha_{i}(n-1)-beta_{i}(n)$.



        In summary, Eq.1 can be used as a method for decomposition in prime factors, let's see an example:



        $n=60$



        $beta_{i}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{p_{i}^{t}}]-[frac {59}{p_{i}^{t}}]}$



        Then:



        $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{2^{t}}]-[frac {59}{2^{t}}]}=2$



        $beta_{2}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{3^{t}}]-[frac {59}{3^{t}}]}=1$



        $beta_{1}(60)=sum_{t}^{r} {[frac {60}{5^{t}}]-[frac {59}{5^{t}}]}=1$



        Finally:



        $60=2^{2}3^{1}5^{1}$







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited Dec 5 '18 at 1:02

























        answered Dec 5 '18 at 0:32









        Mauricio AreizaMauricio Areiza

        143




        143






























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