Amicable number

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Amicable numbers are two different numbers so related that the sum of the proper divisors of the one is equal to the other, one being considered as a proper divisor but not the number itself. Such a pair is (220, 284); for the proper divisors of 220 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20, 22, 44, 55 and 110, of which the sum is 284; and the proper divisors of 284 are 1, 2, 4, 71, and 142, of which the sum is 220. Amicable numbers were known to the Pythagoreans, who credited them with many mystical properties.

A pair of amicable numbers constitutes an aliquot sequence of period 2.

A general formula by which these numbers could be derived was invented circa 850 by Thabit ibn Qurra (826-901): if

p = 3 × 2^n − 1 − 1,

q = 3 × 2ⁿ − 1,

r = 9 × 2^2n − 1 − 1,

where n > 1 is an integer and p, q, and r are prime numbers, then 2ⁿpq and 2ⁿr are a pair of amicable numbers. This formula gives the amicable pair (220, 284), as well as the pair (17296, 18416) and the pair (9363584, 9437056). The pair (6232, 6368) are amicable, but they cannot be derived from this formula. In fact, this formula produces amicable numbers for n = 2, 4, and 7, but for no other values below 20000.

In every known case, the numbers of a pair are either both even or both odd. It is not known whether an even-odd pair of amicable numbers exists. Also, every known pair shares at least one common factor. It is not known whether a pair of coprime amicable numbers exists, though if any does, the product of the two must be greater than 10⁶⁷. Also, a pair of coprime amicable numbers cannot be generated by Thabit's formula (above), nor by any similar formula.

Amicable numbers have been studied by Al Madshritti (died 1007), Abu Mansur Tahir al-Baghdadi (980-1037), Al-Farisi (1260-1320), René Descartes (1596-1650), to whom the formula of Thabit is sometimes ascribed, C. Rudolphus and others. Thabit's formula was generalized by Euler. Prior to Euler only three pairs of amicable numbers had been found. Because Euler found 59 more amicable numbers, the work of Eastern mathematicians in this area is largely forgotten.

The pair (9363584; 9437056) has often been attributed to Descartes, but it was actually first discovered by Muhammad Baqir Yazdi in Iran.^[1]

The first few amicable pairs are: (220, 284), (1184, 1210), (2620, 2924), (5020, 5564), (6232, 6368) (sequence A063990 in OEIS)

If a number equals the sum of its own proper divisors, it is called a perfect number.

The following Python language code allows you to check if two numbers are Amicable:

# Definition of the function
def amicable_numbers(x,y):
    sum_x=0
    sum_y=0
    for i in range(1,x):
        if x%i==0:
            sum_x+=i
 
    for k in range(1,y):
        if y%k==0:
            sum_y+=k
 
    return sum_x==y and sum_y==x
 
# Program body
n_1=int(raw_input('Enter nº 1: '))
n_2=int(raw_input('Enter nº 2: '))
 
if amicable_numbers(n_1,n_2):
    print 'Amicable! :)'
else:
    print 'Not Amicable :('

And the following PseudoCode finds all the Amicable Numbers between two numbers

Procedure Find Amicable Pairs
        Enter Starting Number
        Enter Last Number
        For all the numbers between the Starting Number and Last Number and call this FirstNumber
                Call the Function to add all of the Proper Divisors of the FirstNumber and call this SumOfAllProperDivisorsOfFirstNumber
                Call the Function to add all of the Proper Divisors again this time using SumOfAllProperDivisorsOfFirstNumber and call this SumOfAllProperDivisorsOfSecondNumber
                If SumOfAllProperDivisorsOfFirstNumber is equal to SumOfAllProperDivisorsOfSecondNumber then
                        You found a pair
                End if
        End For Loop
End of Procedure
 
Function Add All Of The Proper Divisors of A Number (call this ANumber)
        Set the initial Running Total to 0
        For all the numbers between 1 and half of ANumber and call this CurrentLoopNumber
                If you divide ANumber with CurrentLoopNumber and the remainder is zero then
                        Add the result to the Running Total
                End If
        End For Loop
        Return the Running Total
End of Function

[edit] References

• Wells, D. (1987). The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers (pp. 145 - 147). London: Penguin Group.

[edit] External links

• All known amicable numbers
• A good 2003 survey on current status of Amicable number mathematics.