Formalization of Amicable Numbers Theory
Abstract
This paper presents a formalization of the theory of amicable numbers in the Lean~4 proof assistant. Two positive integers and are called an amicable pair if the sum of proper divisors of equals and the sum of proper divisors of equals . Our formalization introduces the proper divisor sum function , defines the concepts of amicable pairs and amicable numbers, and computationally verifies historically famous amicable pairs. Furthermore, we formalize basic structural theorems, including symmetry, non-triviality, and connections to abundant/deficient numbers. A key contribution is the complete formal proof of the classical Th\={a}bit formula (9th century), using index-shifting and the \texttt{zify} tactic. Additionally, we provide complete formal proofs of both Th\={a}bit's rule and Euler's generalized rule (1747), two fundamental theorems for generating amicable pairs. A major achievement is the first complete formalization of the Borho-Hoffmann breeding method (1986), comprising 540 lines with 33 theorems and leveraging automated algebra tactics (\texttt{zify} and \texttt{ring}) to verify complex polynomial identities. We also formalize extensions including sociable numbers (aliquot cycles), betrothed numbers (quasi-amicable pairs), parity constraint theorems, and computational search bounds for coprime pairs (). We verify the smallest sociable cycle of length 5 (Poulet's cycle) and computationally verify specific instances. The formalization comprises 2076 lines of Lean code organized into Mathlib-candidate and paper-specific modules, with 139 theorems and all necessary infrastructure for divisor sum multiplicativity and coprimality reasoning.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.07444,
title = {Formalization of Amicable Numbers Theory},
author = {Zhipeng Chen and Haolun Tang and Jingyi Zhan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.07444},
year = {2026}
}