English

Multifactorisations and Divisor Functions

Number Theory 2025-08-20 v2

Abstract

We consider a joint ordered multifactorisation for a given positive integer n2n\geq 2 into mm parts, where n=n1 ×  × nmn=n_1~\times~\ldots~\times~n_m, and each part njn_j is split into one or more component factors. Our central result gives an enumeration formula for all such joint ordered multifactorisations Nm(n)\mathcal{N}_m(n). As an illustrative application, we show how each such factorisation can be used to uniquely construct and so count the number of distinct additive set systems (historically referred to as complementing set systems). These set systems under set addition generate the first nn non-negative consecutive integers uniquely and, when each component set is centred about 0, exhibit algebraic invariances. For fixed integers nn and mm, invariance properties for Nm(n)\mathcal{N}_m(n) are established. The formula for Nm(n)\mathcal{N}_m(n) is comprised of sums over associated divisor functions and the Stirling numbers of the second kind, and we conclude by deducing sum over divisor relations for our counting function Nm(n)\mathcal{N}_m(n).

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2303.12042,
  title  = {Multifactorisations and Divisor Functions},
  author = {Ambrose D. Law and Matthew C. Lettington and Karl Michael Schmidt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2303.12042},
  year   = {2025}
}