# least common multiple

A common multiple of two integers is an integer divisible by both integers. The least common multiple of two integers is the smallest positive common multiple.

• The notation for the least common multiple of $$a$$ and $$b$$ is $$\operatorname{lcm}(a, b)$$.

• By definition, the least common multiple of two integers is independent of the sign of the two integers --- the $$\operatorname{lcm}$$ is the same if you replace $$a$$ with $$-a$$ or $$b$$ with $$-b$$.

• The definition of $$\operatorname{lcm}$$ does not make sense if either $$a$$ or $$b$$ are is equal to $$0$$.

• For the remainder of the section, we will assume integers to be nonzero.

The existence of a least common multiple stems from the fact that the absolute value of the product $$|ab|$$ is a positive common multiple of $$a$$ and $$b$$.

## naive computation

The least common multiple can be computed naively by checking every multiple of one of them up to their product to see if it is divisible by the other. For example, to compute $$\operatorname{lcm}(154, 56)$$

• start with $$154$$ and keep adding $$154$$ until it is divisible by $$56$$

• $$56$$ does not divide $$154$$, $$154(2)$$, or $$154(3)$$

• however, $$154(4) = 616 = 56(11)$$ is divisible by $$56$$

• the least common multiple is $$\operatorname{lcm}(154, 56) = 616$$

exercise. Write a naive_lcm function that returns the least common multiple of two nonzero integer inputs. It should only rely on divisibility checks.

The time complexity of this algorithm, similar to the naive gcd algorithm, grows linearly in the smaller of the two arguments.

## a property of the lcm

proposition 7. Every common multiple of two integers is a multiple of their least common multiple.

proof: Let $$k$$ be a common multiple of $$a$$ and $$b$$ and let $$m$$ be their least common multiple. Dividing $$k$$ by $$m$$ yields $$k = mq + r$$, where $$0 \le r < m$$. Since $$r = k - mq$$ is a linear combination of $$k$$ and $$m$$, then $$r$$ must be divisible by both $$a$$ and $$b$$, ie, $$r$$ must be a common multiple of $$a$$ and $$b$$. If $$r$$ were nonzero, then it would be a smaller positive common multiple than the least common multiple, a contradiction. Therefore, $$r = 0$$ and $$m \mid k$$.

## relation to greatest common divisor

In order to compute the least common multiple efficiently, we need to prove an identity involving the greatest common divisor.

proposition 8. If $$a$$ and $$b$$ are nonzero integers, then $$\gcd(a, b) \cdot \operatorname{lcm}(a, b) = \vert ab \vert$$.

proof: For simplicity, we may assume that $$a$$ and $$b$$ are positive, since both the gcd and the lcm are independent of sign. Define $$d = \gcd(a, b)$$ and $$m = \operatorname{lcm}(a, b)$$. The goal is to prove that $$md = ab$$.

Since $$d$$ is a common divisor of $$a, b$$, the integer $$ab/d$$ can be expressed as $$(a/d) \cdot b$$ or as $$a \cdot (b/d)$$. This implies that $$ab/d$$ must be a common multiple of $$a$$ and $$b$$. By proposition 7, $$ab/d$$ must be a multiple of $$m$$, hence $ab/d = mk \quad\implies\quad ab = mdk \quad\implies\quad md \mid ab.$

Next, using Bezout's identity, there exist integers $$x, y$$ such that $$d = ax + by$$. Multiplying both sides by $$m$$ yields $md = amx + bmy.$ Since $$b \mid m$$, it follows that $$ab \mid am$$, so it divides the first term. Since $$a \mid m$$, it follows that $$ab \mid bm$$, so it also divides the second term. Therefore, $$ab$$ divides the whole expression, which implies that $$ab \mid md$$.

Since each of $$md$$ and $$ab$$ is positive and divides the other, they must be equal.

## in code

exercise. Write an lcm function that returns the least common multiple of two nonzero integer inputs. It should use the gcd function and proposition 8.

For testing, we can compare the result to the naive_lcm result. Be careful to limit this type of test to just a few positive values since the naive function is slow and restricted. For more general test cases, we'll use the proposition, even though we also rely on the proposition for the implementation.

  def test_lcm
limited_test_inputs.each do |(a, b)|
assert_equal naive_lcm(a, b), lcm(a, b)
end

test_inputs(:include_zero => false).each do |(a, b)|
assert_equal (a * b).abs, gcd(a, b) * lcm(a, b)
end
end