Problem

Source: 2025 Turkey TST P2

Tags: number theory, Turkey, arithmetic sequence



For all positive integers $n$, the function $\gamma: \mathbb{Z}^+ \to \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 0}$ is defined as, $\gamma(1) = 0$ and for all $n > 1$, if the prime factorization of $n$ is $n = p_1^{\alpha_1} p_2^{\alpha_2} \dots p_k^{\alpha_k},$ then $\gamma(n) = \alpha_1 + \alpha_2 + \dots + \alpha_k$. We have an arithmetic sequence $X = \{x_i\}_{i=1}^{\infty}$. If for a positive integer $a > 1$, the sequence $\{ \gamma(a^{x_i} -1) \}$ is also an arithmetic sequence, show that the sequence $X$ has to be constant.