Lucas-Lehmer Test

Theorem
Let $$q$$ be an odd prime.

Let $$\left \langle {L_n} \right \rangle$$ be a sequence in $\N$ defined by:
 * $$L_0 = 4, L_{n+1} = \left({L_n^2 - 2}\right) \bmod\, \left({2^q - 1}\right)$$.

Then $$2^q - 1$$ is prime iff $$L_{q-2} = 0$$.

Proof
Consider the sequences:
 * $$U_0 = 0, U_1 = 1, U_{n+1} = 4 U_n - U_{n-1}$$;
 * $$V_0 = 2, V_1 = 4, V_{n+1} = 4 V_n - V_{n-1}$$.

The following equations can be proved by induction:

$$ $$ $$ $$

Now, let $$p$$ be prime and $$e \ge 1$$.

Suppose $$U_n \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, p^{e}}\right)$$.

Then $$U_n = b p^e$$ for some $$b$$.

Let $$U_{n+1} = a$$.

By the recurrence relation and $$(4)$$, we have:

$$ $$

Similarly:

$$ $$

In general:

$$ $$

Taking $$k = p$$, we get:

$$

Expanding $$\left({2 \pm \sqrt 3}\right)^n$$ by the Binomial Theorem, we find that $$(2)$$ and $$(3)$$ give us:

$$ $$

Let us set $$n = p$$ where $$p$$ is an odd prime.

Then we note that $$\binom p k$$ is a multiple of $$p$$ except when $$k = 0$$ or $$k = p$$ from Binomial Coefficient of Prime.

We find that:

$$ $$

If $$p \ne 3$$, then from Fermat's Little Theorem we have $$3^{p-1} \equiv 1 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$.

Hence:
 * $$\left({3^{\frac {p-1}2} - 1}\right) \times \left({3^{\frac {p-1}2} + 1}\right) \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$;
 * $$3^{\frac {p-1}2} \equiv \pm 1 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$.

When $$U_p \equiv -1 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$, we have $$U_{p+1} = 4 U_p - U_{p-1} = 4 U_p + V_p - U_{p+1} \equiv -U_{p+1} \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$.

Hence $$U_{p+1} \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$.

When $$U_p \equiv +1 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$, we have $$U_{p-1} = 4 U_p - U_{p+1} = 4 U_p - V_p - U_{p-1} \equiv -U_{p-1} \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$.

Hence $$U_{p-1} \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$.

Thus we have shown that:
 * $$(6) \quad \forall p \in \mathbb{P}: \exists \epsilon \left({p}\right): U_{p + \epsilon \left({p}\right)} \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, p}\right)$$

where $$\epsilon \left({p}\right)$$ is an integer such that $$\left|{\epsilon \left({p}\right)}\right| \le 1$$.

Now, let $$N \in \N$$.

Let $$m \in \N$$ such that $$m \left({N}\right)$$ is the smallest positive integer such that $$U_{m \left({N}\right)} \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, N}\right)$$.

Let $$a = U_{m+1} \left({\bmod\, N}\right)$$.

Then $$a \perp N$$ because $$\gcd \left\{{U_n, U_{n+1}}\right\} = 1$$.

Hence the sequence $$U_m, U_{m+1}, U_{m+2}, \ldots$$ is congruent modulo $N$ to $$a U_0, a U_1, a U_2, \ldots$$.

Then we have:
 * $$(7) \quad U_n \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, N}\right) \iff n = k m \left({N}\right)$$ for some integral $$k$$.

(This number $$m \left({N}\right)$$ is called the rank of apparition of $$N$$ in the sequence.)

Now, we have defined the sequence $$\left \langle {L_n} \right \rangle$$ as $$L_0 = 4, L_{n+1} = \left({L_n^2 - 2}\right) \bmod\, \left({2^q - 1}\right)$$.

By induction it follows that:
 * $$L_n \equiv V_{2^n} \bmod\, \left({2^q - 1}\right)$$.

We have the identity $$2 U_{n+1} = 4 U_n + V_n$$.

So any common factor of $$U_n$$ and $$V_n$$ must divide $$U_n$$ and $$2 U_{n+1}$$.

As $$U_n \perp U_{n+1}$$, this implies that $$\gcd \left\{{U_n, V_n}\right\} \le 2$$.

So $$U_n$$ and $$V_n$$ have no odd factor in common.

So, if $$L_{q-2} = 0$$, we must have:

$$ $$

Now, if $$m = m \left({2^q - 1}\right)$$ is the rank of apparition of $$2^q - 1$$, it must be a divisor of $$2^{q - 1}$$ but not of $$2^{q - 2}$$. So $$m = 2^{q - 1}$$.

Now we prove that $$n = 2^q - 1$$ must therefore be prime.

Let the prime decomposition of $$n$$ be $$p_1^{e_1} \ldots p_r^{e_r}$$.

All primes $$p_j$$ are greater than $$3$$ because $$n$$ is odd and congruent to $$\left({-1}\right)^q - 1 = -2 \left({\bmod\, 3}\right)$$.

From $$(5), (6), (7)$$ we know that $$U_t \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, 2^q - 1}\right)$$, where:
 * $$t = \operatorname {lcm} \left\{{p_1^{e_1-1} \left({p_1 + \epsilon_1}\right), \ldots, p_r^{e_r-1} \left({p_r + \epsilon_r}\right)}\right\}$$

where each $$\epsilon_j = \pm 1$$.

It follows that $$t$$ is a multiple of $$m = 2^{q-1}$$.

Let $$n_0 = \prod_{j=1}^r p_j^{e_j - 1} \left({p_j + \epsilon_j}\right)$$.

We have $$n_0 \le \prod_{j=1}^r p_j^{e_j - 1} \left({p_j + \frac {p_j} 5}\right) = \left({\frac 6 5}\right)^r n$$.

Also, because $$p_j + \epsilon_j$$ is even, $$t \le \frac {n_0} {2^{r-1}}$$, because a factor of $$2$$ is lost every time the LCM of two even numbers is taken.

Combining these results, we have:
 * $$m \le t \le 2 \left({\frac 3 5}\right)^r n \le 4 \left({\frac 3 5}\right)^r m < 3 m$$.

Hence $$r \le 2$$ and $$t = m$$ or $$t = 2 m$$, a power of $$2$$.

Therefore $$e_1 = 1$$ and $$e_r = 1$$.

If $$n$$ is not prime, we must have $$n = 2^q - 1 = \left({2^k + 1}\right) \left({2^l - 1}\right)$$ where $$\left({2^k + 1}\right)$$ and $$\left({2^l - 1}\right)$$ are prime.

When $$q$$ is odd, that last factorization is obviously impossible, so $$n$$ is prime.

Conversely, suppose $$n = 2^q - 1$$ is prime.

We need to show that $$V_{2^{q-2}} \equiv 0 \left({\bmod\, n}\right)$$.

All we need to do is show $$V_{2^{q-1}} \equiv -2 \left({\bmod\, n}\right)$$ because $$V_{2^{q-1}} = \left({V_{2^{q-2}}}\right)^2 - 2$$.

Now:

$$ $$ $$

Since $$n$$ is an odd prime, the binomial coefficient:
 * $$\binom {n+1}{2k} = \binom {n}{2k} + \binom {n}{2k - 1}$$

is divisible by $$n$$ except when $$2k = 0$$ and $$2k = n+1$$, from Binomial Coefficient of Prime.

Hence:
 * $$2^{\frac{n-1}2} V_{2^{q-1}} \equiv 1 + 3^{\frac {n+1}2} \left({\bmod\, n}\right)$$.

Here $$2 \equiv \left({2^{\frac{q+1}2}}\right)^2$$ so $$2^{\frac{n-1}2} \equiv \left({2^{\frac{q+1}2}}\right)^{n-1} \equiv i$$ by Fermat's Little Theorem.

Finally, by the Law of Quadratic Reciprocity, $$3^{\frac{n-1}2} \equiv -1$$ since $$n \bmod\, 3 = 1$$ and $$n \bmod\, 4 = 3$$.

This means $$V_{2^{q-1}} \equiv -2$$.

Hence $$V_{2^{q-2}} \equiv 0$$ as required.

Note
This calculation is particularly suited to binary digital computers, since calculation $$\bmod\, \left({2^q - 1}\right)$$ is very convenient.

Thus we have a relatively quick way to determine the primality of Mersenne numbers.