Common Divisor Divides GCD
From ProofWiki
Theorem
Let $a, b \in \Z$ such that not both of $a$ and $b$ are zero.
Let $c$ be any common divisor of $a$ and $b$.
That is, let $c \in \Z: c \backslash a, c \backslash b$.
Then:
- $c \backslash \gcd \left\{{a, b}\right\}$
where $\gcd \left\{{a, b}\right\}$ is the greatest common divisor of $a$ and $b$.
Proof
Let $d = \gcd \left\{{a, b}\right\}$.
Then $d \backslash a$ and $d \backslash b$ by definition.
Then from Bézout's Identity, $\exists u, v \in \Z: d = u a + v b$.
From Common Divisor Divides Integer Combination, $c \backslash a \land c \backslash b \implies c \backslash u a + v b$ for all $u, v \in \Z$.
Thus $c \backslash d$.
$\blacksquare$
Sources
- Thomas A. Whitelaw: An Introduction to Abstract Algebra (1978)... (previous)... (next): $\S 12.4$
- John F. Humphreys: A Course in Group Theory (1996): $\text{A}.1$: Theorem $\text{A}.2$