Proof That Fermat Numbers Fn And Fm Are Coprime When n ≠ m

Let's assume that \(m \lt n\). As shown here, this means:

$$ F_0 F_1 F_2 \cdots F_m \cdots F_{n-1} + 2 = F_n$$

Rearranging:

$$\begin{gather} 2 = F_n - F_0 F_1 F_2 \cdots F_m \cdots F_{n-1} \\ F_n - F_m k = 2 \end{gather}$$

Any divisor that divides \(F_n\) and \(F_m\) should also be able to divide any linear combination of \(F_n\) and \(F_m\). Let \(d\) divide \(F_n - F_m k\):

$$ d | F_n - F_m k \implies d|2 $$

This means \(d=2\) or \(d=1\). Since both \(F_n\) and \(F_m\) are odd, then \(d\) cannot be 2. Therefore \(d=1\). Since the smallest linear combination of two numbers is their gcd, then \((F_n, F_m) = 1\).

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