# Arithmetic progression divisibility

Suppose $b|a$ and $\frac{a}{b} \neq \frac{v}{y}$, $a, b, v, y \in \mathbb{N}$ arbitrary. Is there a nice clean intuitive proof to show that it is never true that $b+yk|a+vk$ for all $k \in \mathbb{N}$? Or is it true sometimes after all (I strongly feel like not)?

• Does $y$ divide $v$ ? For $k=0$, this statement is obviously false .. – Astyx Oct 28 '16 at 21:18
• @Astyx It might or it might not. They are arbitrary under the imposed conditions. What do you mean with "for $k=0$ this statement is obviously false"? $k$ is allowed to vary, you just have to find one counter example ,which can be with any $k$, for any $a, b, v, y \in \mathbb{N}$ under the imposed conditions. If I were to allow $\frac{a}{b} = \frac{v}{y}$ then it would be obviously false. – Jori Oct 28 '16 at 21:51
• Oh you mean that there always exists k such that $a+vk$ does not divide $b+yk$ ? My bad, I missunderstood your question. – Astyx Oct 28 '16 at 21:53
• @Astyx No problem. It seems pretty simple, I wonder what would be a good way to go about proof such statement. Any ideas? My first thought was to say that $a+vk$ will eventually be prime, but that only holds of course if $\gcd(a, v) = 1$ and this we may not assume. – Jori Oct 28 '16 at 22:01

Assume for contradiction that for all $k\in \Bbb N$, $a+vk|b+yk$ and consider the sequence $u_k\in \Bbb Z$ such that $u_k(a+vk) = b+yk$. Then since $u_k = {b+yk\over a+vk} \to {y\over v}$ as $k$ goes to $+\infty$, $u_k$ approaches ${y\over v}$ arbitrary close, which therefore must be an integer, and thus $v|y$. Let $u \in \mathbb{Z}$ be such that $y = vu$. Then for all $k\in \Bbb N$ we have $a+vk |b+vuk$ and therefore also $a+vk |b-au$. However since $a+vk$ is unbounded and $b-au$ does not depend on $k$, what follows is that $b-au = 0$, which rewrites as ${a\over b} = {v \over y}$.
• How did you conclude that $y/v$ is an integer?! That directly contradicts the assumption that $y$ and $v$ are chosen arbitrary. – Jori Oct 29 '16 at 16:27
• @Jori I proved the contrapositive of your statement, that is : $(\forall k \in \Bbb N, a+vk|b+yk) \implies {a\over b} = {v \over y}$, leading your statement to be true. – Astyx Oct 29 '16 at 16:55
• I do not like my proof because it requires analytic arguments (therefore leaving $\Bbb Z$) to prove such a (seemingly?) simple arithmetic statement, but since it works and I can't think of any other proof ... – Astyx Oct 29 '16 at 17:58