Exercise 41Number theory › IrrationalityL1Added 3 Nov 2026
Linear independence of logs
#logarithm#independence#irrationality
Statement
Show that and are linearly independent over (where is natural logarithm).
Hint
If with not both zero, then .
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Solution
Assume. , so , i.e. .
Clear denominators. Multiply by a common multiple of denominators to get with not both zero.
Contradiction. If , divides , impossible by unique factorization. If , similarly.
Conclusion. and are -linearly independent; in particular is irrational.