Is my proof beneath perfect and complete?
I wanted to prove that for any nth root of an integer, if it's not an integer, than it's irrational:
{m,n∈Nn√m∉N⟹n√m∉Q.
I start by assuming that m1n is rational and non-integer. So there exist co-prime integers a,b so that n√m=ab
But since a and b have no common factor, an and bn also have no common factor. So:
anbn∉N,
a contradiction.
Answer
Your proof is fine. You can use essentially the same idea to prove the following more general statement:
Theorem. If P(X)∈Z[X] is a monic polynomial, then any rational roots of P are integers. In other words, Z is integrally closed.
Proof. Assume that q=a/b is a rational root with a,b coprime, and let P(X)=Xn+cn−1Xn−1+…+c0. We have P(q)=0, which gives
an+cn−1an−1b+…+c0bn=0
In other words, an is divisible by b. This is a contradiction unless b=±1, since then any prime dividing b also divides a, contradicting coprimality. Hence, b=±1 and q∈Z.
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