Multiplicative Function

Definition

An arithmetic function f is said to be multiplicative if for any a,b which are coprime integers

f(ab)=f(a)f(b).

This definition is used a lot in number theory, with the divisor counting function, sum of divisor function and Euler's totient function all being multiplicative.

In a more general context, sometimes the word multiplicative is used to refer to what is known as a completely multiplicative function, which drops the coprimacy condition and hence allows the definition to make sense on any set which defines multiplication.