The set of \(k\)-units modulo \(n\) (Q2109075)

Given a ring with identity \(R\), the authors define the concept of \(k\)-unit of \(R\) (for \(0<k\in\mathbb{N}\)) as follows: An element \(a\in R\) is a \(k\)-unit provided \(a^k=1\). Note that this is just the well-known definition of a \(k\)-th root of unity, so one wonders about why the authors felt the need to use another name for this concept. The paper is then devoted to studying the number of the so-called \(k\)-units in the ring of integers modulo \(n\) that they denote by \(du_k(n)\). Due to this shift in notation and naming, it is hard to assess the originalty or quality of the results. This reviewer has the feeling that should the authors taken into account the idea of \(k\)-th root of unity and its relation to cyclotomic polynomials, they would have found out that what they say is either known or of little interest.