On pseudoprimes of the form \(a^n-a\) (Q2883405)

A pseudoprime to the base \(a\) is a composite number \(N\) such that \(N\mid a^N - a\). The authors investigate the existence of pseudoprimes of the form \(N = a^n-a\). They observe that \(N\) is such a pseudoprime iff \(a^n \equiv a+1 \pmod {n-1}\) and they produce numerous examples of solutions of the congruence for \(a \leq 10\). A second theme of the note is the congruence \(a^{x-a} \equiv 1 \pmod x\) for \(x = a^n-1\). This holds iff \(a^n \equiv a+1 \pmod n\). The case \(a=2\) is given a special attention.