The Möbius transform and the infinitude of primes (Q654727)

Summary: Say that the pair of arithmetic functions \((f,g)\) is a Möbius pair if \(f(n)= \sum_{d\mid n} g(d)\) for all natural numbers \(n\). In this case, one can express \(g\) in terms of \(f\) by the Möbius inversion formula familiar from elementary number theory. We give a simple proof that if \((f,g)\) is a Möbius pair, then \(f\) and \(g\) cannot both be of finite support unless they both vanish identically. From this, we deduce another proof of Euclid's famous theorem that there are infinitely many prime numbers.