Congruences for \(r_s(n)\) (Q983301)

Let \(r(s;n)\) denote the number of ways in which the positive integer \(n\) can be represented as a sum of \(s\) squares of integers. Lagrange's celebrated theorem that every \(n\) is a sum of four squares can thus be rewritten as \(r(4;n) \geq 1\) for all \(n\), and characterizations of those \(n\) for which \(r(2;n) \geq 1\) and \(r(3;n) \geq 1\) are important theorems in first and advanced courses in number theory. Less well known are the elegant closed formulas for \(r(s;n)\) for \(s=2\), 4, and 8. These and much more on \(r(s;n)\) can be found in \textit{E.~Grosswald}'s book [Representations of integers as sums of squares. New York etc.: Springer-Verlag (1985; Zbl 0574.10045)]. Let \(k\), \(n\), \(s\), \(m\), \(p\) be positive integers with \(m\) odd and \(p\) odd prime. It has been proved by \textit{S.~S.~Wagstaff jun.} in [J.~Number Theory 127, No. 2, 326--329 (2007; Zbl 1216.11045)] that (i) \(r(2^km;n) \equiv 0\pmod{2^{k+1}}\), and (ii) \(r(p^k;n) \equiv 2\pmod{2p}\) if \(n = p^k t^2\) for some \(t\) and \(r(p^k;n) \equiv 0\) otherwise. The author of the paper under review proves the following stronger results: (i) \(r(2^km;n) \equiv 2^{k+1}\pmod{2^{k+2}}\) if \(n\) is a square or twice a square and \(r(2^km;n) \equiv 0\) otherwise, (ii) \(n r(s;n) \equiv 0\pmod{2s}\), and (iii) \(r(s;n) \equiv 0\pmod{2s}\) whenever \(\gcd((n,s)) = 1\).