$k$-additive uniqueness of the set of squares for multiplicative functions

Abstract

P. V. Chung showed that there are many multiplicative functions $f$ which satisfy $f(m^2+n^2) = f(m^2)+f(n^2)$ for all positive integers $m$ and $n$. In this article, we show that if more than $2$ squares in the additive condition are involved, then such $f$ is uniquely determined. That is, if a multiplicative function $f$ satisfies \[ f(a_1^2 + a_2^2 + \dotsb + a_k^2) = f(a_1^2) + f(a_2^2) + \dotsb + f(a_k^2) \] for arbitrary positive integers $a_i$, then $f$ is the identity function. In this sense, we call the set of all posotive squares a \emph{$k$-additive uniqueness set} for multiplicative functions.