Nonsingularity of least common multiple matrices on gcd-closed sets

Let n be a positive integer. Let S={x₁,…,x_n} be a set of n distinct positive integers. The least common multiple (LCM) matrix on S, denoted by S], is defined to be the n×n matrix whose (i,j)-entry is the least common multiple x_i,x_j] of x_i and x_j. The set S is said to be gcd-closed if for any x_i,x_j∈S,(x_i,x_j)∈S. For an integer m>1, let ω(m) denote the number of distinct prime factors of m. Define ω(1)=0. In 1997, Qi Sun conjectured that if S is a gcd-closed set satisfying max_x∈S{ω(x)}?2, then the LCM matrix S] is nonsingular. In this paper, we settle completely Sun's conjecture. We show the following result: (i). If S is a gcd-closed set satisfying max_x∈S{ω(x)}?2, then the LCM matrix S] is nonsingular. Namely, Sun's conjecture is true; (ii). For each integer r?3, there exists a gcd-closed set S satisfying max_x∈S{ω(x)}=r, such that the LCM matrix S] is singular.