All Questions
62 questions
93
votes
3
answers
6k
views
A little number theoretic game
I came up with this little two player game:
The players take turns naming a positive integer. When one player says the number $n$, the other player can only reply in two different ways: They can ...
- 861
69
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Iterations of $2^{n-1}+5$: the strong law of small numbers, or something bigger?
I've discovered what I believe is a quite remarkable sequence (A318970), defined by
$$n_1 = 3,\qquad n_{k+1} = 2^{n_k-1}+5\quad(k\geq 1).$$
Here are the first four terms with their prime ...
- 34.3k
48
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Twin primes conjecture and extrapolation method
Let $(p_1, p_2)$ be a twin prime pair, where we include $(2, 3)$. If $p_1 \equiv 1$ mod $4$ then we let $t_{(p_1, p_2)} := p_1 ^ 2 / p_2 ^ 2$ otherwise, we let $t_{(p_1, p_2)} := p_2 ^ 2 / p_1 ^ 2$.
...
- 1,305
35
votes
9
answers
9k
views
Why is integer factoring hard while determining whether an integer is prime easy?
In 2002, the discovery of the AKS algorithm proved that it is possible to determine whether an integer is prime in polynomial time deterministically. However, it is still not known whether there is an ...
- 2,649
22
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How to see that the determinant of this matrix is nonzero for all primes?
I'm trying to show that $\sum_{i = 0}^{p-2} (i+1)^{-1} t^{i+n}$ where $0 \leq n \leq p-2$ spans the vector space $\mathbb{F}_p[t]/(1-t)^{p-1}$ as a rank $p-1$ module over $\mathbb{F}_p$.
In other ...
- 3,539
20
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Possible contemporary improvement to bounded gaps between primes?
In his summary of his book Bounded gaps between primes: the epic breakthroughs of the early 21st century, Kevin Broughan writes
Which brings me to my final remark: where to next in the bounded gaps ...
- 35.5k
18
votes
3
answers
561
views
How to construct a small coprime?
Given an integer $n$, is there a deterministic algorithm to find in poly$(\log n)$ time an integer $q$, $n < q< n^{c}$, such that $gcd(q,n!)=1$? Here $c>1$ is some fixed constant.
...
- 17k
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Question on the 52nd (known) Mersenne prime number
In a footnote to the list of known Mersenne prime numbers which can be found here, we read that the "ranking" therein is a provisional one since not all possible exponents between $57 \, 885 ...
- 8,842
15
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Saying things rapidly about integer factorisations
Let $N$ be a positive integer. Thanks to the Miller-Rabin test and the work of Agrawal, Kayal and Saxena, these days people have much much faster algorithms for testing whether $N$ is prime or ...
- 3,064
15
votes
0
answers
365
views
Do primes of the form $4k+1$ ever lead the greatest prime factor race?
Analogous to Chebyshev's race between primes, I examined the race between primes in the greatest prime factors, GPF, of natural numbers. Similar to the regular prime race, in the GPF race, the ...
- 5,470
13
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is there a composite number that satisfies these conditions?
We know that if $q=4k+3$ ($q$ is a prime), then $(a+bi)^q=a-bi \pmod q$ for every Gaussian integer $a+bi$. Now consider a composite number $N=4k+3$ that satisfies this condition for the case $a+bi=3+...
- 131
13
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Why am I unable to find primes of the form $(9n)!+n!+1$?
See also Math StackExchange: Is there a prime of the form $(9n)!+n!+1$?
Recently, user Peter from Math StackExchange asked for a prime of the form $(9n)!+n!+1$ (where $n$ is some natural number).
...
- 1,326
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Primality of a number of more than 50k digits
With modern tecnology is it possible to prove the primality of a number of more than 50k digits?
Obviously not a prime for which specific methods for testing primality are known like Mersenne primes.
12
votes
1
answer
869
views
Analytic lower bounds on the first sign change of pi(x) - li(x)?
There have been many results on the first sign change of $\pi(x)-{\mathrm{li}}(x)$: among others, Lehman, te Riele, Bays & Hudson, Demichael, Chao & Plymen, and most recently Saouter & ...
- 9,114
12
votes
1
answer
547
views
Seeking references for finding primes infinitely often
I've been pondering this weakened version of the finding primes problem for a while:
Is there an algorithm which given $k$ outputs a prime $p > 2^k$ in time $F(\log_2(p))$?
This differs from ...
- 2,302
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Do consecutive integers have a big prime factor?
Let us say that three consecutive positive integers $(m-1,m,m+1)$ have a big prime factor if the largest prime factor $p$ of $N=(m-1)m(m+1)$ satisfies $e^p>N$.
I ckecked that it is true for all $m&...
11
votes
1
answer
360
views
Does this notion of pseudoprime relative to a matrix appear in the literature?
Let $M$ be a square matrix with integer entries. Then Fermat's little theorem for matrices holds:
$$\text{tr}(M^p) \equiv \text{tr}(M) \bmod p.$$
This follows by an examination of the action of the ...
- 118k
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Can every integer be written as a sum of squares of primes?
This question is mainly inspired from a different problem I was working on.
Is there a value of $k$ such that, for each $n\in \mathbb N$, the equation
$$\sum_{i=1}^{k}x_i^2=n$$
is solvable in $x_1,\...
- 791
9
votes
3
answers
584
views
Why is there an unexpected increase in the density of certain types of Goldbach primes?
Note: Posted in MO since it was unanswered in MSE.
I was checking how quickly we can verify Goldbach's conjecture for a given even number $n$ and it was clear that searching backward starting from the ...
- 5,470
9
votes
1
answer
858
views
Prove that there are no composite integers $n=am+1$ such that $m \ | \ \phi(n)$
Let $n=am+1$ where $a $ and $m>1$ are positive integers and let $p$ be the least prime divisor of $m$. Prove that if $a<p$ and $ m \ | \ \phi(n)$ then $n$ is prime.
This question is a ...
- 319
8
votes
1
answer
834
views
Are there highly composite prime gaps?
Definition: Highly composite prime gap
The three composite numbers between the consecutive primes $643$ and $647$ each have at least three distinct prime factors. This is the first occurrence of prime ...
- 5,470
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Expressing primes $p\equiv 1 \pmod 3$ in the form $p = x^2 + xy + y^2$
Fermat famously showed that the only primes $p$ of the form $x^2 + y^2$ are the primes such that $p \equiv 1 \mod{4}$. Furthermore, we now know “effective” versions of Fermat's theorem, i.e. given a ...
- 1,703
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Recovering n from sigma(n)/n
For any positive integer $n$, we define
$$\sigma(n) := \sum_{d \mid n} d,$$
and
$$\delta(n) := \frac{\sigma(n)}{n} = \sum_{d \mid n} \frac{1}{d}.$$
Is there an (efficient) way to determine $\delta^{-1}...
- 6,614
7
votes
1
answer
382
views
Counting twin primes efficiently
This question, as well as its answers and comments, highlights a lot of unsettling numerical coincidences where certain sums over twin primes ostensibly converge to all kinds of weird values, however ...
- 5,590
7
votes
0
answers
274
views
Are there infinitely many zeroes of $\sum_{r = 1}^{n-1} \mu(r)\gcd(n,r) $?
Let $\mu(n)$ be the Möbius function and $S(x)$ be the number of positive integers $n \le x$ such that
$$
\sum_{r = 1}^{n-1} \mu(r)\gcd(n,r) = 0
$$
My experimental data for $n \le 6 \times 10^5 $...
- 5,470
7
votes
0
answers
294
views
On the ratio of Gilbreath sequences
Definitions: let $n \in \mathbb{N}_{>0} \cup \{ \infty \}$ and let $E_n$ be the set of sequences $(d_i)_{i=1}^n$ such that $d_1=1$, $d_i$ is an even integer (for $i > 1$) and $0<d_i \le i$. ...
6
votes
1
answer
242
views
Inductively computing Mersenne primes / perfect numbers?
For two sets $A,B$ set $A+B = \{a +b | a \in A,b \in B\}$.
Let $(x_n)_{n \in \mathbb{N}}$ be independent variables. Let $\sigma(n)$ be the sum of divisors of $n$.
Set $\hat{\phi}(1) = \{x_1\}$ and ...
user6671
6
votes
0
answers
126
views
Equivalence of primes based on the partition of their Pisano periods
The period of Fibonacci numbers modulo $m$ is called Pisano period and its length is denoted as $\pi(m)$. Define the Pisano partition of $m$ as the set partition of the indices $\{0,1,\dotsc,\pi(m)-1\}...
- 34.3k
6
votes
0
answers
448
views
Are there always at least *five* divisions?
@JosephO'Rourke asked a question about a Collatz like function related to primes:
$f(n) =
\begin{cases}
n^2 & \text{if} \;n \;\text{is prime} \\
\lfloor n/2 \rfloor & \text{if} \;n \;\text{...
- 1,375
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Goldbach conjecture and other problems in additive combinatorics
The field is also known as additive number theory. I am interested in sums $z=x + y$ where $x \in S, y\in T$, and both $S, T$ are infinite sets of positive integers. For instance:
$S = T$ is the set ...
- 3,098
5
votes
4
answers
791
views
Proving a least prime factor
Suppose that I find a small prime factor $p$ dividing a large number $n$ and I wish to prove that it is the least prime dividing $n$. There are two obvious approaches: either factor $n/p$, or divide $...
- 9,114
5
votes
2
answers
314
views
Congruences for the non-divisors of Euler's $\phi(n)$
If $n$ is composite, then $\phi(n) < n-1$: hence, there is at least one number $d$ which does not divide $\phi(n)$ but divides$(n-1)$. We shall call $d$ the totient divisor of $n$. The purist will ...
- 5,470
5
votes
1
answer
237
views
On a result of Euler on pseudoprimes
In several sources (for instance on page 58 of the first ed. of Crandall & Pomerance book on prime numbers or at the end of this paper by J. H. Jaroma), I have seen a result that goes like this:
...
- 87
5
votes
1
answer
234
views
What are the solutions in numbers of $xyz \mid x^n + y^n + z^n$, $x,y,z$ globally coprime
What are globally coprime integers $x,y,z\in \mathbb Z^*$ such that $xyz$ divide $x^n + y^n + z^n$?
I have no other motivation for that problem but its inherent beauty and interest.
Note that it can ...
- 687
5
votes
1
answer
305
views
The limit of the following product? What is the closed form of the value?
Assume that $P_n$ is the $n$'th prime: Please help me solve the following $$\lim_{k\to\infty} {k}\prod_{n=1}^k \frac{P_{2n-1}}{P_{2n}}$$
I am not really sure quite where to start here as I am ...
user82419
5
votes
0
answers
339
views
About a diophantine equation from group theory
Is there any set of odd primes $\{p_1, p_2,..., p_k\}$ and natural numbers $a_1,..., a_k$ such that the following equation satisfied:
$${p_1^{2a_1+1}+1 \over p_1+1}\times ....\times {p_k^{2a_k+1}+1 \...
- 1,168
4
votes
1
answer
708
views
Calculating the constant in the Bateman-Horn-Stemmler conjecture
Bateman & Horn [1], building on Bateman & Stemmler [2], give a conjectured formula for the density of numbers that produce simultaneous primes in a number of fixed polynomials.
The constant ...
- 9,114
4
votes
0
answers
213
views
What is the complexity class of this problem without Cramer's conjecture?
The problem 'Given $0<a<b$ is there a prime in the interval $[a,b]$?' is in $\mathsf{NP}$. If we assume Cramer's conjecture the problem is in $\mathsf{P}$ since if $b-a>(\log a)^{2+\epsilon}$ ...
- 13.9k
4
votes
0
answers
369
views
Reducing factoring prime products to factoring integer products (in average-case)
My question is about the equivalence of the security of various candidate one-way functions that can be constructed based on the hardness of factoring. (This question has been asked also in the CS ...
- 41
4
votes
1
answer
324
views
Higher roots modulo prime complexity best algorithm
Given integers $a,\ell$ and prime $p$ we need to find the roots of the algebraic equation $x^\ell\equiv a\bmod p$. We know there are at most $\ell$ such $x$.
What is the best method to find all such ...
3
votes
2
answers
332
views
On generating squarefree integers and primes?
Given an $\alpha\in(0,1)$ and $n\in\Bbb N$ what are some known deterministic algorithms to sample $O(n^\alpha)$ (not just get one) square free integers of $n$ bits? Is it $O(n^{\alpha})$ complexity?
...
- 13.9k
3
votes
1
answer
116
views
Can we construct composite Fermat pseudoprimes to integral algebraic bases?
Let $0\neq \beta\in\overline{\mathbb{Z}}$ and let $n$ be a positive integer coprime to $N_{\mathbb{Q}(\beta)/\mathbb{Q}}(\beta)$. Say that $n$ is a Fermat pseudoprime to base $\beta$ if
$$\beta^{n^{[\...
- 458
3
votes
0
answers
131
views
Improving prime number generation probability?
Deterministic generation of primes in polynomial time is unknown.
Is there a way to probablistically in $O(n^c)$ time bound for some $c>0$ generate polynomially $\Omega(n^c)$ many integers in $[0,...
- 13.9k
2
votes
0
answers
300
views
How soon can we represent a number as the sum of two primes?
Posting in MO since it was unanswered in MSE.
Goldbach's conjecture says that every even number can be represented as the sum of two primes. But how soon can we find such a representation. Taking $20 =...
- 5,470
2
votes
0
answers
206
views
Sum of all primes below $n$ without listing all primes below $n$
Asymptotically there is around $\frac{n}{\ln n}$ primes below a given integer $n$. Thus $\frac{n}{\ln n}$ is a lower bound for the time complexity of any algorithm that at some point finds each prime ...
- 21
2
votes
0
answers
287
views
Best known primality test for the whole intervals of integers up to $10^{20}$ — like the sieve of Eratosthenes
What are the best known primality test(s) for the whole intervals of integers up to $N=10^{20}$ ? "Best" means "have minimal amortized time per tested integer".
That is, the ...
- 121
2
votes
0
answers
99
views
A problem in modular roots
We have three mutually coprime integers $r,t,M$ where $M\asymp K^{\frac12-2\epsilon}$ and $r,t\asymp K^{\frac14+\epsilon}$ holds with some fixed $\epsilon>0$ and $K>0$ is a large parameter. ...
- 13.9k
2
votes
0
answers
306
views
Avoiding Chinese Remainder Theorem
Given $k\in\Bbb N$ with $k<(\log_2N)^{\frac1\alpha}$ where $\alpha>2$ is fixed and $N$ being some integer such that $$N<\prod_{i=1}^k\pi_i^{a_i}$$ where $\pi_1,\pi_2,\dots,\pi_{k-1},\pi_k$ ...
user76479
1
vote
2
answers
346
views
Determining if a number is k-rough without factoring
A k-rough number is a natural number whose smallest prime factor is >= k, basically in opposition to the notion of a smooth number. Clearly, it's trivially easy to generate a k-rough composite number:...
- 379
1
vote
1
answer
153
views
Specializing non-trivial primality tests
Primes $p$ are integers with no factors (composite allowed) in $[1,p]$. There is a polynomial time test for them.
Given an interval $[a,b]$ what is the best way to test given integer $q$ has no ...
- 13.9k