All Questions
Tagged with pr.probability nt.number-theory
181 questions
3
votes
0
answers
219
views
Expected period of quadratic generator
I am interested in the mean period of a quadratic congruential generator. Let $X_{n+1} = \sum_{i=0}^2 a_i X_n^i \bmod m$ where the $a_i \in \mathbb{Z_m}$ are chosen uniformly at random and $m$ is a ...
- 31
44
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Heuristically false conjectures
I was very surprised when I first encountered the Mertens conjecture. Define
$$ M(n) = \sum_{k=1}^n \mu(k) $$
The Mertens conjecture was that $|M(n)| < \sqrt{n}$ for $n>1$, in contrast to the ...
- 1,075
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Probability of all combinations of k numbers among n being coprime
A simple argument shows that if we choose $n$ positive integers at random, the probability of their greatest common divisor being 1 is $1/ \zeta (n)$ (in the sense that if we choose the numbers among $...
- 12.8k
3
votes
0
answers
173
views
Are numbers $h_{r,s} = \sum_{k} P(r;s;k) \frac{1}{n^{2k}} \bigg(1-\frac{1}{n}\bigg)^{n-2k}$ irrational?
I asked this question on MSE and Mike Spivey gave an insightful answer. I decided to put it here nevertheless in case someone else gets interested. If this violates rules on MO, please let me know, I'...
CommunityBot
- 1
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What is a random number? (poll experiment) [closed]
Imagine the following experiment: you wait say at a subway exit, and ask everyone passing "please tell me a number" (positive integer, of course). You do this day after day, until you reach say 1M ...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
217
views
Calculating or estimating a combinatorial multivariate sum
Dear all,
I'm currently looking at a problem in which the following combinatorial product emerges:
$c(m_1,\dots,m_\lambda;n_1,\dots,n_\lambda)=\frac{m_1 !}{(m_1-n_1)!}\frac{(m_1+m_2-n_1)!}{(m_1+m_2-...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
390
views
Probability that p and q are both prime provided q-p=2r
Hello,
I would like to know whether there is a way, thanks to the prime number theorem, to give some kind of an equivalent of the probability that two positive integers $p$ and $q$ less than a given ...
- 30.1k
2
votes
0
answers
200
views
Generator density in $\mathbb{Z}^*_p$
Hello,
Consider the multiplicative group $(\mathbb{Z}/p)^*$ for a given prime $p$. We know that the number of generators in this group is $\phi(p-1)$ --- the Euleur totient function. The question is, ...
- 175
5
votes
1
answer
605
views
accumulation points within Pisot numbers
Recall that Pisot numbers are algebraic integers greater than $1$, whose other Galois conjugates have modulus $<1$. The set of Pisot numbers is usually denoted $S$. It is known that $S$ is ...
- 52.3k
3
votes
0
answers
143
views
finding rank-3 tensors compatible with a rank-2 tensor projection
I am interested in the following problem: Consider a rank-3 symmetric tensor $\boldsymbol{\sigma}$ with $\sigma_{ijk}$ where $\sigma_{ijk}$ can be 0 or 1, and the symmetry is with respect to any ...
- 41
3
votes
2
answers
462
views
using distribution of primes to generate random bits?
In his popular science book The Music of the Primes, Marcus du Sautoy tries to link the truth of the Riemann Hypothesis to the "randomness" of the primes. To do this, he invokes the idea of a "fair ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
845
views
Special case of Duffin-Schaeffer conjecture
The Duffin-Schaeffer conjecture is an old conjecture in metric number theory which has withstood attempts to solve it for about 70 years. The statement can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
- 1,723
0
votes
0
answers
337
views
What is the mean-value of a particular exponential sum related to the non-trivial zeros of Riemann's zeta function?
This question arose from an earlier one and the MO user's useful answers there: What are the values of the derivative of Riemann's zeta function at the known non-trivial zeros? (which is not a ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
426
views
Lower bounds for partial sums of multiplicative functions
The motivation for this enquiry is to understand something about the impact of multiplicativity for $f:\mathbb{N}\rightarrow\mathbb{C}$ on the conditional convergence of Dirichlet series
$$F(s)=\...
- 12.8k
24
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Drawing natural numbers without replacement.
Suppose we start with an initial probability distribution on $\mathbb{N}$ that gives positive probability to each $n$. Let's call this random variable $X_1$ so we have $P(X_1=n)=p_{1,n}>0$ for all $...
- 5,721
18
votes
3
answers
918
views
Can Gauss sums derandomize any heuristic arguments?
I've always been fascinated by the fact that the classical Gauss sum has absolute value $\sqrt p$, which is exactly what we would expect if we were to interpret the Gauss sum as a random walk. In ...
CommunityBot
- 1
6
votes
0
answers
671
views
Is there a probabilistic interpretation of Dedekind zeta functions?
Reading the interesting paper Honest Bernoulli excursions by Smith and Diaconis motivated the question whether probabilistic interpretations for general Dedekind zeta functions are known.
In the ...
- 2,029
6
votes
2
answers
461
views
Intrinsically measurable subsets of amenable semigroups.
This question is related to the one in https://mathoverflow.net/questions/65322/the-structure-of-certain-maximal-sets-of-means-into-amenable-semigroups. I open a different topic because they can be ...
CommunityBot
- 1
13
votes
4
answers
1k
views
What results would follow from or imply "randomness" of the primes?
This question on random versions of deterministic problems reminded me that many conditional results in number theory hold if the primes are in some sense random, and it is common knowledge that the ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
3
answers
293
views
How can we pave the multiplicative semigroup $(\mathbb N,\cdot)$?
Let $(S,\cdot)$ be a semigroup and $W\subseteq S$ be a subset. Let me call $W$ "tile" if the following property is satisfied: there exist $s_1,...s_k\in S$ such that the sets $s_i\cdot W$ are pairwise ...
- 30.1k
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Self Avoiding Walk Enumerations
Let $c(n)$ be the number of Self avoiding walks (SAW) of length $n$ on an infinite lattice $L$. Are there any known non-geometric interpretations of $c(n)$?. For example, is there a number theoretic ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Generalizations of a product formula for the gamma function
Hello and Happy holidays.
I am interested in generalizations of the following product formula for the gamma function
$\Gamma(z)= \int_{0}^{\infty} t^{z-1}e^{-t}dt$ when $n \geq 2$:
\begin{align}
\...
- 265
0
votes
0
answers
319
views
Estimating a multinomial sum
I have the following sum
\begin{equation}
\sum_{r_1=q+1}^{\tau}\dots\sum_{r_\lambda=q+1}^{\tau}{\tau\choose r_1,\dots,r_\lambda,\tau-r_1-\dots -r_\lambda} (\Lambda-\lambda)^{\tau-r_1-\dots-r_\lambda}
\...
3
votes
7
answers
4k
views
How to tell if two random polynomials are identical
Let t be a positive real number. Let P(x) and Q(x) be two random polynomials with integer coefficients. If P(t) = Q(t), then what is the probability that P(x) is not identical to Q(x)?
Will it make a ...
- 32.1k
8
votes
3
answers
847
views
Random linear recurrence relations
Problem
I am interested in the random recurrence relation of the form $x_{n+1}=\alpha x_n \pm \beta x_{n-1}$ where $\alpha$, $\beta$ are known constants and the $\pm$ sign is chosen with equal ...
- 17k
14
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Density of numbers having large prime divisors (formalizing heuristic probability argument)
I want to prove that the set of natural numbers n having a prime divisor greater than $\sqrt{n}$ is positive.
I have a heuristic argument that this density should be $\log 2$, which is approximately ...
- 9,114
1
vote
0
answers
225
views
What is the limiting distribution of local minima of n mod i, for i up to $\sqrt{n}$, as $n \rightarrow \infty$?
The sequence n mod i
Consider the sequence n mod i for i=1...$\sqrt{n}$. If we draw the sequence as an xy-plot, we get a dense triangle (since n mod i < i). More precisely, the limiting density of ...
- 1,906
7
votes
1
answer
643
views
distribution of degree of minimum polynomial for eigenvalues of random matrix with elements in finite field
This is an attempt to extend the current full fledged random matrix theory to fields of positive characteristics. So here is a possible setup for the problem: Let $A_{n,p}$ be an $n \times n$ matrix ...
- 23.8k
4
votes
3
answers
579
views
Average distance between numbers of the form $2^{a}3^{b}$
I want to order all numbers of the form $2^a3^b$. I need to find the average distance between a random consecutive pair.
For example, in case of a random consecutive pair $2^{n'}$ and $2^{n'+1}$, the ...
- 126
5
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Counting lattice points on an n-simplex
Imagine an n-simplex, the solution set for the expression: $a_1$*$x_1$ + $a_2$*$x_2$ + ... + $a_n$*$x_n$ = S, where:
$a_1$ through $a_n$ are positive bounded integers
$x_1$ through $x_n$ are ...
- 43
9
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Primes are pseudorandom?
I've been reading the wonderful slides by Terry Tao and thought about this question.
Primes appear to be quite random, and the formal statement should be that there are some characteristics of primes ...
- 41.1k