On \(e\)-power \(b\)-happy numbers (Q1047556)

Let \(e\geq 2\) and \(b\geq 2\) be positive integers. For any positive integer \(a\), define \(S_{e, b}(a)\) to be the sum of the \(e\)-th powers of digits of \(a\) in base \(b\) and \(S^r_{e, b}(a)=S_{e, b}(S^{r-1}_{e, b} (a))\). If \(S^m_{e, b}(a)=1\) for some \(m\geq 0\) , then \(a\) is called an \(e\)-power \(b\)-happy number. Let \(A=\{ p\;\text{ prime}: p\mid b-1 \;\text{ and }\;(p-1) \mid (e-1) \}\), \(P=\prod_{p\in A}p\). In this paper, the authors show that there exist arbitrarily long sequences of \(P\)-consecutive \(e\)-power \(b\)-happy numbers for any \(e\) and \(b\). This result generalizes the work of \textit{H. G. Grundman} and \textit{E. A. Teeple} [Rocky Mt. J. Math. 37, No. 6, 1905--1916 (2007; Zbl 1149.11005)] and of \textit{H. Pan} [J. Number Theory 128, No. 6, 1646--1654 (2008; Zbl 1180.11004)].