Primary pseudoperfect numbers, arithmetic progressions, and the Erdős-Moser equation

DOI10.4169/AMER.MATH.MONTHLY.124.3.232MaRDI QIDQ4575238zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Jonathan Sondow, Kieren MacMillan

Publication date 13 July 2018

Published in The American Mathematical Monthly (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.06566

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Primes (11A41) Rational numbers as sums of fractions (11D68)

Abstract: A primary pseudoperfect number (PPN) is an integer $K>1$ such that the reciprocals of $K$ and its prime factors sum to 1. PPNs arise in studying perfectly weighted graphs and singularities of algebraic surfaces, and are related to Sylvester's sequence, Giuga numbers, Zn'am's problem, the inheritance problem, and Curtiss's bound on solutions of a unit fraction equation. Here we show $Kequiv6pmod{6}^2$ if $6midK$, and uncover a remarkable $7$-term arithmetic progression of residues modulo $6^{2}cdot8$ in the sequence of known PPNs. On that basis, we pose a conjecture which leads to a conditional proof of the new record lower bound $k>10^{3.99imes10^{20}}$ on any non-trivial solution to the ErdH{o}s-Moser Diophantine equation $1^n+2^n+dotsb+k^n=(k+1{)}^n$.

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Cites work

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• On the equation $\sum_{p|N}\frac1p+\frac1N = 1$, pseudoperfect numbers, and perfectly weighted graphs
• On the equation \(\sum ^{s}_{j=1}(1/x_ j)+(1/(x_ 1\,\dots \,x_ s))=1\) and Znám's problem
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Cited in

(4)

• On \(\mu\)-Sondow numbers
• Egyptian fractions and prime power divisors
• Contributions towards a conjecture of Erdos on perfect powers in arithmetic progression
• On the equation $\sum_{p|N}\frac1p+\frac1N = 1$, pseudoperfect numbers, and perfectly weighted graphs

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