The elementary symmetric functions of reciprocals of elements of arithmetic progressions

MaRDI QIDQ485032zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Chunlin Wang, Shaofang Hong

Publication date 8 January 2015

Published in Acta Mathematica Hungarica (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1311.1389

zbMATH Keywords

\(p\)-adic valuationarithmetic progressionelementary symmetric functionharmonic series

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Arithmetic progressions (11B25) Primes in congruence classes (11N13)

Abstract: Let $a$ and $b$ be positive integers. In 1946, ErdH{o}s and Niven proved that there are only finitely many positive integers $n$ for which one or more of the elementary symmetric functions of $1/b,1/(a+b),\mathrm{...},1/(an-a+b)$ are integers. In this paper, we show that for any integer $k$ with $1leklen$, the $k$-th elementary symmetric function of $1/b,1/(a+b),\mathrm{...},1/(an-a+b)$ is not an integer except that either $b=n=k=1$ and $age1$, or $a=b=1,n=3$ and $k=2$. This refines the ErdH{o}s-Niven theorem and answers an open problem raised by Chen and Tang in 2012.

Review text

Let \(S_{a,b}(n,k)\) denote the \(k\)-th elementary symmetric function of \(1/b\), \(1/(a+b)\), \dots, \(1/(an-a+b)\) where \(a,b,k\) are positive integers and \(1\leq k\leq n\). Then the authors prove that \(S_{a,b}(n,k)\) is not an integer except that either \(b=n=k=1\), or \(a=b=1\), \(n=3\) and \(k=2\), in which case \(S_{a,b}(n,k)\) is an integer. This answers an open problem raised by \textit{Y.-G. Chen} and \textit{M. Tang} [Am. Math. Mon. 119, No. 10, 862--867 (2012; Zbl 1275.11049)] which generalizes a well-known result of \textit{P. Erdős} and \textit{I. Niven} [Bull. Am. Math. Soc. 52, 248--251 (1946; Zbl 0061.06502)]. The key tool is an effective result of \textit{P. Dusart} [C. R. Math. Acad. Sci., Soc. R. Can., 21, No. 2, 53--59 (1999; Zbl 0935.11002)] on the distribution of primes saying that for any real number \(x\geq3275\), there is a prime number \(p\) such that \(x< p\leq x(1+1/(2\log^2x))\).

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Cited in

(15)

• Recursions associated to trapezoid, symmetric and rotation symmetric functions over Galois fields
• Multiple reciprocal sums and multiple reciprocal star sums of polynomials are almost never integers
• On the p-adic properties of Stirling numbers of the first kind
• On the denseness of certain reciprocal power sums
• On the integrality of the first and second elementary symmetric functions of \(1,1/2^{s_2},\dots,1/n^{s_n}\)
• The elementary symmetric functions of a reciprocal polynomial sequence
• On the integrality of the elementary symmetric functions of 1, 1/3,, 1/(2n - 1)
• The elementary symmetric functions of a reciprocal polynomial sequence
• On the elementary symmetric functions of 1, 1/ 2, ,1/n
• 2-adic valuations of Stirling numbers of the first kind
• On the \(p\)-adic valuation of Stirling numbers of the first kind
• Multiple harmonic sums and multiple harmonic star sums are (nearly) never integers
• Some properties of partial sums of the harmonic series
• A generalisation of a theorem of Erdős and Niven
• A generalization of a theorem of Nagell

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