English

A Distinct Covering System with Minimum Modulus 7 and Minimal Least Common Multiple 10080

Number Theory 2026-07-21 v1

Abstract

We determine the minimum possible least common multiple of a distinct covering system whose minimum modulus is 77. Klein previously constructed such a system with least common multiple 1512015120 and conjectured that this value was minimal. We give a construction with least common multiple 1008010080, and we prove that no smaller least common multiple can occur. The proof is organized as a successive filtering argument. Starting from the possible multiples of 77 below 1008010080, we first apply a reciprocal-sum filter, then a divisor-completed integer-programming filter, then a stronger partial-sum filter. The few remaining hard cases are finally certified by complete Gurobi computations.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.19029,
  title  = {A Distinct Covering System with Minimum Modulus 7 and Minimal Least Common Multiple 10080},
  author = {Jiheng Zhang and Shiliang Zhang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.19029},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

12 pages, no figures. Includes complete Gurobi computations; code available at https://github.com/zhangshiliang502-droid/Distinct-Covering-System-With-m-7

R2 v1 2026-07-22T20:50:44.087Z