English

Almost primes between all squares

Number Theory 2025-06-26 v3

Abstract

We prove that for all n1n\geq 1 there exists a number between n2n^2 and (n+1)2(n+1)^2 with at most 4 prime factors. This is the first result of this kind that holds for every n1n\geq 1 rather than just sufficiently large nn. Our approach relies on a recent computation by Sorenson and Webster, along with an explicit version of the linear sieve. As part of our proof, we also prove an explicit version of Kuhn's weighted sieve. This is done for generic sifting sets to enhance the future applicability of our methods.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2501.18048,
  title  = {Almost primes between all squares},
  author = {Adrian W. Dudek and Daniel R. Johnston},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.18048},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

16 pages, to appear in Journal of Number Theory

R2 v1 2026-06-28T21:24:48.977Z