Exact Computation of the Catalan Number $C(2,050,572,903)$
Abstract
This paper presents a two-phase algorithm for computing exact Catalan numbers at an unprecedented scale. The method is demonstrated by computing for yielding a result with a targeted decimal digits. To circumvent the memory limitations associated with evaluating large factorials, the algorithm operates exclusively in the prime-exponent domain. Phase 1 employs a parallel segmented sieve to enumerate primes up to and applies Legendre's formula to determine the precise prime factorization of . The primes are grouped by exponent and serialized to disk. Phase 2 reconstructs the final integer using a memory-efficient balanced product tree with chunking. The algorithm runs on a time complexity of bit-operations and a space complexity of bits. This result represents the largest exact Catalan number computed to date. Performance statistics for a single-machine execution are reported, and verification strategies -- including modular checks and SHA-256 hash validation -- are discussed. The source code and factorization data are provided to ensure reproducibility.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.11621,
title = {Exact Computation of the Catalan Number $C(2,050,572,903)$},
author = {Mahesh Ramani},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.11621},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
9 pages, 2 algorithms, 2 tables. Source code available at https://github.com/Mahesh-Ramani/math-portfolio