English

Extremal densities for forbidden configurations in $S$-smooth numbers

Number Theory 2026-04-20 v1 Combinatorics

Abstract

Let S={p1,,pr}S = \{p_1,\dots,p_r\} be a finite set of distinct primes, let ΨS(X)\Psi_S(X) be the number of SS-smooth integers not exceeding XX, and let FS(X)F_S(X) be the maximum size of a subset of M(S)[1,X]M(S) \cap [1,X] containing no set {n,p1n,,prn}\{n,p_1 n,\dots,p_r n\}. We prove that FS(X)=rr+1ΨS(X)+OS((logX)r1) F_S(X)=\frac{r}{r+1}\Psi_S(X)+O_S\bigl((\log X)^{r-1}\bigr) as XX \to \infty, and equivalently that fS(k)=rr+1k+OS(k(r1)/r) f_S(k)=\frac{r}{r+1}k+O_S\bigl(k^{(r-1)/r}\bigr) for the corresponding extremal function on the first kk SS-smooth numbers. We also relate this problem to the analogous extremal problem on the full interval [1,N][1,N]. Using the classical theory of such forbidden configurations, we obtain a representation of the corresponding density constant αS\alpha_S in terms of the increments of fSf_S, along with nested computable bounds and a recursive formula for the reciprocal tail over SS-smooth numbers. We further show that rational reciprocal sums over SS-smooth denominators need not arise from eventually periodic binary sequences. In the classical case S={2,3}S=\{2,3\}, we derive an explicit tail formula and prove two structural propositions for optimal sets.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.15515,
  title  = {Extremal densities for forbidden configurations in $S$-smooth numbers},
  author = {Nikola Veselinov},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.15515},
  year   = {2026}
}

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14 pages