Related papers: On second order linear sequences of composite numb…

In this paper we study mixed sums of primes and linear recurrences. We show that if m=2(mod 4) and m+1 is a prime then $(m^{2^n-1}-1)/(m-1)\not=m^n+p^a$ for any n=3,4,... and prime power p^a. We also prove that if a>1 is an integer, u_0=0,…

We give an algorithm that produces all solutions of the equation $\sum_{i=1}^n 1/x_i = 1$ in integers of the form $2^a k^b$, where $k$ is a fixed positive integer that is not a power of $2$, $a$ is an element of $\{0,1,2\}$ that can vary…

Let $a, b\in \mathbb{N}$ be relatively prime. Previous work showed that exactly one of the two equations $ax + by = (a-1)(b-1)/2$ and $ax + by + 1 = (a-1)(b-1)/2$ has a nonnegative, integral solution; furthermore, the solution is unique.…

A well-known open problem asks to show that $2^n+5$ is composite for almost all values of $n$. This was proposed by Gil Kalai as a possible Polymath project, and was posed originally by Christopher Hooley. We show that, assuming GRH and a…

A natural question about Dedekind sums is to find conditions on the integers $a_1, a_2$, and $b$ such that $s(a_1,b) = s(a_2, b)$. We prove that if the former equality holds then $ b \ | \ (a_1a_2-1)(a_1-a_2)$. Surprisingly, to the best of…

We study generalized sums of linear orders. These are binary operations that, given linear orders $A$ and $B$, return an order $A \oplus B$ that can be decomposed as an isomorphic copy of $A$ interleaved with a copy of $B$. We show that…

Let $(U_n)_{n=0}^\infty$ and $(V_m)_{m=0}^\infty$ be two linear recurrence sequences. For fixed positive integers $k$ and $\ell$, fixed $k$-tuple $(a_1,\dots,a_k)\in \mathbb{Z}^k$ and fixed $\ell$-tuple $(b_1,\dots,b_\ell)\in…

We reprove twice, in a simpler but as elementary way, a result by Hor\'ak and Skula (1985) who determined, among all sequences of integers defined by $$u_1=1,\quad u_2=R,\quad u_{n+2}=Pu_{n+1}-Qu_n$$ for some integers $P,Q,R$, those which…

Let $(u_n)_{n \geq 0}$ be a nondegenerate linear recurrence of integers, and let $\mathcal{A}$ be the set of positive integers $n$ such that $u_n$ and $n$ are relatively prime. We prove that $\mathcal{A}$ has an asymptotic density, and that…

For $A,B\in\mathbb Z$, the Lucas sequence $u_n(A,B)\ (n=0,1,2,\ldots)$ are defined by $u_0(A,B)=0$, $u_1(A,B)=1$, and $u_{n+1}(A,B) = Au_n(A,B)-Bu_{n-1}(A,B)$ $(n=1,2,3,\ldots).$ For any odd prime $p$ and positive integer $n$, we establish…

We address three questions posed by Bibak \cite{KB20}, and generalize some results of Bibak, Lehmer and K G Ramanathan on solutions of linear congruences $\sum_{i=1}^k a_i x_i \equiv b \Mod{n}$. In particular, we obtain explicit expressions…

Let $p$ be a prime with $p>3$, and let $a,b$ be two rational $p-$integers. In this paper we present general congruences for $\sum_{k=0}^{p-1}\binom ak\binom{-1-a}k\frac p{k+b}\pmod {p^2}$. For $n=0,1,2,\ldots$ let $D_n$ and $b_n$ be Domb…

Let $A$ be a finite set of relatively prime positive integers, and let $S(A)$ be the set of all nonnegative integral linear combinations of elements of $A$. The set $S(A)$ is a semigroup that contains all sufficiently large integers. The…

Given a sequence of distinct positive integers $w_0 , w_1, w_2, \ldots$ and any positive integer $n$, we define the discriminator function $\mathcal{D}_{\bf w}(n)$ to be the smallest positive integer $m$ such that $w_0,\ldots, w_{n-1}$ are…

Many combinatorial sequences (for example, the Catalan and Motzkin numbers) may be expressed as the constant term of $P(x)^k Q(x)$, for some Laurent polynomials $P(x)$ and $Q(x)$ in the variable $x$ with integer coefficients. Denoting such…

Given a positive integer $n$, the small divisors of $n$ are defined as the positive divisors that do not exceed $\sqrt{n}.$ Ianucci previously classified all $n$ for which the small divisors of $n$ form an arithmetic progression. In this…

In this note, we establish a new closed formula for the solution of homogeneous second-order linear difference equations with constant coefficients by using matrix theory. This, in turn, gives new closed formulas concerning all sequences of…

In the paper, some special linear combinations of the terms of rational cycles of generalized Collatz sequences are studied. It is proved that if the coefficients of the linear combinations satisfy some conditions then these linear…

Let $a$ and $b$ be relatively prime integers. Then the first Lucas sequence $\left(U_n\right)_{n\geq0}$ and the second Lucas sequence $\left(V_n\right)_{n\geq0}$ are defined respectively by $U_{n+2}=aU_{n+1}+bU_{n},\, U_0=0,\,U_1=1$ and…

We study the recursions $A(n) = A(n-a-A^k(n-b)) + A(A^k(n-b))$ where $a \geq 0$, $b \geq 1$ are integers and the superscript $k$ denotes a $k$-fold composition, and also the recursion $C(n) = C(n-s-C(n-1)) + C(n-s-2-C(n-3))$ where $s \geq…