Related papers: On the binomial transforms of Ap\'ery-like sequenc…

In the course of the proof of the irrationality of zeta(2) R. Apery introduced numbers b_n = \sum_{k=0}^n {n \choose k}^2{n+k \choose k}. Stienstra and Beukers showed that for the prime p > 3 Apery numbers satisfy congruence b((p-1)/2) =…

For each of the $15$ known sporadic Ap\'ery-like sequences, we prove congruences modulo $p^2$ that are natural extensions of the Lucas congruences modulo $p$. This extends a result of Gessel for the numbers used by Ap\'ery in his proof of…

One of the many remarkable properties of the Ap\'ery numbers $A (n)$, introduced in Ap\'ery's proof of the irrationality of $\zeta (3)$, is that they satisfy the two-term supercongruences \begin{equation*} A (p^r m) \equiv A (p^{r - 1} m)…

In 1982, Gessel showed that the Ap\'ery numbers associated to the irrationality of $\zeta(3)$ satisfy Lucas congruences. Our main result is to prove corresponding congruences for all sporadic Ap\'ery-like sequences. In several cases, we are…

We find new representations, in terms of constant terms of powers of Laurent polynomials, for all the 15 sporadic Ap{\'e}ry-like sequences discovered by Zagier, Almkvist-Zudilin and Cooper. The new representations lead to binomial…

The Ap\'ery numbers may be defined by a cubic three-term recurrence relation, that is, a three-term relation where the coefficients are polynomials in the index of degree $3$. In this work, we first provide a systematic review of Ap\'ery…

For $n=0,1,2,\ldots$ let $W_n=\sum_{k=0}^{[n/3]}\binom{2k}k \binom{3k}k\binom n{3k}(-3)^{n-3k}$, where $[x]$ is the greatest integer not exceeding $x$. Then $\{W_n\}$ is an Ap\'ery-like sequence. In this paper we deduce many congruences…

It is known that the numbers which occur in Apery's proof of the irrationality of zeta(2) have many interesting congruence properties while the associated generating function satisfies a second order differential equation. We prove…

The Ap\'ery numbers $A_n$ and the Franel numbers $f_n$ are defined by $$A_n=\sum_{k=0}^{n}{\binom{n+k}{2k}}^2{\binom{2k}{k}}^2\ \ \ \ \ {\rm and }\ \ \ \ \ \ f_n=\sum_{k=0}^{n}{\binom{n}{k}}^3(n=0, 1, \cdots,).$$ In this paper, we prove…

In 1978, Apery has given sequences of rational approximations to $\zeta(2)$ and $\zeta(3)$ yielding the irrationality of each of these numbers. One of the key ingredient of Apery's proof are second-order difference equations with polynomial…

An important component of Ap\'ery's proof that $\zeta (3)$ is irrational involves representing $\zeta (3)$ as the limit of the quotient of two rational solutions to a three-term recurrence. We present various approaches to such Ap\'ery…

Recently, using modular forms F. Beukers posed a unified method that can deal with a large number of supercongruences involving binomial coefficients and Ap\'ery-like numbers. In this paper, we use Beukers' method to prove some conjectures…

We present an approach to proving the 2-log-convexity of sequences satisfying three-term recurrence relations. We show that the Apery numbers, the Cohen-Rhin numbers, the Motzkin numbers, the Fine numbers, the Franel numbers of order 3 and…

Inspired by a recent beautiful construction of Armin Straub and Wadim Zudilin, that 'tweaked' the sum of the $s^{th}$ powers of the $n$-th row of Pascal's triangle, getting instead of sequences of numbers, sequences of rational functions,…

It is well-known that the Ap\'ery sequences which arise in the irrationality proofs for $\zeta(2)$ and $\zeta(3)$ satisfy many intriguing arithmetic properties and are related to the $p$th Fourier coefficients of modular forms. In this…

Let $n$ be a nonnegative integer. The $n$-th Ap\'{e}ry number is defined by $$ A_n:=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom{n+k}{k}^2\binom{n}{k}^2. $$ Z.-W. Sun ever investigated the congruence properties of Ap\'{e}ry numbers and posed some conjectures. For…

Recently, R. Tauraso established finite $p$-analogues of famous Ap\'ery series for $\zeta(2)$ and $\zeta(3).$ In this paper, we present several congruences for finite central binomial sums arising from the truncation of Ap\'ery-type series…

Using Hecke characters, we construct two infinite families of newforms with complex multiplication, one by $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-3})$ and the other by $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{-2})$. The values of the $p$-th Fourier coefficients of all the forms in…

Let $\{A'_n\}$ be the Ap\'ery numbers given by $A'_n=\sum_{k=0}^n\binom nk^2\binom{n+k}k.$ For any prime $p\equiv 3\pmod 4$ we show that $A'_{\frac{p-1}2}\equiv \frac{p^2}3\binom{\frac{p-3}2}{\frac{p-3}4}^{-2}\pmod {p^3}$. Let $\{t_n\}$ be…

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…