Related papers: Combinatorial congruences modulo prime powers

Let p1, p2,..., pn be distinct prime numbers, and let Nn be their product. We prove that, for any positive integer L that is divisible by the least common multiple of p1 minus one, p2 minus one, and so on, and for integers a1, a2,..., an…

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…

The harmonic numbers $H_n=\sum_{0<k\le n}1/k\ (n=0,1,2,\ldots)$ play important roles in mathematics. Let $p>3$ be a prime. With helps of some combinatorial identities, we establish the following two new congruences:…

In this paper, we introduce the power-partible reduction for holonomic (or, P-recursive) sequences and apply it to obtain a series of congruences for Ap\'ery numbers $A_k$. In particular, we prove that, for any $r\in\mathbb{N}$, there…

In 2014, Wang and Cai established the following harmonic congruence for any odd prime $p$ and positive integer $r$, \begin{equation*} \sum\limits_{i+j+k=p^{r}\atop{i,j,k\in \mathcal{P}_{p}}}\frac{1}{ijk}\equiv-2p^{r-1}B_{p-3} ~(\bmod ~…

We give elementary proofs of some congruence criteria to compute binomial coefficients in modulo a prime. These criteria are analogues to the symmetry property of binomial coefficients. We give extended version of Lucas Theorem by using…

Employing the $q$-Lucas theorem and some known $q$-supercongruences, we give some Dwork-type $q$-congruences, confirming three conjectures in [J. Combin. Theory, Ser. A 178 (2021), Art.~105362]. As conclusions, we obtain the following…

We show that for any prime prime $p\not=2$ $$\sum_{k=1}^{p-1} {(-1)^k\over k}{-{1\over 2} \choose k} \equiv -\sum_{k=1}^{(p-1)/2}{1\over k} \pmod{p^3}$$ by expressing the l.h.s. as a combination of alternating multiple harmonic sums.

By a very simple argument, we prove that if $l,m,n$ are nonnegative integers then $$\sum_{k=0}^l(-1)^{m-k}\binom{l}{k}\binom{m-k}{n}\binom{2k}{k-2l+m} =\sum_{k=0}^l\binom{l}{k}\binom{2k}{n}\binom{n-l}{m+n-3k-l}. On the basis of this…

A frequently cited theorem says that for n > 0 and prime p, the sum of the first p n-th powers is congruent to -1 modulo p if p-1 divides n, and to 0 otherwise. We survey the main ingredients in several known proofs. Then we give an…

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…

For various positive integers $k$, the sums of $k$th powers of the first $n$ positive integers, $S_k(n+1)=1^k+2^k+...+n^k$, have got to be some of the most popular sums in all of mathematics. In this note we prove that for each $k\ge 2 $$…

In this paper we establish some congruences involving the Ap\'ery numbers $\beta_{n}=\sum_{k=0}^{n}\binom{n}{k}^2\binom{n+k}{k}$ $(n=0,1,2,\ldots)$. For example, we show that $$\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}(11k^2+13k+4)\beta_k\equiv0\pmod{2n^2}$$ for…

Let $n$ be a positive integer and let $C_n$ be the cycle indicator of the symmetric group $S_n$. Carlitz proved that if $p$ is a prime, and if $r$ is a non negative integer, then we have the congruence $C_{r+np}\equiv (X_1^p-X_p)^nC_r…

Binomial coefficients and central trinomial coefficients play important roles in combinatorics. Let $p>3$ be a prime. We show that $$T_{p-1}\equiv\left(\frac p3\right)3^{p-1}\ \pmod{p^2},$$ where the central trinomial coefficient $T_n$ is…

Many generating series of combinatorially interesting numbers have the property that the sum of the terms of order $<p$ at some suitable point is congruent to a zero of a zeta-function modulo infinitely many primes $p$. Surprisingly, very…

We give a simple matrix-based proof of congruence equations modulo a prime $p$ involving sums of binomial coefficients appearing in Pascal's triangle. These equations can be used to construct some groups of exponent $p^n$. These groups, as…

Let $p$ be an odd prime. In the paper we collect the author's various conjectures on congruences modulo $p$ or $p^2$, which are concerned with sums of binomial coefficients, Lucas sequences, power residues and special binary quadratic…

In this paper we prove the supercongruence $$\sum_{n=0}^{(p-1)/2}\frac{6n+1}{256^n}\binom{2n}n^3\equiv p(-1)^{(p-1)/2}+(-1)^{(p-1)/2}\frac{7}{24}p^4B_{p-3}\pmod{p^5}$$ for any prime $p>3$, which was conjectured by Sun in 2019.

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…