A Complete Answer to Erd\H{o}s Problem 690
Number Theory
2026-05-12 v1
Abstract
Let denote the natural density of positive integers whose -th smallest prime divisor is . Erd\H{o}s asked whether, for each fixed , the sequence is unimodal as ranges over the primes. Cambie proved that unimodality holds for and verified non-unimodality for . We prove that is not unimodal for every , completing the classification. An exact first-difference criterion reduces the problem to comparing a symmetric-polynomial ratio with prime gaps. Explicit estimates for prime-counting functions, certified finite computations, one certified large prime gap, one certified twin prime, and a uniform Chinese-remainder construction then produce, for every , a strict descent followed by a later strict ascent.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2605.08542,
title = {A Complete Answer to Erd\H{o}s Problem 690},
author = {Shouqiao Wang and Davide Crapis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.08542},
year = {2026}
}