English

An effective analytic recurrence for prime numbers

Number Theory 2025-10-14 v2 History and Overview

Abstract

The Golomb--Keller formula expresses the next prime pn+1p_{n+1} as a recurrence relation in terms of the first nn primes p1,,pnp_1, \ldots, p_n using the Riemann zeta function and an Euler product, but requires taking a limit as ss \to \infty, rendering it non-constructive. We transform this asymptotic formula into an effective recurrence by proving that a finite parameter spns \leq p_n suffices when combined with the ceiling function, establishing a constructive method valid for all n1n \geq 1. The minimal integer parameter sns_n (OEIS A389650) reveals deep connections to prime constellations. We prove lim infnσn=0\liminf_{n\to\infty} \sigma_n = 0 unconditionally, where σn=sn/pn\sigma_n = s_n/p_n. The limit superior C=lim supσnC = \limsup \sigma_n satisfies logψC0.4332\log \psi \lesssim C \leq 0.4332, where ψ1.46557\psi \approx 1.46557 is the supergolden ratio. The lower bound is conditional on the twin prime conjecture; the upper bound is unconditional. The constant CC relates to the densest admissible prime constellation, connecting to the Hardy--Littlewood conjectures. The method extends to Dirichlet L-functions, yielding other effective formulas for calculating pn+1p_{n+1} but also for predicting residues of pn+1p_{n+1} modulo any integer with reduced precision requirements.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.02690,
  title  = {An effective analytic recurrence for prime numbers},
  author = {Benoit Cloitre},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.02690},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

22 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Major revision: (1) Main conjecture now proven using Nagura's theorem; (2) Complete asymptotic analysis with bounds on limsup; (3) Connection to supergolden ratio via twin prime conjecture; (4) Extended data to n=200 with empirical analysis

R2 v1 2026-07-01T04:33:51.440Z