English

Problems on combinatorial properties of primes

Number Theory 2016-02-26 v9 Combinatorics

Abstract

For x0x\ge0 let π(x)\pi(x) be the number of primes not exceeding xx. The asymptotic behaviors of the prime-counting function π(x)\pi(x) and the nn-th prime pnp_n have been studied intensively in analytic number theory. Surprisingly, we find that π(x)\pi(x) and pnp_n have many combinatorial properties which should not be ignored. In this paper we pose 60 open problems on combinatorial properties of primes (including connections between primes and partition functions) for further research. For example, we conjecture that for any integer n>1n>1 one of the nn numbers π(n),π(2n),...,π(n2)\pi(n),\pi(2n),...,\pi(n^2) is prime; we also conjecture that for any integer n>6n>6 there exists a prime p<np<n such that pnpn is a primitive root modulo pnp_n. One of our conjectures involving the partition function p(n)p(n) states that for any prime pp there is a primitive root g<pg<p modulo pp with g{p(n): n=1,2,3,...}g\in\{p(n):\ n=1,2,3,...\}.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1402.6641,
  title  = {Problems on combinatorial properties of primes},
  author = {Zhi-Wei Sun},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.6641},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

19 pages. Correct the typo 2k+1 in Conj. 3.21(i) as 2k-1. In: Number Theory: Plowing and Starring through High Wave Forms, Proc. 7th China-Japan Seminar (Fukuoka, Oct. 28--Nov. 1, 2013), World Sci., Singapore, 2015, pp. 169--187

R2 v1 2026-06-22T03:16:30.200Z