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Alex Ashburn

Publications and source records attributed to Alex Ashburn.

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On three conjectures of Kimberling concerning the array $\lfloor kφ^n\rfloor$

Let $φ$ be the golden ratio and let $R_n=\{\lfloor kφ^n\rfloor : k\ge 1\}$ be the $n$-th row of the array $T(n,k)=\lfloor kφ^n\rfloor$ (OEIS A128440). In 2022 Kimberling conjectured that the rows $R_{2n-1}$ and $R_{2n}$ are disjoint, and that after the two rows are merged and each entry is replaced by its rank, they become the lower and upper Wythoff sequences. He also conjectured (OEIS A358359) that if $a(N)$ is the number of rows containing $N$, then every positive integer occurs infinitely often among the values of $a$. We show that the first two conjectures follow quickly from the Skolem-Bang theorem, which also yields the exact rule for when two rows are disjoint: $R_i\cap R_j=\emptyset$ ($i<j$) if and only if $j-i$ is odd and divides $i$. We then prove the third conjecture. The main tools are an explicit determination of the rows containing an odd-indexed Lucas number, which extends a result of Noppakaew, Kanwarunyu and Wanitchatchawan, and a "Lucas shift" lemma: if $N+1$ is not of the form $L_{2e}$ with $e\ge1$, then adding a sufficiently large even-indexed Lucas number to $N$ does not change the set of rows containing it. We also show that each value of $a$ is taken on a set of positive natural density, and we report computations up to $10^8$ suggesting that the least $N$ lying in exactly $v\ge 2$ rows is the Lucas number $L_{4v-5}$.

math.CO↗

Proofs of some OEIS conjectures on Wythoff sums, Fibonacci and Lucas words

We prove several conjectures from the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences about the lower and upper Wythoff sequences and the Fibonacci word. Among them are two of Kimberling's three conjectures on the number of ways to write $n=\lfloor hφ\rfloor+\lfloor kφ^2\rfloor$ with $h,k\ge1$ (A259598): exactly one way if and only if $n+1=2F$ for a Fibonacci number $F\ge2$, and exactly two ways if and only if $n+1\ge7$ is a Lucas number. The third conjecture, that no way exists if and only if $n+1$ is a Fibonacci number, was proved earlier by Kawsumarng et al. We also observe that Kimberling's conjecture on the gaps of the sums of two distinct terms of A003622 and of their complement (A333308, A333309) follows, after a shift by $2$, from earlier Walnut results of Shallit and of Bosma et al. on A260317, and we re-verify it. Next, we prove Kimberling's five 2025 conjectures on the gaps between positions where the Fibonacci word and the "Lucas word" take prescribed values (A383423-A383427). Finally, we prove a conjecture of Mathar on A285383, and we point out that a conjecture of Schmidt on A003250 follows from theorems of Carlitz, Scoville and Vaughan (1973); we also confirm it with Walnut. Most proofs are decision procedures run in the free prover Walnut, and we supply the complete command file.

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