arXiv subjects

Carlo Sanna

Publications and source records attributed to Carlo Sanna.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

On the number of distinct exponents in the prime factorization of an integer

Let $f(n)$ be the number of distinct exponents in the prime factorization of the natural number $n$. We prove some results about the distribution of $f(n)$. In particular, for any positive integer $k$, we obtain that $$ \#\{n \leq x : f(n) = k\} \sim A_k x $$ and $$ \#\{n \leq x : f(n) = ω(n) - k\} \sim \frac{B x (\log \log x)^k}{k! \log x} , $$ as $x \to +\infty$, where $ω(n)$ is the number of prime factors of $n$ and $A_k, B > 0$ are some explicit constants. The latter asymptotic extends a result of Aktaş and Ram Murty about numbers having mutually distinct exponents in their prime factorization.

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arXiv2018

Small values of signed harmonic sums

For every $τ\in\mathbb{R}$ and every integer $N$, let $\mathfrak{m}_N(τ)$ be the minimum of the distance of $τ$ from the sums $\sum_{n=1}^N s_n/n$, where $s_1, \ldots, s_n \in \{-1, +1\}$. We prove that $\mathfrak{m}_N(τ) < \exp\!\big(-C(\log N)^2\big)$, for all sufficiently large positive integers $N$ (depending on $C$ and $τ$), where $C$ is any positive constant less than $1/\log 4$.

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arXiv2018

On numbers divisible by the product of their nonzero base $b$ digits

For each integer $b \geq 3$ and every $x \geq 1$, let $\mathcal{N}_{b,0}(x)$ be the set of positive integers $n \leq x$ which are divisible by the product of their nonzero base $b$ digits. We prove bounds of the form $x^{ρ_{b,0} + o(1)} < \#\mathcal{N}_{b,0}(x) < x^{η_{b,0} + o(1)}$, as $x \to +\infty$, where $ρ_{b,0}$ and $η_{b,0}$ are constants in ${]0,1[}$ depending only on $b$. In particular, we show that $x^{0.526} < \#\mathcal{N}_{10,0}(x) < x^{0.787}$, for all sufficiently large $x$. This improves the bounds $x^{0.495} < \#\mathcal{N}_{10,0}(x) < x^{0.901}$, which were proved by De Koninck and Luca.

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arXiv2018

$p$-adic denseness of members of partitions of $\mathbb{N}$ and their ratio sets

The ratio set of a set of positive integers $A$ is defined as $R(A) := \{a / b : a, b \in A\}$. The study of the denseness of $R(A)$ in the set of positive real numbers is a classical topic and, more recently, the denseness in the set of $p$-adic numbers $\mathbb{Q}_p$ has also been investigated. Let $A_1, \ldots, A_k$ be a partition of $\mathbb{N}$ into $k$ sets. We prove that for all prime numbers $p$ but at most $\lfloor \log_2 k \rfloor$ exceptions at least one of $R(A_1), \ldots, R(A_k)$ is dense in $\mathbb{Q}_p$. Moreover, we show that for all prime numbers $p$ but at most $k - 1$ exceptions at least one of $A_1, \ldots, A_k$ is dense in $\mathbb{Z}_p$. Both these results are optimal in the sense that there exist partitions $A_1, \ldots, A_k$ having exactly $\lfloor \log_2 k \rfloor$, respectively $k - 1$, exceptional prime numbers; and we give explicit constructions for them. Furthermore, as a corollary, we answer negatively a question raised by Garcia et al.

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arXiv2018

On the p-adic denseness of the quotient set of a polynomial image

The quotient set, or ratio set, of a set of integers $A$ is defined as $R(A) := \left\{a/b : a,b \in A,\; b \neq 0\right\}$. We consider the case in which $A$ is the image of $\mathbb{Z}^+$ under a polynomial $f \in \mathbb{Z}[X]$, and we give some conditions under which $R(A)$ is dense in $\mathbb{Q}_p$. Then, we apply these results to determine when $R(S_m^n)$ is dense in $\mathbb{Q}_p$, where $S_m^n$ is the set of numbers of the form $x_1^n + \cdots + x_m^n$, with $x_1, \dots, x_m \geq 0$ integers. This allows us to answer a question posed in [Garcia et al., $p$-adic quotient sets, Acta Arith. 179, 163-184]. We end leaving an open question.

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arXiv2018

On numbers $n$ with polynomial image coprime with the $n$th term of a linear recurrence

Let $F$ be an integral linear recurrence, $G$ be an integer-valued polynomial splitting over the rationals, and $h$ be a positive integer. Also, let $\mathcal{A}_{F,G,h}$ be the set of all natural numbers $n$ such that $\gcd(F(n), G(n)) = h$. We prove that $\mathcal{A}_{F,G,h}$ has a natural density. Moreover, assuming $F$ is non-degenerate and $G$ has no fixed divisors, we show that $\mathbf{d}(\mathcal{A}_{F,G,1}) = 0$ if and only if $\mathcal{A}_{F,G,1}$ is finite.

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arXiv2018

The density of numbers $n$ having a prescribed G.C.D. with the $n$th Fibonacci number

For each positive integer $k$, let $\mathscr{A}_k$ be the set of all positive integers $n$ such that $\gcd(n, F_n) = k$, where $F_n$ denotes the $n$th Fibonacci number. We prove that the asymptotic density of $\mathscr{A}_k$ exists and is equal to $$\sum_{d = 1}^\infty \frac{μ(d)}{\operatorname{lcm}(dk, z(dk))}$$ where $μ$ is the Möbius function and $z(m)$ denotes the least positive integer $n$ such that $m$ divides $F_n$. We also give an effective criterion to establish when the asymptotic density of $\mathscr{A}_k$ is zero and we show that this is the case if and only if $\mathscr{A}_k$ is empty.

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arXiv2018

$p$-adic quotient sets

For $A \subseteq \mathbb{N}$, the question of when $R(A) = \{a/a' : a, a' \in A\}$ is dense in the positive real numbers $\mathbb{R}_+$ has been examined by many authors over the years. In contrast, the $p$-adic setting is largely unexplored. We investigate conditions under which $R(A)$ is dense in the $p$-adic numbers. Techniques from elementary, algebraic, and analytic number theory are employed in this endeavor. We also pose many open questions that should be of general interest.

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arXiv2018

Waring's Theorem for Binary Powers

A natural number is a binary $k$'th power if its binary representation consists of $k$ consecutive identical blocks. We prove an analogue of Waring's theorem for sums of binary $k$'th powers. More precisely, we show that for each integer $k \geq 2$, there exists a positive integer $W(k)$ such that every sufficiently large multiple of $E_k := \gcd(2^k - 1, k)$ is the sum of at most $W(k)$ binary $k$'th powers. (The hypothesis of being a multiple of $E_k$ cannot be omitted, since we show that the $\gcd$ of the binary $k$'th powers is $E_k$.) Also, we explain how our results can be extended to arbitrary integer bases $b > 2$.

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arXiv2017

A note on primes in certain residue classes

Given positive integers $a_1,\ldots,a_k$, we prove that the set of primes $p$ such that $p \not\equiv 1 \bmod{a_i}$ for $i=1,\ldots,k$ admits asymptotic density relative to the set of all primes which is at least $\prod_{i=1}^k \left(1-\frac{1}{φ(a_i)}\right)$, where $φ$ is the Euler's totient function. This result is similar to the one of Heilbronn and Rohrbach, which says that the set of positive integer $n$ such that $n \not\equiv 0 \bmod a_i$ for $i=1,\ldots,k$ admits asymptotic density which is at least $\prod_{i=1}^k \left(1-\frac{1}{a_i}\right)$.

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arXiv2017

On the greatest common divisor of $n$ and the $n$th Fibonacci number

Let $\mathcal{A}$ be the set of all integers of the form $\gcd(n, F_n)$, where $n$ is a positive integer and $F_n$ denotes the $n$th Fibonacci number. We prove that $\#\left(\mathcal{A} \cap [1, x]\right) \gg x / \log x$ for all $x \geq 2$, and that $\mathcal{A}$ has zero asymptotic density. Our proofs rely on a recent result of Cubre and Rouse which gives, for each positive integer $n$, an explicit formula for the density of primes $p$ such that $n$ divides the rank of appearance of $p$, that is, the smallest positive integer $k$ such that $p$ divides $F_k$.

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arXiv2017

A coprimality condition on consecutive values of polynomials

Let $f\in\mathbb{Z}[X]$ be quadratic or cubic polynomial. We prove that there exists an integer $G_f\geq 2$ such that for every integer $k\geq G_f$ one can find infinitely many integers $n\geq 0$ with the property that none of $f(n+1),f(n+2),\dots,f(n+k)$ is coprime to all the others. This extends previous results on linear polynomials and, in particular, on consecutive integers.

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arXiv2017

On numbers $n$ relatively prime to the $n$th term of a linear recurrence

Let $(u_n)_{n \geq 0}$ be a nondegenerate linear recurrence of integers, and let $\mathcal{A}$ be the set of positive integers $n$ such that $u_n$ and $n$ are relatively prime. We prove that $\mathcal{A}$ has an asymptotic density, and that this density is positive unless $(u_n / n)_{n \geq 1}$ is a linear recurrence.

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arXiv2017

Distribution of integral values for the ratio of two linear recurrences

Let $F$ and $G$ be linear recurrences over a number field $\mathbb{K}$, and let $\mathfrak{R}$ be a finitely generated subring of $\mathbb{K}$. Furthermore, let $\mathcal{N}$ be the set of positive integers $n$ such that $G(n) \neq 0$ and $F(n) / G(n) \in \mathfrak{R}$. Under mild hypothesis, Corvaja and Zannier proved that $\mathcal{N}$ has zero asymptotic density. We prove that $\#(\mathcal{N} \cap [1, x]) \ll x \cdot (\log\log x / \log x)^h$ for all $x \geq 3$, where $h$ is a positive integer that can be computed in terms of $F$ and $G$. Assuming the Hardy-Littlewood $k$-tuple conjecture, our result is optimal except for the term $\log \log x$.

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arXiv2016

On the p-adic valuation of Stirling numbers of the first kind

For all integers $n \geq k \geq 1$, define $H(n,k) := \sum 1 / (i_1 \cdots i_k)$, where the sum is extended over all positive integers $i_1 < \cdots < i_k \leq n$. These quantities are closely related to the Stirling numbers of the first kind by the identity $H(n,k) = s(n + 1, k + 1) / n!$. Motivated by the works of Erdős-Niven and Chen-Tang, we study the $p$-adic valuation of $H(n,k)$. In particular, for any prime number $p$, integer $k \geq 2$, and $x \geq (k-1)p$, we prove that $ν_p(H(n,k)) < -(k - 1)(\log_p(n/(k - 1)) - 1)$ for all positive integers $n \in [(k-1)p, x]$ whose base $p$ representations start with the base $p$ representation of $k - 1$, but at most $3x^{0.835}$ exceptions. We also generalize a result of Lengyel by giving a description of $ν_2(H(n,2))$ in terms of an infinite binary sequence.

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arXiv2016

On the k-regularity of the k-adic valuation of Lucas sequences

For integers $k \geq 2$ and $n \neq 0$, let $v_k(n)$ denotes the greatest nonnegative integer $e$ such that $k^e$ divides $n$. Moreover, let $u_n$ be a nondegenerate Lucas sequence satisfying $u_0 = 0$, $u_1 = 1$, and $u_{n + 2} = a u_{n + 1} + b u_n$, for some integers $a$ and $b$. Shu and Yao showed that for any prime number $p$ the sequence $v_p(u_{n + 1})$ is $p$-regular, while Medina and Rowland found the rank of $v_p(F_{n + 1})$, where $F_n$ is the $n$-th Fibonacci number. We prove that if $k$ and $b$ are relatively prime then $v_k(u_{n + 1})$ is a $k$-regular sequence, and for $k$ a prime number we also determine its rank. Furthermore, as an intermediate result, we give explicit formulas for $v_k(u_n)$, generalizing a previous theorem of Sanna concerning $p$-adic valuations of Lucas sequences.

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arXiv2015

On the closure of the image of the generalized divisor function

For any real number $s$, let $σ_s$ be the generalized divisor function, i.e., the arithmetic function defined by $σ_s(n) := \sum_{d \, \mid \, n} d^s$, for all positive integers $n$. We prove that for any $r > 1$ the topological closure of $σ_{-r}(\mathbf{N}^+)$ is the union of a finite number of pairwise disjoint closed intervals $I_1, \ldots, I_\ell$. Moreover, for $k=1,\ldots,\ell$, we show that the set of positive integers $n$ such that $σ_{-r}(n) \in I_k$ has a positive rational asymptotic density $d_k$. In fact, we provide a method to give exact closed form expressions for $I_1, \ldots, I_\ell$ and $d_1, \ldots, d_\ell$, assuming to know $r$ with sufficient precision. As an example, we show that for $r = 2$ it results $\ell = 3$, $I_1 = [1, π^2/9]$, $I_2 = [10/9, π^2/8]$, $I_3 = [5/4, π^2 / 6]$, $d_1 = 1/3$, $d_2 = 1/6$, and $d_3 = 1/2$.

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arXiv2014

On the sum of digits of the factorial

Let b > 1 be an integer and denote by s_b(m) the sum of the digits of the positive integer m when is written in base b. We prove that s_b(n!) > C_b log n log log log n for each integer n > e, where C_b is a positive constant depending only on b. This improves of a factor log log log n a previous lower bound for s_b(n!) given by Luca. We prove also the same inequality but with n! replaced by the least common multiple of 1,2,...,n.

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