A combinatorial identity with application to Catalan numbers

By a very simple argument, we prove that if l,m,n∈{0,1,2,…} then

     

On consecutive happy numbers

Let e?1 and b?2 be integers. For a positive integer with 0?aj<b, define

     

Congruences involving Bernoulli and Euler numbers

Let [x] be the integral part of x. Let p>5 be a prime. In the paper we mainly determine , , and in terms of Euler and Bernoulli numbers. For example, we have

     

On sums of binomial coefficients and their applications

In this paper we study recurrences concerning the combinatorial sum and the alternate sum , where m>0, n?0 and r are integers. For example, we show that if n?m-1 then

     

Note on some congruences of Lehmer

In the paper, we generalize some congruences of Lehmer and prove that for any positive integer n with (n,6)=1

     

Some curious congruences modulo primes

Let n be a positive odd integer and let p>n+1 be a prime. We mainly derive the following congruence:

     

On the residue classes of integer sequences satisfying a linear three term recurrence formula

In this paper we investigate linear three-term recurrence formulae with sequences of integers (T(n))_n?0 and (U(n))_n?0, which are ultimately periodic modulo m, e.g.

     

On character sums over flat numbers

Let q?2 be an integer, χ be any non-principal character mod q, and H=H(q)?q. In this paper the authors prove some estimates for character sums of the form

     

Unique expansions of real numbers

It was discovered some years ago that there exist non-integer real numbers q>1 for which only one sequence (ci) of integers ci∈[0,q) satisfies the equality . The set of such “univoque numbers” has a rich topological structure, and its study revealed a number of unexpected connections with measure theory, fractals, ergodic theory and Diophantine approximation.In this paper we consider for each fixed q>1 the set Uq of real numbers x having a unique representation of the form with integers ci belonging to [0,q). We carry out a detailed topological study of these sets. For instance, we characterize their closures, and we determine those bases q for which Uq is closed or even a Cantor set. We also study the set consisting of all sequences (ci) of integers ci∈[0,q) such that . We determine the numbers r>1 for which the map (defined on (1,∞)) is constant in a neighborhood of r and the numbers q>1 for which is a subshift or a subshift of finite type.     

A remark on sociable numbers of odd order

Write s(n) for the sum of the proper divisors of the natural number n. We call n sociable if the sequence n, s(n), s(s(n)), … is purely periodic; the period is then called the order of sociability of n. The ancients initiated the study of order 1 sociables (perfect numbers) and order 2 sociables (amicable numbers), and investigations into higher-order sociable numbers began at the end of the 19th century. We show that if k is odd and fixed, then the number of sociable n?x of order k is bounded by as x→∞. This improves on the previously best-known bound of , due to Kobayashi, Pollack, and Pomerance.     

On the properties of Newton-Euler pairs

If and are two sequences such that a₁=b₁ and , then we say that (a_n,b_n) is a Newton-Euler pair. In the paper, we establish many formulas for Newton-Euler pairs, and then make use of them to obtain new results concerning some special sequences such as and B_n, where p(n) is the number of partitions of n, σ(n) is the sum of divisors of n, and B_n is the nth Bernoulli number.     

Simple arguments on consecutive power residues

By some extremely simple arguments, we point out the following:

(i)

If n is the least positive kth power non-residue modulo a positive integer m, then the greatest number of consecutive kth power residues mod m is smaller than m/n.

(ii)

Let OK be the ring of algebraic integers in a quadratic field with d∈{−1,−2,−3,−7,−11}. Then, for any irreducible π∈OK and positive integer k not relatively prime to , there exists a kth power non-residue ω∈OK modulo π such that .

     

On various restricted sumsets

For finite subsets A₁,…,A_n of a field, their sumset is given by . In this paper, we study various restricted sumsets of A₁,…,A_n with restrictions of the following forms:

     

Factors of binomial sums from the Catalan triangle

By using the Newton interpolation formula, we generalize the recent identities on the Catalan triangle obtained by Miana and Romero as well as those of Chen and Chu. We further study divisibility properties of sums of products of binomial coefficients and an odd power of a natural number. For example, we prove that for all positive integers n₁,…,nm, nm+1=n₁, and any nonnegative integer r, the expression

     

Congruences for sums of binomial coefficients

Let q>1 and m>0 be relatively prime integers. We find an explicit period νm(q) such that for any integers n>0 and r we have

     

Quartic, octic residues and Lucas sequences

Let be a prime and a,b∈Z with a²+b²≠p. Suppose p=x²+(a²+b²)y² for some integers x and y. In the paper we develop the calculation technique of quartic Jacobi symbols and use it to determine . As applications we obtain the congruences for modulo p and the criteria for (if ), where {Un} is the Lucas sequence given by U₀=0, U₁=1 and Un+1=bUn+k²Un−1(n?1). We also pose many conjectures concerning , or .     

Cubic residues and binary quadratic forms

Let p>3 be a prime, u,v,d∈Z, gcd(u,v)=1, p?u²−dv² and , where is the Legendre symbol. In the paper we mainly determine the value of by expressing p in terms of appropriate binary quadratic forms. As applications, for we obtain a general criterion for and a criterion for εd to be a cubic residue of p, where εd is the fundamental unit of the quadratic field . We also give a general criterion for , where {Un} is the Lucas sequence defined by U₀=0, U₁=1 and Un+1=PUn−QUn−1 (n?1). Furthermore, we establish a general result to illustrate the connections between cubic congruences and binary quadratic forms.