Contents

Articles
Integer sequence 1
Sequence 3
Integer 7
Abundant number 11
Baum–Sweet sequence 12
Bell number 13
Binomial coefficient 19
Carmichael number 35
Catalan number 39
Composite number 48
Deficient number 49
Euler numbers 50
Even and odd numbers 51
Factorial 54
Fibonacci number 68
Fibonacci word 85
Figurate numbers 88
Golomb sequence 90
Happy number 91
Highly totient number 96
Highly composite number 97
Home prime 100
Hyperperfect number 101
Juggler sequence 106
Kolakoski sequence 107
Lucky number 109
Lucas number 111
Padovan sequence 113
Partition number 117
Perfect number 125
Pseudoperfect number 129
Prime number 130
Pseudoprime 146
Regular paperfolding sequence 147
 Rudin–Shapiro sequence 149
Semiperfect number 150
Semiprime 151
Superperfect number 153
Thue-Morse sequence 154
Ulam numbers 158
Weird number 160
Recursion theory 161
Definable set 171
Countable 173
Uncountable 179
Cardinality 181
Beth one 184
Complete sequence 187

References
Article Sources and Contributors 189
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 193

Article Licenses
License 194
Integer sequence 1

Integer sequence
In mathematics, an integer sequence is a sequence (i.e., an ordered list) of integers.
An integer sequence may be specified explicitly by giving a formula for its nth term, or implicitly by giving a
relationship between its terms. For example, the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, … (the Fibonacci sequence) is
formed by starting with 0 and 1 and then adding any two consecutive terms to obtain the next one: an implicit
description. The sequence 0, 3, 8, 15, … is formed according to the formula n2 − 1 for the nth term: an explicit
definition.
Alternatively, an integer sequence may be defined by a property which members of the sequence possess and other
integers do not possess. For example, we can determine whether a given integer is a perfect number, even though we
do not have a formula for the nth perfect number.

Examples
Integer sequences which have received their own name include:
• Abundant numbers
• Baum–Sweet sequence
• Bell numbers
• Binomial coefficients
• Carmichael numbers
• Catalan numbers
• Composite numbers
• Deficient numbers
• Euler numbers
• Even and odd numbers
• Factorial numbers
• Fibonacci numbers
• Fibonacci word
• Figurate numbers
• Golomb sequence
• Happy numbers
• Highly totient numbers
• Highly composite numbers
• Home primes
• Hyperperfect numbers
• Juggler sequence
• Kolakoski sequence
• Lucky numbers
• Lucas numbers
• Padovan numbers
• Partition numbers
• Perfect numbers
• Pseudoperfect numbers
• Prime numbers
• Pseudoprime numbers
• Regular paperfolding sequence
• Rudin–Shapiro sequence
Integer sequence 2

• Semiperfect numbers
• Semiprime numbers
• Superperfect numbers
• Thue-Morse sequence
• Ulam numbers
• Weird numbers

Computable and definable sequences

An integer sequence is a computable sequence, if there exists an algorithm which given n, calculates an, for all n >
0. An integer sequence is a definable sequence, if there exists some statement P(x) which is true for that integer
sequence x and false for all other integer sequences. The set of computable integer sequences and definable integer
sequences are both countable, with the computable sequences a proper subset of the definable sequences (in other
words, some sequences are definable but not computable). The set of all integer sequences is uncountable (with
cardinality equal to that of the continuum); thus, almost all integer sequences are uncomputable and cannot be
defined.

Complete sequences
An integer sequence is called a complete sequence if every positive integer can be expressed as a sum of values in
the sequence, using each value at most once.

External links
• Journal of Integer Sequences [1]. Articles are freely available online.
• Inductive Inference of Integer Sequences [2]

References
[1] http:/ / www. math. uwaterloo. ca/ JIS/ index. html
[2] http:/ / www. cs. cmu. edu/ afs/ cs/ user/ mjs/ ftp/ thesis-program/ 2010/ theses/ tetruashvili. pdf
Sequence 3

Sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects (or events). Like a set, it contains members (also called
elements or terms), and the number of terms (possibly infinite) is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set,
order matters, and exactly the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in the sequence. A
sequence is a discrete function.
For example, (C, R, Y) is a sequence of letters that differs from (Y, C, R), as the ordering matters. Sequences can be
finite, as in this example, or infinite, such as the sequence of all even positive integers (2, 4, 6,...). Finite sequences
are sometimes known as strings or words and infinite sequences as streams. The empty sequence ( ) is included in
most notions of sequence, but may be excluded depending on the context.

Examples and notation

There are various and quite different
notions of sequences in mathematics,
some of which (e.g., exact sequence)
are not covered by the notations
introduced below.
In addition to identifying the elements
of a sequence by their position, such as
"the 3rd element", elements may be
given names for convenient
referencing. For example a sequence
might be written as (a1, a2, a2, … ), or
An infinite sequence of real numbers (in blue). This sequence is neither increasing, nor
(b0, b1, b2, … ), or (c0, c2, c4, … ), decreasing, nor convergent, nor Cauchy. It is bounded, however.
depending on what is useful in the
application.

Finite and infinite

A more formal definition of a finite sequence with terms in a set S is a function from {1, 2, ..., n} to S for some n ≥
0. An infinite sequence in S is a function from {1, 2, ... } to S. For example, the sequence of prime numbers
(2,3,5,7,11, … ) is the function 1→2, 2→3, 3→5, 4→7, 5→11, … .
A sequence of a finite length n is also called an n-tuple. Finite sequences include the empty sequence ( ) that has no
elements.
A function from all integers into a set is sometimes called a bi-infinite sequence or two-way infinite sequence. An
example is the bi-infinite sequence of all even integers ( … , -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8… ).
Sequence 4

Multiplicative
Let A=(asequence defined by a function f:{1, 2, 3, ...} → {1, 2, 3, ...}, such that a i = f(i).
The sequence is multiplicative if f(xy) = f(x)f(y) for all x,y such that x and y are coprime.[1]

Types and properties of sequences

A subsequence of a given sequence is a sequence formed from the given sequence by deleting some of the elements
without disturbing the relative positions of the remaining elements.
If the terms of the sequence are a subset of an ordered set, then a monotonically increasing sequence is one for which
each term is greater than or equal to the term before it; if each term is strictly greater than the one preceding it, the
sequence is called strictly monotonically increasing. A monotonically decreasing sequence is defined similarly. Any
sequence fulfilling the monotonicity property is called monotonic or monotone. This is a special case of the more
general notion of monotonic function.
The terms nondecreasing and nonincreasing are used in order to avoid any possible confusion with strictly
increasing and strictly decreasing, respectively.
If the terms of a sequence are integers, then the sequence is an integer sequence. If the terms of a sequence are
polynomials, then the sequence is a polynomial sequence.
If S is endowed with a topology, then it becomes possible to consider convergence of an infinite sequence in S. Such
considerations involve the concept of the limit of a sequence.
If A is a set, the free monoid over A (denoted A*) is a monoid containing all the finite sequences (or strings) of zero
or more elements drawn from A, with the binary operation of concatenation. The free semigroup A+ is the
subsemigroup of A* containing all elements except the empty sequence.

Sequences in analysis
In analysis, when talking about sequences, one will generally consider sequences of the form
or
which is to say, infinite sequences of elements indexed by natural numbers.
It may be convenient to have the sequence start with an index different from 1 or 0. For example, the sequence
defined by xn = 1/log(n) would be defined only for n ≥ 2. When talking about such infinite sequences, it is usually
sufficient (and does not change much for most considerations) to assume that the members of the sequence are
defined at least for all indices large enough, that is, greater than some given N.
The most elementary type of sequences are numerical ones, that is, sequences of real or complex numbers. This type
can be generalized to sequences of elements of some vector space. In analysis, the vector spaces considered are often
function spaces. Even more generally, one can study sequences with elements in some topological space.
Sequence 5

Series
The sum of terms of a sequence is a series. More precisely, if (x1, x2, x3, ...) is a sequence, one may consider the
sequence of partial sums (S1, S2, S3, ...), with

Formally, this pair of sequences comprises the series with the terms x1, x2, x3, ..., which is denoted as

If the sequence of partial sums is convergent, one also uses the infinite sum notation for its limit. For more details,
see series.

Infinite sequences in theoretical computer science

Infinite sequences of digits (or characters) drawn from a finite alphabet are of particular interest in theoretical
computer science. They are often referred to simply as sequences or streams, as opposed to finite strings. Infinite
binary sequences, for instance, are infinite sequences of bits (characters drawn from the alphabet {0,1}). The set C =
{0, 1}∞ of all infinite, binary sequences is sometimes called the Cantor space.
An infinite binary sequence can represent a formal language (a set of strings) by setting the n th bit of the sequence
to 1 if and only if the n th string (in shortlex order) is in the language. Therefore, the study of complexity classes,
which are sets of languages, may be regarded as studying sets of infinite sequences.
An infinite sequence drawn from the alphabet {0, 1, ..., b−1} may also represent a real number expressed in the
base-b positional number system. This equivalence is often used to bring the techniques of real analysis to bear on
complexity classes.

Sequences as vectors
Sequences over a field may also be viewed as vectors in a vector space. Specifically, the set of F-valued sequences
(where F is a field) is a function space (in fact, a product space) of F-valued functions over the set of natural
numbers.
In particular, the term sequence space usually refers to a linear subspace of the set of all possible infinite sequences
with elements in .

Doubly-infinite sequences
Normally, the term infinite sequence refers to a sequence which is infinite in one direction, and finite in the
other—the sequence has a first element, but no final element (a singly-infinite sequence). A doubly-infinite sequence
is infinite in both directions—it has neither a first nor a final element. Singly-infinite sequences are functions from
the natural numbers (N) to some set, whereas doubly-infinite sequences are functions from the integers (Z) to some
set.
One can interpret singly infinite sequences as elements of the semigroup ring of the natural numbers , and
doubly infinite sequences as elements of the group ring of the integers . This perspective is used in the
Cauchy product of sequences.
Sequence 6

Ordinal-indexed sequence
An ordinal-indexed sequence is a generalization of a sequence. If α is a limit ordinal and X is a set, an α-indexed
sequence of elements of X is a function from α to X. In this terminology an ω-indexed sequence is an ordinary
sequence.

Sequences and automata

Automata or finite state machines can typically be thought of as directed graphs, with edges labeled using some
specific alphabet Σ. Most familiar types of automata transition from state to state by reading input letters from Σ,
following edges with matching labels; the ordered input for such an automaton forms a sequence called a word (or
input word). The sequence of states encountered by the automaton when processing a word is called a run. A
nondeterministic automaton may have unlabeled or duplicate out-edges for any state, giving more than one successor
for some input letter. This is typically thought of as producing multiple possible runs for a given word, each being a
sequence of single states, rather than producing a single run that is a sequence of sets of states; however, 'run' is
occasionally used to mean the latter.

Types of sequences
• ±1-sequence
• Arithmetic progression
• Cauchy sequence
• Farey sequence
• Fibonacci sequence
• Geometric progression
• Look-and-say sequence
• Thue–Morse sequence

Related concepts
• List (computing)
• Ordinal-indexed sequence
• Recursion (computer science)
• Tuple
• Set theory

Operations on sequences
• Cauchy product
• Limit of a sequence

References
[1] Lando, Sergei K.. "7.4 Multiplicative sequences". Lectures on generating functions. AMS. ISBN 0821834819.

External links
• The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/index.html)
• Journal of Integer Sequences (http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/journals/JIS/index.html) (free)
• Sequence (http://planetmath.org/?op=getobj&from=objects&id=397) on PlanetMath
Integer 7

Integer
The integers (from the Latin integer, literally "untouched", hence "whole": the word
entire comes from the same origin, but via French[1] ) are formed by the natural numbers
including 0 (0, 1, 2, 3, ...) together with the negatives of the non-zero natural numbers
(−1, −2, −3, ...). Viewed as a subset of the real numbers, they are numbers that can be
written without a fractional or decimal component, and fall within the set {... −2, −1, 0,
1, 2, ...}. For example, 65, 7, and −759 are integers; 1.6 and 1½ are not integers.

Symbol often used to

denote the set of integers

The set of all integers is often denoted by a boldface Z (or blackboard bold , Unicode U+2124 ℤ), which stands
[2]
for Zahlen (German for numbers, pronounced German pronunciation: [ˈtsaːlən]). The set is the finite set of
integers modulo n (for example, ).
The integers (with addition as operation) form the smallest group containing the additive monoid of the natural
numbers. Like the natural numbers, the integers form a countably infinite set.
In algebraic number theory, these commonly
understood integers, embedded in the field
of rational numbers, are referred to as Integers can be thought of as discrete, equally spaced points on an infinitely long
rational integers to distinguish them from number line.

the more broadly defined algebraic integers

(but with "rational" meaning "quotient of integers", this attempt at precision suffers from circularity).

Algebraic properties
Like the natural numbers, Z is closed under the operations of addition and multiplication, that is, the sum and
product of any two integers is an integer. However, with the inclusion of the negative natural numbers, and,
importantly, zero, Z (unlike the natural numbers) is also closed under subtraction. Z is not closed under division,
since the quotient of two integers (e.g., 1 divided by 2), need not be an integer. Although the natural numbers are
closed under exponentiation, the integers are not (since the result can be a fraction when the exponent is negative).
The following lists some of the basic properties of addition and multiplication for any integers a, b and c.

Addition Multiplication

Closure: a + b   is an integer a × b   is an integer

Associativity: a + (b + c)  =  (a + b) + c a × (b × c)  =  (a × b) × c

Commutativity: a + b  =  b + a a × b  =  b × a

Existence of an identity element: a + 0  =  a a × 1  =  a

Existence of inverse elements: a + (−a)  =  0 An inverse element usually does not exist at all.

Distributivity: a × (b + c) = (a × b) + (a × c)   and   (a + b) × c = (a × c) + (b × c)

No zero divisors: If a × b = 0, then a = 0 or b = 0 (or both)

In the language of abstract algebra, the first five properties listed above for addition say that Z under addition is an
abelian group. As a group under addition, Z is a cyclic group, since every nonzero integer can be written as a finite
sum 1 + 1 + ... + 1 or (−1) + (−1) + ... + (−1). In fact, Z under addition is the only infinite cyclic group, in the sense
Integer 8

that any infinite cyclic group is isomorphic to Z.

The first four properties listed above for multiplication say that Z under multiplication is a commutative monoid.
However not every integer has a multiplicative inverse; e.g. there is no integer x such that 2x = 1, because the left
hand side is even, while the right hand side is odd. This means that Z under multiplication is not a group.
All the rules from the above property table, except for the last, taken together say that Z together with addition and
multiplication is a commutative ring with unity. Adding the last property says that Z is an integral domain. In fact, Z
provides the motivation for defining such a structure.
The lack of multiplicative inverses, which is equivalent to the fact that Z is not closed under division, means that Z is
not a field. The smallest field containing the integers is the field of rational numbers. This process can be mimicked
to form the field of fractions of any integral domain.
Although ordinary division is not defined on Z, it does possess an important property called the division algorithm:
that is, given two integers a and b with b ≠ 0, there exist unique integers q and r such that a = q × b + r and 0 ≤ r < |
b |, where | b | denotes the absolute value of b. The integer q is called the quotient and r is called the remainder,
resulting from division of a by b. This is the basis for the Euclidean algorithm for computing greatest common
divisors.
Again, in the language of abstract algebra, the above says that Z is a Euclidean domain. This implies that Z is a
principal ideal domain and any positive integer can be written as the products of primes in an essentially unique way.
This is the fundamental theorem of arithmetic.

Order-theoretic properties
Z is a totally ordered set without upper or lower bound. The ordering of Z is given by:
... −3 < −2 < −1 < 0 < 1 < 2 < 3 < ...
An integer is positive if it is greater than zero and negative if it is less than zero. Zero is defined as neither negative
nor positive.
The ordering of integers is compatible with the algebraic operations in the following way:
1. if a < b and c < d, then a + c < b + d
2. if a < b and 0 < c, then ac < bc.
It follows that Z together with the above ordering is an ordered ring.
The integers are the only integral domain whose positive elements are well-ordered, and in which order is preserved
by addition.
Integer 9

Construction
The integers can be formally constructed as the equivalence classes of
ordered pairs of natural numbers (a, b).
The intuition is that (a, b) stands for the result of subtracting b from a.
To confirm our expectation that 1 − 2 and 4 − 5 denote the same
number, we define an equivalence relation ~ on these pairs with the
following rule:

alt=Representation of equivalence classes for the

numbers -5 to 5 |Red Points represent ordered
pairs of natural numbers. Linked red points are
equivalence classes representing the blue integers
at the end of the line. |upright=2

precisely when

Addition and multiplication of integers can be defined in terms of the equivalent operations on the natural numbers;
denoting by [(a,b)] the equivalence class having (a,b) as a member, one has:

The negation (or additive inverse) of an integer is obtained by reversing the order of the pair:

Hence subtraction can be defined as the addition of the additive inverse:

The standard ordering on the integers is given by:

iff
It is easily verified that these definitions are independent of the choice of representatives of the equivalence classes.
Every equivalence class has a unique member that is of the form (n,0) or (0,n) (or both at once). The natural number
n is identified with the class [(n,0)] (in other words the natural numbers are embedded into the integers by map
sending n to [(n,0)]), and the class [(0,n)] is denoted −n (this covers all remaining classes, and gives the class [(0,0)]
a second time since −0 = 0.
Thus, [(a,b)] is denoted by

If the natural numbers are identified with the corresponding integers (using the embedding mentioned above), this
convention creates no ambiguity.
This notation recovers the familiar representation of the integers as {... −3,−2,−1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}.
Some examples are:
Integer 10

Integers in computing
An integer is often a primitive datatype in computer languages. However, integer datatypes can only represent a
subset of all integers, since practical computers are of finite capacity. Also, in the common two's complement
representation, the inherent definition of sign distinguishes between "negative" and "non-negative" rather than
"negative, positive, and 0". (It is, however, certainly possible for a computer to determine whether an integer value is
truly positive.) Fixed length integer approximation datatypes (or subsets) are denoted int or Integer in several
programming languages (such as Algol68, C, Java, Delphi, etc.).
Variable-length representations of integers, such as bignums, can store any integer that fits in the computer's
memory. Other integer datatypes are implemented with a fixed size, usually a number of bits which is a power of 2
(4, 8, 16, etc.) or a memorable number of decimal digits (e.g., 9 or 10).

Cardinality
The cardinality of the set of integers is equal to (aleph-null). This is readily demonstrated by the construction of
a bijection, that is, a function that is injective and surjective from Z to N.
If N = {0, 1, 2, ...} then consider the function:

{ ... (-4,8) (-3,6) (-2,4) (-1,2) (0,0) (1,1) (2,3) (3,5) ... }
If N = {1,2,3,...} then consider the function:

{ ... (-4,8) (-3,6) (-2,4) (-1,2) (0,1) (1,3) (2,5) (3,7) ... }
If the domain is restricted to Z then each and every member of Z has one and only one corresponding member of N
and by the definition of cardinal equality the two sets have equal cardinality.
Integer 11

Notes
[1] Evans, Nick (1995). "A-Quantifiers and Scope" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=NlQL97qBSZkC). In Bach, Emmon W. Quantification in
Natural Languages. Dordrecht, The Netherlands; Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 262. ISBN 0792333527.
[2] Miller, Jeff (2010-08-29). "Earliest Uses of Symbols of Number Theory" (http:/ / jeff560. tripod. com/ nth. html). . Retrieved 2010-09-20.

References
• Bell, E. T., Men of Mathematics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986. (Hardcover; ISBN
0-671-46400-0)/(Paperback; ISBN 0-671-62818-6)
• Herstein, I. N., Topics in Algebra, Wiley; 2 edition (June 20, 1975), ISBN 0-471-01090-1.
• Mac Lane, Saunders, and Garrett Birkhoff; Algebra, American Mathematical Society; 3rd edition (April 1999).
ISBN 0-8218-1646-2.
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Integer (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Integer.html)" from MathWorld.

External links
• The Positive Integers - divisor tables and numeral representation tools (http://www.positiveintegers.org)
• On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/) cf OEIS
This article incorporates material from Integer on PlanetMath, which is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Abundant number
In number theory, an abundant number or excessive number is a number n for which σ(n) > 2n. Here σ(n) is the
sum-of-divisors function: the sum of all positive divisors of n, including n itself. The value σ(n) − 2n is called the
abundance of n. An equivalent definition is that the proper divisors of the number (the divisors except the number
itself) sum to more than the number.
The first few abundant numbers (sequence A005101 [1] in OEIS) are:
12, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 40, 42, 48, 54, 56, 60, 66, 70, 72, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 96, 100, 102, …
As an example, consider the number 24. Its divisors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24, whose sum is 60. Because 60 is
more than 2 × 24, the number 24 is abundant. Its abundance is 60 − 2 × 24 = 12.
The smallest abundant number not divisible by two, i.e. odd, is 945, and the smallest not divisible by 2 or by 3 is
5391411025 whose prime factors are 52, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, and 29. An algorithm given by Iannucci in 2005 shows
how to find the smallest abundant number not divisible by the first k primes.[2] If represents the smallest
abundant number not divisible by the first k primes then for all we have:
for k sufficiently large.
Infinitely many even and odd abundant numbers exist. Marc Deléglise showed in 1998 that the natural density of the
set of abundant numbers and perfect numbers is between 0.2474 and 0.2480.[3] Every proper multiple of a perfect
number, and every multiple of an abundant number, is abundant. Also, every integer greater than 20161 can be
written as the sum of two abundant numbers.[4] An abundant number which is not a semiperfect number is called a
weird number; an abundant number with abundance 1 is called a quasiperfect number.
Closely related to abundant numbers are perfect numbers with σ(n) = 2n, and deficient numbers with σ(n) < 2n. The
natural numbers were first classified as either deficient, perfect or abundant by Nicomachus in his Introductio
Arithmetica (circa 100).
Abundant number 12

External links
• The Prime Glossary: Abundant number [5]
• Weisstein, Eric W., "Abundant Number [6]" from MathWorld.
• abundant number [7] at PlanetMath.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa005101
[2] D. Iannucci (2005), "On the smallest abundant number not divisible by the first k primes" (http:/ / projecteuclid. org/ DPubS?service=UI&
version=1. 0& verb=Display& handle=euclid. bbms/ 1113318127), Bulletin of the Belgian Mathematical Society 12 (1): 39–44,
[3] M. Deléglise (1998), "Bounds for the density of abundant integers" (http:/ / projecteuclid. org/ DPubS/ Repository/ 1. 0/
Disseminate?view=body& id=pdf_1& handle=euclid. em/ 1048515661), Experimental Mathematics 7 (2): 137–143,
[4] See Sloane's A048242 (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis:a048242).
[5] http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ glossary/ page. php?sort=AbundantNumber
[6] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ AbundantNumber. html
[7] http:/ / planetmath. org/ encyclopedia/ AbundantNumber. html

Baum–Sweet sequence
In mathematics the Baum–Sweet sequence is an infinite automatic sequence of 0s and 1s defined by the rule:
bn = 1 if the binary representation of n contains no block of consecutive 0s of odd length;
bn = 0 otherwise;
for n ≥ 0.[1]
For example, b4 = 1 because the binary representation of 4 is 100, which only contains one block of consecutive 0s
of length 2; whereas b5 = 0 because the binary representation of 5 is 101, which contains a block of consecutive 0s of
length 1.
Starting at n = 0, the first few terms of the Baum–Sweet sequence are:
1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1 ... (sequence A086747 [2] in OEIS)
The properties of the sequence were first studied by L.E. Baum and M.M. Sweet in 1976.[3]

Properties
The Baum–Sweet sequence can be generated by a three state automaton.[4]
The value of term bn in the Baum–Sweet sequence can be found recursively as follows. If n = m·4k, where m is not
divisible by 4, then

Thus b76 = b9 = b4 = b0 = 1, which can be verified by observing that the binary representation of 76, which is
1001100, contains no consecutive blocks of 0s with odd length.
The Baum–Sweet word 1101100101001001..., which is created by concatenating the terms of the Baum–Sweet
sequence, is a fixed point of the morphism or string substitution rules
00 → 0000
01 → 1001
10 → 0100
11 → 1101
Baum–Sweet sequence 13

as follows:
11 → 1101 → 11011001 → 1101100101001001 → 11011001010010011001000001001001 ...
From the morphism rules it can be seen that the Baum–Sweet word contains blocks of consecutive 0s of any length
(bn = 0 for all 2k integers in the range 5.2k ≤ n < 6.2k), but it contains no block of three consecutive 1s.
The Baum–Sweet sequence is the sequence of coefficients of the unique solution of the cubic equation
f 3 + Xf + 1 = 0 in the field F2((X −1)) of formal Laurent series over F2.[5]

Notes
[1] Weisstein, Eric W., " Baum–Sweet Sequence (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Baum-SweetSequence. html)" from MathWorld.
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa086747
[3] Baum, L. E. and Sweet, M. M. Continued Fractions of Algebraic Power Series in Characteristic 2 Ann. Math. 103, 593-610, 1976.
[4] Finite automata and arithmetic (http:/ / www. emis. de/ journals/ SLC/ opapers/ s30allouche. pdf), Jean-Paul Allouche
[5] Graham Everest Recurrence Sequences AMS 2003, p 236

References
• Jean-Paul Allouche and Jeffrey Shallit Automatic Sequences Cambridge University Press 2003

Bell number
In combinatorics, the nth Bell number, named after Eric Temple Bell, is the number of partitions of a set with n
members, or equivalently, the number of equivalence relations on it. Starting with B0 = B1 = 1, the first few Bell
numbers are:
1, 1, 2, 5, 15, 52, 203, 877, 4140, 21147, 115975, … (sequence A000110 [1] in OEIS).
(See also breakdown by number of subsets/equivalence classes.)
Bell number 14

Partitions of a set
In general, Bn is the number of partitions of a set of size n. A partition
of a set S is defined as a set of nonempty, pairwise disjoint subsets of S
whose union is S. For example, B3 = 5 because the 3-element set
{a, b, c} can be partitioned in 5 distinct ways:
{ {a}, {b}, {c} }
{ {a}, {b, c} }
{ {b}, {a, c} }
{ {c}, {a, b} }
{ {a, b, c} }.
B0 is 1 because there is exactly one partition of the empty set. Every
member of the empty set is a nonempty set (that is vacuously true), and
their union is the empty set. Therefore, the empty set is the only
partition of itself.
Note that, as suggested by the set notation above, we consider neither
the order of the partitions nor the order of elements within each
The traditional Japanese symbols for the chapters
partition. This means the following partitionings are all considered
of the Tale of Genji are based on the 52 ways of
identical: partitioning five elements.
{ {b}, {a, c} }
{ {a, c}, {b} }
{ {b}, {c, a} }
{ {c, a}, {b} }.

Another view of Bell numbers

Bell numbers can also be viewed as the number of distinct possible ways of putting n distinguishable balls into one
or more indistinguishable boxes. For example, let us suppose n is 3. We have three balls, which we will label a, b,
and c, and three boxes. If the boxes can not be distinguished from each other, there are five ways of putting the balls
in the boxes:
• All three balls go in to one box. Since the boxes are anonymous, this is only considered one combination.
• a goes in to one box; b and c go in to another box.
• b goes in to one box; a and c go in to another box.
• c goes in to one box; a and b go in to another box.
• Each ball goes in to its own box.
Bell number 15

Properties of Bell numbers

The Bell numbers satisfy this recursion formula:

They also satisfy "Dobinski's formula":

= the nth moment of a Poisson distribution with expected value 1.

And they satisfy "Touchard's congruence": If p is any prime number then

or, generalizing

Each Bell number is a sum of Stirling numbers of the second kind

The Stirling number is the number of ways to partition a set of cardinality n into exactly k nonempty subsets.

More generally, the Bell numbers satisfy the following recurrence[2] :

The nth Bell number is also the sum of the coefficients in the polynomial that expresses the nth moment of any
probability distribution as a function of the first n cumulants; this way of enumerating partitions is not as coarse as
that given by the Stirling numbers.
The exponential generating function of the Bell numbers is

Asymptotic limit and bounds

Several asymptotic formulae for the Bell numbers are known. One such is

Here

where W is the Lambert W function.

(Lovász, 1993)
In (Berend, D. and Tassa, T., 2010), the following bounds were established:

moreover, if then for all ,

Bell number 16

where and

Triangle scheme for calculating Bell numbers

The Bell numbers can easily be calculated by creating the so-called
Bell triangle, also called Aitken's array or the Peirce triangle:
1. Start with the number one. Put this on a row by itself.
2. Start a new row with the rightmost element from the previous row
as the leftmost number
3. Determine the numbers not on the left column by taking the sum of
the number to the left and the number above the number to the left
(the number diagonally up and left of the number we are
The triangular array whose right-hand diagonal
calculating) sequence consists of Bell numbers
4. Repeat step three until there is a new row with one more number
than the previous row
5. The number on the left hand side of a given row is the Bell number for that row.
For example, the first row is made by placing one by itself. The next (second) row is made by taking the rightmost
number from the previous row (1), and placing it on a new row. We now have a structure like this:

1
1 ''x''

The value x here is determined by adding the number to the left of x (one) and the number above the number to the
left of x (also one).

1
1 2
y

The value y is determined by copying over the number from the right of the previous row. Since the number on the
right hand side of the previous row has a value of 2, y is given a value of two.

1
1 2
2 3 ''x''

Again, since x is not the leftmost element of a given row, its value is determined by taking the sum of the number to
x's left (three) and the number above the number to x's left (two). The sum is five.
Here is the first five rows of this triangle:

1
1 2
2 3 5
5 7 10 15
15 20 27 37 52

The fifth row is calculated thus:

Bell number 17

• Take 15 from the previous row

• 15 + 5 = 20
• 20 + 7 = 27
• 27 + 10 = 37
• 37 + 15 = 52

Computer program
The following is example code in the Ruby programming language that prints out all the Bell numbers from the 1st
to the 300th inclusive (the limits can be adjusted)

#!/usr/bin/env ruby

def print_bell_numbers(start, finish)

# Initialize the Bell triangle as a two-dimensional array
triangle = Array[Array[1]]

# Make sure "start" is less than "finish", and both numbers are at
least 1
(finish, start = start, finish) if finish < start
start = 1 if start < 1
finish = 1 if finish < 1

1.upto(finish-1) do |row_num|

# Set the first element of the current row to be the last

element
# of the previous row
current_row = [triangle[row_num-1][row_num-1]]

# Calculate the rest of the elements in this row, then add the
row
# to the Bell triangle
1.upto(row_num) do |col_num|
sum = triangle[row_num-1][col_num-1] +
current_row[col_num-1]
current_row.push(sum)
end

triangle[row_num] = current_row

end

# Print out the Bell numbers

start.upto(finish) do |num|
puts triangle[num-1][0]
end
end
Bell number 18

# Adjust the limits here

print_bell_numbers(1, 300)

And here an equivalent version written in Python

def bell_numbers(start, stop):

## Swap start and stop if start > stop
if stop < start: start, stop = stop, start
if start < 1: start = 1
if stop < 1: stop = 1

t = [[1]] ## Initialize the triangle as a

two-dimensional array
c = 1 ## Bell numbers count
while c <= stop:
if c >= start:
yield t[-1][0] ## Yield the Bell number of the
previous row
row = [t[-1][-1]] ## Initialize a new row
for b in t[-1]:
row.append(row[-1] + b) ## Populate the new row
c += 1 ## We have found another Bell
number
t.append(row) ## Append the row to the triangle

for b in bell_numbers(1, 300):

print b

The number in the nth row and kth column is the number of partitions of {1, ..., n} such that n is not together in one
class with any of the elements k, k + 1, ..., n − 1. For example, there are 7 partitions of {1, ..., 4} such that 4 is not
together in one class with either of the elements 2, 3, and there are 10 partitions of {1, ..., 4} such that 4 is not
together in one class with element 3. The difference is due to 3 partitions of {1, ..., 4} such that 4 is together in one
class with element 2, but not with element 3. This corresponds to the fact that there are 3 partitions of {1, ..., 3} such
that 3 is not together in one class with element 2: for counting partitions two elements which are always in one class
can be treated as just one element. The 3 appears in the previous row of the table.

Prime Bell numbers

The first few Bell numbers that are primes are:
2, 5, 877, 27644437, 35742549198872617291353508656626642567,
359334085968622831041960188598043661065388726959079837
corresponding to the indices 2, 3, 7, 13, 42 and 55 (sequence A051130 [3] in OEIS).
The next prime is B2841, which is approximately 9.30740105 × 106538. [4] As of 2006, it is the largest known prime
Bell number. Phil Carmody showed it was a probable prime in 2002. After 17 months of computation with Marcel
Martin's ECPP program Primo, Ignacio Larrosa Cañestro proved it to be prime in 2004. He ruled out any other
possible primes below B6000, later extended to B30447 by Eric Weisstein.
Bell number 19

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000110
[2] Spivey, Michael (2008), "A Generalized Recurrence for Bell Numbers" (http:/ / www. cs. uwaterloo. ca/ journals/ JIS/ VOL11/ Spivey/
spivey25. pdf), Journal of Integer Sequences 11,
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa051130
[4] http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ primes/ page. php?id=68825

• Gian-Carlo Rota (1964). "The Number of Partitions of a Set". American Mathematical Monthly 71 (5): 498–504.
doi:10.2307/2312585. MR0161805.
• Lovász, L. (1993). Combinatorial Problems and Exercises (2nd ed. ed.). Amsterdam, Netherlands:
North-Holland.
• Berend, D.; Tassa, T. (2010). "Improved Bounds on Bell Numbers and on Moments of Sums of Random
Variables". Probability and Mathematical Statistics (http://www.math.uni.wroc.pl/~pms/index.php) 30 (2):
185–205.

External links
• Robert Dickau. "Diagrams of Bell numbers" (http://mathforum.org/advanced/robertd/bell.html).
• Pat Ballew. "Bell numbers" (http://www.pballew.net/Bellno.html).
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Bell Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/BellNumber.html)" from MathWorld.
• Wagstaff, Samuel S. (1996). "Aurifeuillian factorizations and the period of the Bell numbers modulo a prime"
(http://homes.cerias.purdue.edu/~ssw/bell/bell.ps). Mathematics of computation 65 (213): 383–391.
doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-96-00683-7. MR1325876 Bibcode: 1996MaCom..65..383W.
• Gottfried Helms. "Further properties & Generalization of Bell-Numbers" (http://go.helms-net.de/math/
binomial/04_5_SummingBellStirling.pdf).

Binomial coefficient
In mathematics, binomial coefficients are a family of positive
integers that occur as coefficients in the binomial theorem. They
are indexed by two nonnegative integers; the binomial coefficient
indexed by n and k is usually written , and it is the coefficient
of the x k term in the polynomial expansion of the binomial power
(1 + x) n. Arranging binomial coefficients into rows for successive
values of n, and in which k ranges from 0 to n, gives a triangular
array called Pascal's triangle.
This family of numbers also arises in many other areas than
The binomial coefficients can be arranged to form
algebra, notably in combinatorics. For any set containing n
Pascal's triangle.
elements, the number of distinct k-element subsets of it that can be
formed (the k-combinations of its elements) is given by the
binomial coefficient . Therefore is often read as "n choose k". The properties of binomial coefficients have
led to extending the meaning of the symbol beyond the basic case where n and k are nonnegative integers with k
≤ n; such expressions are then still called binomial coefficients.
The notation was introduced by Andreas von Ettingshausen in 1826,[1] although the numbers were already
known centuries before that (see Pascal's triangle). The earliest known detailed discussion of binomial coefficients is
in a tenth-century commentary, due to Halayudha, on an ancient Hindu classic, Pingala's chandaḥśāstra. In about
1150, the Hindu mathematician Bhaskaracharya gave a very clear exposition of binomial coefficients in his book
Binomial coefficient 20

Lilavati.[2]
Alternative notations include C(n, k), nCk, nCk, , ,[3] in all of which the C stands for combinations or choices.

Definition and interpretations

For natural numbers (taken to include 0) n and k, the binomial coefficient can be defined as the coefficient of
the monomial Xk in the expansion of (1 + X)n. The same coefficient also occurs (if k ≤ n) in the binomial formula

(valid for any elements x,y of a commutative ring), which explains the name "binomial coefficient".
Another occurrence of this number is in combinatorics, where it gives the number of ways, disregarding order, that k
objects can be chosen from among n objects; more formally, the number of k-element subsets (or k-combinations) of
an n-element set. This number can be seen to be equal to the one of the first definition, independently of any of the
formulas below to compute it: if in each of the n factors of the power (1 + X)n one temporarily labels the term X with
an index i (running from 1 to n), then each subset of k indices gives after expansion a contribution Xk, and the
coefficient of that monomial in the result will be the number of such subsets. This shows in particular that is a
natural number for any natural numbers n and k. There are many other combinatorial interpretations of binomial
coefficients (counting problems for which the answer is given by a binomial coefficient expression), for instance the
number of words formed of n bits (digits 0 or 1) whose sum is k is given by , while the number of ways to write
where every ai is a nonnegative integer is given by . Most of these
interpretations are easily seen to be equivalent to counting k-combinations.

Computing the value of binomial coefficients

Several methods exist to compute the value of without actually expanding a binomial power or counting
k-combinations.

Recursive formula
One has a recursive formula for binomial coefficients

with initial values

The formula follows either from tracing the contributions to Xk in (1 + X)n−1(1 + X), or by counting k-combinations
of {1, 2, ..., n} that contain n and that do not contain n separately. It follows easily that when k > n, and
for all n, so the recursion can stop when reaching such cases. This recursive formula then allows the
construction of Pascal's triangle.
Binomial coefficient 21

Multiplicative formula
A more efficient method to compute individual binomial coefficients is given by the formula

This formula is easiest to understand for the combinatorial interpretation of binomial coefficients. The numerator
gives the number of ways to select a sequence of k distinct objects, retaining the order of selection, from a set of n
objects. The denominator counts the number of distinct sequences that define the same k-combination when order is
disregarded.

Factorial formula
Finally there is a formula using factorials that is easy to remember:

where n! denotes the factorial of n. This formula follows from the multiplicative formula above by multiplying
numerator and denominator by (n − k)!; as a consequence it involves many factors common to numerator and
denominator. It is less practical for explicit computation unless common factors are first canceled (in particular since
factorial values grow very rapidly). The formula does exhibit a symmetry that is less evident from the multiplicative
formula (though it is from the definitions)

Generalization and connection to the binomial series

The multiplicative formula allows the definition of binomial coefficients to be extended[4] by replacing n by an
arbitrary number α (negative, real, complex) or even an element of any commutative ring in which all positive
integers are invertible:

With this definition one has a generalization of the binomial formula (with one of the variables set to 1), which
justifies still calling the binomial coefficients:

This formula is valid for all complex numbers α and X with |X| < 1. It can also be interpreted as an identity of formal
power series in X, where it actually can serve as definition of arbitrary powers of series with constant coefficient
equal to 1; the point is that with this definition all identities hold that one expects for exponentiation, notably

If α is a nonnegative integer n, then all terms with k > n are zero, and the infinite series becomes a finite sum, thereby
recovering the binomial formula. However for other values of α, including negative integers and rational numbers,
the series is really infinite.
Binomial coefficient 22

Pascal's triangle
Pascal's rule is the important recurrence relation

which can be used to prove by mathematical induction that is a natural number for all n and k, (equivalent to the
statement that k! divides the product of k consecutive integers), a fact that is not immediately obvious from formula
(1).
Pascal's rule also gives rise to Pascal's triangle:

0: 1

1: 1 1

2: 1 2 1

3: 1 3 3 1

4: 1 4 6 4 1

5: 1 5 10 10 5 1

6: 1 6 15 20 15 6 1

7: 1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1

8: 1 8 28 56 70 56 28 8 1

Row number n contains the numbers for k = 0,…,n. It is constructed by starting with ones at the outside and
then always adding two adjacent numbers and writing the sum directly underneath. This method allows the quick
calculation of binomial coefficients without the need for fractions or multiplications. For instance, by looking at row
number 5 of the triangle, one can quickly read off that
(x + y)5 = 1 x5 + 5 x4y + 10 x3y2 + 10 x2y3 + 5 x y4 + 1 y5.
The differences between elements on other diagonals are the elements in the previous diagonal, as a consequence of
the recurrence relation (3) above.

Combinatorics and statistics

Binomial coefficients are of importance in combinatorics, because they provide ready formulas for certain frequent
counting problems:

• There are ways to choose k elements from a set of n elements. See Combination.
• There are ways to choose k elements from a set of n if repetitions are allowed. See Multiset.
• There are strings containing k ones and n zeros.
• There are strings consisting of k ones and n zeros such that no two ones are adjacent.

• The Catalan numbers are

• The binomial distribution in statistics is

• The formula for a Bézier curve.
Binomial coefficient 23

Binomial coefficients as polynomials

For any nonnegative integer k, the expression can be simplified and defined as a polynomial divided by k!:

This presents a polynomial in t with rational coefficients.

As such, it can be evaluated at any real or complex number t to define binomial coefficients with such first
arguments. These "generalized binomial coefficients" appear in Newton's generalized binomial theorem.

For each k, the polynomial can be characterized as the unique degree k polynomial p(t) satisfying p(0) = p(1) =
... = p(k − 1) = 0 and p(k) = 1.
Its coefficients are expressible in terms of Stirling numbers of the first kind, by definition of the latter:

The derivative of can be calculated by logarithmic differentiation:

Binomial coefficients as a basis for the space of polynomials

Over any field containing Q, each polynomial p(t) of degree at most d is uniquely expressible as a linear

combination . The coefficient ak is the kth difference of the sequence p(0), p(1), …, p(k). Explicitly,[5]

Integer-valued polynomials
Each polynomial is integer-valued: it takes integer values at integer inputs. (One way to prove this is by
induction on k, using Pascal's identity.) Therefore any integer linear combination of binomial coefficient polynomials
is integer-valued too. Conversely, (3.5) shows that any integer-valued polynomial is an integer linear combination of
these binomial coefficient polynomials. More generally, for any subring R of a characteristic 0 field K, a polynomial
in K[t] takes values in R at all integers if and only if it is an R-linear combination of binomial coefficient
polynomials.

Example
The integer-valued polynomial 3t(3t + 1)/2 can be rewritten as

Identities involving binomial coefficients

For any nonnegative integers n and k,

This follows from (2) by using (1 + x)n = xn·(1 + x−1)n. It is reflected in the symmetry of Pascal's triangle. A
combinatorial interpretation of this formula is as follows: when forming a subset of elements (from a set of size
), it is equivalent to consider the number of ways you can pick elements and the number of ways you can
Binomial coefficient 24

exclude elements.
The factorial definition lets one relate nearby binomial coefficients. For instance, if k is a positive integer and n is
arbitrary, then

and, with a little more work,

Powers of -1
A special binomial coefficient is ; it equals powers of -1:

Series involving binomial coefficients

The formula

is obtained from (2) using x = 1. This is equivalent to saying that the elements in one row of Pascal's triangle always
add up to two raised to an integer power. A combinatorial interpretation of this fact involving double counting is
given by counting subsets of size 0, size 1, size 2, and so on up to size n of a set S of n elements. Since we count the
number of subsets of size i for 0 ≤ i ≤ n, this sum must be equal to the number of subsets of S, which is known to be
2n. That is, Equation 5 is a statement that the power set for a finite set with n elements has size 2n.
The formulas

and

follow from (2), after differentiating with respect to x (twice in the latter) and then substituting x = 1.
The Chu-Vandermonde identity, which holds for any complex-values m and n and any non-negative integer k, is

and can be found by examination of the coefficient of in the expansion of (1 + x)m (1 + x)n − m = (1 + x)n using
equation (2). When m = 1, equation (7a) reduces to equation (3).
A similar looking formula, which applies for any integers j, k, and n satisfying 0 ≤ j ≤ k ≤ n, is

and can be found by examination of the coefficient of in the expansion of

using When j = k, equation (7b) gives

Binomial coefficient 25

From expansion (7a) using n=2m, k = m, and (4), one finds

Let F(n) denote the nth Fibonacci number. We obtain a formula about the diagonals of Pascal's triangle

This can be proved by induction using (3) or by Zeckendorf's representation (Just note that the lhs gives the number
of subsets of {F(2),...,F(n)} without consecutive members, which also form all the numbers below F(n+1)).
Also using (3) and induction, one can show that

Again by (3) and induction, one can show that for k = 0, ... , n−1

as well as

which is itself a special case of the result from the theory of finite differences that for any polynomial P(x) of degree
less than n,

Differentiating (2) k times and setting x = −1 yields this for , when 0 ≤ k < n,
and the general case follows by taking linear combinations of these.
When P(x) is of degree less than or equal to n,

where is the coefficient of degree n in P(x).

More generally for 13b,

where m and d are complex numbers. This follows immediately applying (13b) to the polynomial Q(x):=P(m + dx)
instead of P(x), and observing that Q(x) has still degree less than or equal to n, and that its coefficient of degree n is
dnan.
The infinite series
Binomial coefficient 26

is convergent for k ≥ 2. This formula is used in the analysis of the German tank problem. It is equivalent to the
formula for the finite sum

which is proved for M>m by induction on M.

Using (8) one can derive

and

Identities with combinatorial proofs

Many identities involving binomial coefficients can be proved by combinatorial means. For example, the following
identity for nonnegative integers (which reduces to (6) when ):

can be given a double counting proof as follows. The left side counts the number of ways of selecting a subset of
of at least q elements, and marking q elements among those selected. The right side counts the same parameter,
because there are ways of choosing a set of q marks and they occur in all subsets that additionally contain some
subset of the remaining elements, of which there are
The recursion formula

where both sides count the number of k-element subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n} with the right hand side first grouping them
into those which contain element n and those which do not.
The identity (8) also has a combinatorial proof. The identity reads

Suppose you have empty squares arranged in a row and you want to mark (select) n of them. There are
ways to do this. On the other hand, you may select your n squares by selecting k squares from among the first n and
squares from the remaining n squares. This gives

Now apply (4) to get the result.

Binomial coefficient 27

Sum of coefficients row

The number of k-combinations for all k, , is the sum of the nth row (counting from 0) of the

binomial coefficients. These combinations are enumerated by the 1 digits of the set of base 2 numbers counting from
0 to , where each digit position is an item from the set of n.

Continuous identities
Certain trigonometric integrals have values expressible in terms of binomial coefficients:
For and

These can be proved by using Euler's formula to convert trigonometric functions to complex exponentials, expanding
using the binomial theorem, and integrating term by term.

Generating functions

Ordinary generating functions

For a fixed n, the ordinary generating function of the sequence is:

For a fixed k, the ordinary generating function of the sequence is:

The bivariate generating function of the binomial coefficients is:

Another bivariate generating function of the binomial coefficients, which is symmetric, is:
Binomial coefficient 28

Exponential generating function

The exponential bivariate generating function of the binomial coefficients is:

Divisibility properties
In 1852, Kummer proved that if m and n are nonnegative integers and p is a prime number, then the largest power of
p dividing equals pc, where c is the number of carries when m and n are added in base p. Equivalently, the
exponent of a prime p in equals the number of nonnegative integers j such that the fractional part of k/pj is
greater than the fractional part of n/pj. It can be deduced from this that is divisible by n/gcd(n,k).
A somewhat surprising result by David Singmaster (1974) is that any integer divides almost all binomial
coefficients. More precisely, fix an integer d and let f(N) denote the number of binomial coefficients with n < N
such that d divides . Then

Since the number of binomial coefficients with n < N is N(N+1) / 2, this implies that the density of binomial
coefficients divisible by d goes to 1.
Another fact: An integer n ≥ 2 is prime if and only if all the intermediate binomial coefficients

are divisible by n.
Proof: When p is prime, p divides

for all 0 < k < p

because it is a natural number and the numerator has a prime factor p but the denominator does not have a prime
factor p.
When n is composite, let p be the smallest prime factor of n and let k = n/p. Then 0 < p < n and

otherwise the numerator k(n−1)(n−2)×...×(n−p+1) has to be divisible by n = k×p, this can only be the case when
(n−1)(n−2)×...×(n−p+1) is divisible by p. But n is divisible by p, so p does not divide n−1, n−2, ..., n−p+1 and
because p is prime, we know that p does not divide (n−1)(n−2)×...×(n−p+1) and so the numerator cannot be divisible
by n.
Binomial coefficient 29

Bounds and asymptotic formulas

The following bounds for hold:

Stirling's approximation yields the bounds:

and, in general, for m ≥ 2 and n ≥ 1,

and the approximation

as

The infinite product formula (cf. Gamma function, alternative definition)

yields the asymptotic formulas

as .
This asymptotic behaviour is contained in the approximation

as well. (Here is the kth harmonic number and is the Euler–Mascheroni constant).
The sum of binomial coefficients can be bounded by a term exponential in and the binary entropy of the largest
that occurs. More precisely, for and , it holds

where is the binary entropy of .[6]

A simple and rough upper bound for the sum of binomial coefficients is given by the formula below (not difficult to
prove)
Binomial coefficient 30

Generalizations

Generalization to multinomials
Binomial coefficients can be generalized to multinomial coefficients. They are defined to be the number:

where

While the binomial coefficients represent the coefficients of (x+y)n, the multinomial coefficients represent the
coefficients of the polynomial

See multinomial theorem. The case r = 2 gives binomial coefficients:

The combinatorial interpretation of multinomial coefficients is distribution of n distinguishable elements over r

(distinguishable) containers, each containing exactly ki elements, where i is the index of the container.
Multinomial coefficients have many properties similar to these of binomial coefficients, for example the recurrence
relation:

and symmetry:

where is a permutation of (1,2,...,r).

Generalization to negative integers

If , then extends to all .

Taylor series
Using Stirling numbers of the first kind the series expansion around any arbitrarily chosen point is
Binomial coefficient 31

Binomial coefficient with n=1/2

The definition of the binomial coefficients can be extended to the case where is real and is integer.
In particular, the following identity holds for any non-negative integer :

This shows up when expanding into a power series using the Newton binomial series :

Identity for the product of binomial coefficients

One can express the product of binomial coefficients as a linear combination of binomial coefficients:

where the connection coefficients are multinomial coefficients. In terms of labelled combinatorial objects, the
connection coefficients represent the number of ways to assign m+n-k labels to a pair of labelled combinatorial
objects of weight m and n respectively, that have had their first k labels identified, or glued together, in order to get a
new labelled combinatorial object of weight m+n-k. (That is, to separate the labels into 3 portions to be applied to
the glued part, the unglued part of the first object, and the unglued part of the second object.) In this regard, binomial
coefficients are to exponential generating series what falling factorials are to ordinary generating series.

Partial Fraction Decomposition

The partial fraction decomposition of the inverse is given by

and

Newton's binomial series

Newton's binomial series, named after Sir Isaac Newton, is one of the simplest Newton series:

The identity can be obtained by showing that both sides satisfy the differential equation (1+z) f'(z) = α f(z).

The radius of convergence of this series is 1. An alternative expression is

where the identity

is applied.
Binomial coefficient 32

Two real or complex valued arguments

The binomial coefficient is generalized to two real or complex valued arguments using the gamma function or beta
function via

This definition inherits these following additional properties from :

moreover,

The resulting function has been little-studied, apparently first being graphed in (Fowler 1996). Notably, many
binomial identities fail: but for n positive (so negative). The behavior is

quite complex, and markedly different in various octants (that is, with respect to the x and y axes and the line
), with the behavior for negative x having singularities at negative integer values and a checkerboard of
positive and negative regions:
• in the octant it is a smoothly interpolated form of the usual binomial, with a ridge ("Pascal's ridge").
• in the octant and in the quadrant the function is close to zero.
• in the quadrant the function is alternatingly very large positive and negative on the
parallelograms with vertices
• in the octant the behavior is again alternatingly very large positive and negative, but on a square
grid.
• in the octant it is close to zero, except for near the singularities.

Generalization to q-series
The binomial coefficient has a q-analog generalization known as the Gaussian binomial coefficient.

Generalization to infinite cardinals

The definition of the binomial coefficient can be generalized to infinite cardinals by defining:

where A is some set with cardinality . One can show that the generalized binomial coefficient is well-defined, in

the sense that no matter what set we choose to represent the cardinal number , will remain the same. For

finite cardinals, this definition coincides with the standard definition of the binomial coefficient.

Assuming the Axiom of Choice, one can show that for any infinite cardinal .
Binomial coefficient 33

Binomial coefficient in programming languages

The notation is convenient in handwriting but inconvenient for typewriters and computer terminals. Many

programming languages do not offer a standard subroutine for computing the binomial coefficient, but for example
the J programming language uses the exclamation mark: k ! n .
Naive implementations of the factorial formula, such as the following snippet in Python: <syntaxhighlight
lang="python"> def binomialCoefficient(n, k):

from math import factorial

return factorial(n) / (factorial(k) * factorial(n - k))

</syntaxhighlight>
are very slow and are uselessly calculating factorials of very high numbers (in languages as C or Java they suffer
from overflow errors because of this reason). A direct implementation of the multiplicative formula works well:
<syntaxhighlight lang="python"> def binomialCoefficient(n, k):

if k > n - k: # take advantage of symmetry

k = n - k
c = 1
for i in range(k):
c = c * (n - i)
c = c / (i + 1)
return c

</syntaxhighlight> The example mentioned above can be also written in functional style. The following Scheme
example uses recursive definition

Rational arithmetic can be easily avoided using integer division

The following implementation uses all these ideas <syntaxhighlight lang="scheme"> (define (binomial n k)
Helper function to compute C(n,k) via forward recursion

(define (binomial-iter n k i prev)

(if (>= i k)
prev
(binomial-iter n k (+ i 1) (/ (* (- n i) prev) (+ i 1)))))

Use symmetry property C(n,k)=C(n, n-k)

(if (< k (- n k))

(binomial-iter n k 0 1)
(binomial-iter n (- n k) 0 1)))

</syntaxhighlight>
Another way to compute the binomial coefficient when using large numbers is to recognize that
Binomial coefficient 34

is a special function that is easily computed and is standard in some programming languages such as using
log_gamma in Maxima, LogGamma in Mathematica, or gammaln in MATLAB. Roundoff error may cause the
returned value not to be an integer.

Notes
[1] Higham (1998)
[2] Lilavati Section 6, Chapter 4 (see Knuth (1997)).
[3] Shilov (1977)
[4] See (Graham, Knuth & Patashnik 1994), which also defines for . Alternative generalizations, such as to two real or
complex valued arguments using the Gamma function assign nonzero values to for , but this causes most binomial coefficient
identities to fail, and thus is not widely used majority of definitions. One such choice of nonzero values leads to the aesthetically pleasing
"Pascal windmill" in Hilton, Holton and Pedersen, Mathematical reflections: in a room with many mirrors, Springer, 1997, but causes even
Pascal's identity to fail (at the origin).
[5] This can be seen as a discrete analog of Taylor's theorem. It is closely related to Newton's polynomial. Alternating sums of this form may be
expressed as the Nörlund–Rice integral.
[6] see e.g. Flum & Grohe (2006, p. 427)

References
• Benjamin, Arthur T.; Quinn, Jennifer (2003). Proofs that Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof (https://
www.maa.org/EbusPPRO/Bookstore/ProductDetail/tabid/170/Default.aspx?ProductId=675), Mathematical
Association of America.
• Bryant, Victor (1993). Aspects of combinatorics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521419743.
• Flum, Jörg; Grohe, Martin (2006). Parameterized Complexity Theory (http://www.springer.com/east/home/
generic/search/results?SGWID=5-40109-22-141358322-0). Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-29952-3.
• Fowler, David (January 1996). "The Binomial Coefficient Function" (http://www.jstor.org/stable/2975209).
The American Mathematical Monthly (Mathematical Association of America) 103 (1): 1–17.
doi:10.2307/2975209
• Graham, Ronald L.; Knuth, Donald E.; Patashnik, Oren (1994). Concrete Mathematics (Second ed.).
Addison-Wesley. pp. 153–256. ISBN 0-201-55802-5.
• Higham, Nicholas J. (1998). Handbook of writing for the mathematical sciences. SIAM. p. 25.
ISBN 0898714206.
• Knuth, Donald E. (1997). The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms (Third ed.).
Addison-Wesley. pp. 52–74. ISBN 0-201-89683-4.
• Singmaster, David (1974). "Notes on binomial coefficients. III. Any integer divides almost all binomial
coefficients". J. London Math. Soc. (2) 8: 555–560. doi:10.1112/jlms/s2-8.3.555.
• Shilov, G. E. (1977). Linear algebra. Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486635187.

External links
• Calculation of Binomial Coefficient (http://www.stud.feec.vutbr.cz/~xvapen02/vypocty/komb.
php?language=english)
This article incorporates material from the following PlanetMath articles, which are licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License: Binomial Coefficient, Bounds for binomial coefficients, Proof that C(n,k)
is an integer, Generalized binomial coefficients.
Carmichael number 35

Carmichael number
In number theory, a Carmichael number is a composite positive integer which satisfies the congruence

for all integers which are relatively prime to (see modular arithmetic). They are named for Robert Carmichael.
The Carmichael numbers are the Knödel numbers K1.

Overview
Fermat's little theorem states that all prime numbers have the above property. In this sense, Carmichael numbers are
similar to prime numbers; in fact, they are called Fermat pseudoprimes. Carmichael numbers are sometimes also
called absolute Fermat pseudoprimes.
Carmichael numbers are important because they pass the Fermat primality test but are not actually prime. Since
Carmichael numbers exist, this primality test cannot be relied upon to prove the primality of a number, although it
can still be used to prove a number is composite.
Still, as numbers become larger, Carmichael numbers become very rare. For example, there are 20,138,200
Carmichael numbers between 1 and 1021 (approximately one in 50 billion numbers.)[1] This makes tests based on
Fermat's Little Theorem slightly risky compared to others such as the Solovay-Strassen primality test.

Korselt's criterion
An alternative and equivalent definition of Carmichael numbers is given by Korselt's criterion.
Theorem (Korselt 1899): A positive composite integer is a Carmichael number if and only if is
square-free, and for all prime divisors of , it is true that (the notation indicates that
divides ).
It follows from this theorem that all Carmichael numbers are odd, since any even composite number that is
square-free (and hence has only one prime factor of two) will have at least one odd prime factor, and thus
results in an even dividing an odd, a contradiction. (The oddness of Carmichael numbers also follows
from the fact that is a Fermat witness for any even number.) From the criterion it also follows that Carmichael
[2] [3]
numbers are cyclic.

Discovery
Korselt was the first who observed the basic properties of Carmichael numbers, but he could not find any examples.
In 1910, Carmichael found the first and smallest such number, 561, and hence the name "Carmichael number".
That 561 is a Carmichael number can be seen with Korselt's criterion. Indeed, is square-free and
, and .
The next few Carmichael numbers are (sequence A002997 [4] in OEIS):
Carmichael number 36

J. Chernick proved a theorem in 1939 which can be used to construct a subset of Carmichael numbers. The number
is a Carmichael number if its three factors are all prime. Whether this formula
produces an infinite quantity of Carmichael numbers is an open question.
Paul Erdős heuristically argued there should be infinitely many Carmichael numbers. In 1994 it was shown by W. R.
(Red) Alford, Andrew Granville and Carl Pomerance that there really do exist infinitely many Carmichael numbers.
Specifically, they showed that for sufficiently large , there are at least Carmichael numbers between 1 and
.[5]
Löh and Niebuhr in 1992 found some huge Carmichael numbers, including one with 1,101,518 factors and over 16
million digits.

Properties

Factorizations
Carmichael numbers have at least three positive prime factors. The first Carmichael numbers with
prime factors are (sequence A006931 [6] in OEIS):

The first Carmichael numbers with 4 prime factors are (sequence A074379 [7] in OEIS):

10

The second Carmichael number (1105) can be expressed as the sum of two squares in more ways than any smaller
number. The third Carmichael number (1729) is the Hardy-Ramanujan Number: the smallest number that can be
expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.
Carmichael number 37

Distribution
Let denote the number of Carmichael numbers less than or equal to . The distribution of Carmichael
numbers by powers of 10:[1]
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

1 7 16 43 105 255 646 1547 3605 8241 19279 44706 105212 246683 585355 1401644 3381806 8220777 20138200

In 1956, Erdős proved that[8]

for some constant . He further gave a heuristic argument suggesting that this upper bound should be close to the
true growth rate of . The table below gives approximate minimal values for the constant k in the Erdős
bound for as n grows:

4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 21

k 2.19547 1.97946 1.90495 1.86870 1.86377 1.86293 1.86406 1.86522 1.86598 1.86619

In the other direction, Alford, Granville and Pomerance proved in 1994[5] that for sufficiently large X,

In 2005, this bound was further improved by Harman[9] to

and then has subsequently improved the exponent to just over .

Higher-order Carmichael numbers

Carmichael numbers can be generalized using concepts of abstract algebra.
The above definition states that a composite integer n is Carmichael precisely when the nth-power-raising function
pn from the ring Zn of integers modulo n to itself is the identity function. The identity is the only Zn-algebra
endomorphism on Zn so we can restate the definition as asking that pn be an algebra endomorphism of Zn. As above,
pn satisfies the same property whenever n is prime.
The nth-power-raising function pn is also defined on any Zn-algebra A. A theorem states that n is prime if and only if
all such functions pn are algebra endomorphisms.
In-between these two conditions lies the definition of Carmichael number of order m for any positive integer m as
any composite number n such that pn is an endomorphism on every Zn-algebra that can be generated as Zn-module
by m elements. Carmichael numbers of order 1 are just the ordinary Carmichael numbers.
Carmichael number 38

Properties
Korselt's criterion can be generalized to higher-order Carmichael numbers, as shown by Howe.[10]
A heuristic argument, given in the same paper, appears to suggest that there are infinitely many Carmichael numbers
of order m, for any m. However, not a single Carmichael number of order 3 or above is known.

Notes
[1] Richard Pinch, "The Carmichael numbers up to 1021" (http:/ / www. chalcedon. demon. co. uk/ rgep/ p82. pdf), May 2007.
[2] Carmichael Multiples of Odd Cyclic Numbers (http:/ / www. numericana. com/ data/ crump. htm) "Any divisor of a Carmichael number must
be an odd cyclic number"
[3] Proof sketch: If is square-free but not cyclic, for two prime factors and of . But if satisfies Korselt then
, so by transitivity of the "divides" relation . But is also a factor of , a contradiction.
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002997
[5] W. R. Alford, A. Granville, C. Pomerance (1994). "There are Infinitely Many Carmichael Numbers" (http:/ / www. math. dartmouth. edu/
~carlp/ PDF/ paper95. pdf). Annals of Mathematics 139: 703–722. doi:10.2307/2118576. .
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa006931
[7] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa074379
[8] Erdős, P. (1956). "On pseudoprimes and Carmichael numbers" (http:/ / www. renyi. hu/ ~p_erdos/ 1956-10. pdf). Publ. Math. Debrecen 4:
201–206. MR79031. .
[9] Glyn Harman (2005). "On the number of Carmichael numbers up to x". Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 37: 641–650.
doi:10.1112/S0024609305004686.
[10] Everett W. Howe. "Higher-order Carmichael numbers." (http:/ / arxiv. org/ abs/ math. NT/ 9812089) Mathematics of Computation 69
(2000), pp. 1711–1719.

References
• Chernick, J. (1939). "On Fermat's simple theorem" (http://www.ams.org/journals/bull/1939-45-04/
S0002-9904-1939-06953-X/S0002-9904-1939-06953-X.pdf). Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 45: 269–274.
doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1939-06953-X.
• Ribenboim, P. (1989). The Book of Prime Number Records. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-97042-4.
• Löh, G.; Niebuhr, W. (1996). "A new algorithm for constructing large Carmichael numbers" (http://www.ams.
org/mcom/1996-65-214/S0025-5718-96-00692-8/S0025-5718-96-00692-8.pdf). Math. Comp. 65: 823–836.
doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-96-00692-8.
• Korselt (1899). "Problème chinois". L'intermédiaire des mathématiciens 6: 142–143.
• Carmichael, R. D. (1912). "On composite numbers P which satisfy the Fermat congruence ".
American Mathematical Monthly 19 (2): 22–27. doi:10.2307/2972687.

External links
• Table of Carmichael numbers (http://de.wikibooks.org/wiki/Pseudoprimzahlen:_Tabelle_Carmichael-Zahlen)
• Carmichael numbers up to 10^12 (http://www.kobepharma-u.ac.jp/~math/notes/note02.html)
• Mathpages: The Dullness of 1729 (http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath028.htm)
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Carmichael Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CarmichaelNumber.html)" from
MathWorld.
• Final Answers Modular Arithmetic (http://www.numericana.com/answer/modular.htm)
Catalan number 39

Catalan number
In combinatorial mathematics, the Catalan numbers form a sequence of natural numbers that occur in various
counting problems, often involving recursively defined objects. They are named after the Belgian mathematician
Eugène Charles Catalan (1814–1894).
The nth Catalan number is given directly in terms of binomial coefficients by

The first Catalan numbers (sequence A000108 [1] in OEIS) for n = 0, 1, 2, 3, … are
1, 1, 2, 5, 14, 42, 132, 429, 1430, 4862, 16796, 58786, 208012, 742900, 2674440, 9694845, 35357670,
129644790, 477638700, 1767263190, 6564120420, 24466267020, 91482563640, 343059613650,
1289904147324, 4861946401452, …

Properties
An alternative expression for Cn is

which is equivalent to the expression given above because . This shows that Cn is a natural
number, which is not immediately obvious from the first formula given. This expression forms the basis for André's
proof of the correctness of the formula (see below under second proof).
The Catalan numbers satisfy the recurrence relation

moreover,

They also satisfy:

which can be a more efficient way to calculate them.

Asymptotically, the Catalan numbers grow as

in the sense that the quotient of the nth Catalan number and the expression on the right tends towards 1 as n → +∞.
(This can be proved by using Stirling's approximation for n!.)
The only Catalan numbers Cn that are odd are those for which n = 2k − 1. All others are even.
Catalan number 40

Applications in combinatorics
There are many counting problems in combinatorics whose solution is given by the Catalan numbers. The book
Enumerative Combinatorics: Volume 2 by combinatorialist Richard P. Stanley contains a set of exercises which
describe 66 different interpretations of the Catalan numbers. Following are some examples, with illustrations of the
cases C3 = 5 and C4 = 14.
• Cn is the number of Dyck words of length 2n. A Dyck word is a string consisting of n X's and n Y's such that no
initial segment of the string has more Y's than X's (see also Dyck language). For example, the following are the
Dyck words of length 6:
XXXYYY     XYXXYY     XYXYXY     XXYYXY     XXYXYY.
• Re-interpreting the symbol X as an open parenthesis and Y as a close parenthesis, Cn counts the number of
expressions containing n pairs of parentheses which are correctly matched:
((()))     ()(())     ()()()     (())()     (()())
• Cn is the number of different ways n + 1 factors can be completely parenthesized (or the number of ways of
associating n applications of a binary operator). For n = 3, for example, we have the following five different
parenthesizations of four factors:

• Successive applications of a binary operator can be represented in terms of a full binary tree. (A rooted binary tree
is full if every vertex has either two children or no children.) It follows that Cn is the number of full binary trees
with n + 1 leaves:

If the leaves are labelled, we have the quadruple factorial numbers.

• Cn is the number of non-isomorphic ordered trees with n + 1 vertices. (An ordered tree is a rooted tree in which
the children of each vertex are given a fixed left-to-right order.)
• Cn is the number of monotonic paths along the edges of a grid with n × n square cells, which do not pass above
the diagonal. A monotonic path is one which starts in the lower left corner, finishes in the upper right corner, and
consists entirely of edges pointing rightwards or upwards. Counting such paths is equivalent to counting Dyck
words: X stands for "move right" and Y stands for "move up". The following diagrams show the case n = 4:
Catalan number 41

• Cn is the number of different ways a convex polygon with n + 2 sides can be cut into triangles by connecting
vertices with straight lines. The following hexagons illustrate the case n = 4:

• Cn is the number of stack-sortable permutations of {1, ..., n}. A permutation w is called stack-sortable if S(w)
= (1, ..., n), where S(w) is defined recursively as follows: write w = unv where n is the largest element in w and u
and v are shorter sequences, and set S(w) = S(u)S(v)n, with S being the identity for one-element sequences. These
are the permutations that avoid the pattern 231.
• Cn is the number of permutations of {1, ..., n} that avoid the pattern 123; that is, the number of permutations with
no three-term increasing subsequence. For n = 3, these permutations are 132, 213, 231, 312 and 321. For n = 4,
they are 1432, 2143, 2413, 2431, 3142, 3214, 3241, 3412, 3421, 4132, 4213, 4231, 4312 and 4321.
• Cn is the number of noncrossing partitions of the set {1, ..., n}. A fortiori, Cn never exceeds the nth Bell number.
Cn is also the number of noncrossing partitions of the set {1, ..., 2n} in which every block is of size 2. The
conjunction of these two facts may be used in a proof by mathematical induction that all of the free cumulants of
degree more than 2 of the Wigner semicircle law are zero. This law is important in free probability theory and the
theory of random matrices.
• Cn is the number of ways to tile a stairstep shape of height n with n rectangles. The following figure illustrates the
case n = 4:
Catalan number 42

• Cn is the number of Young tableaux whose diagram is a 2-by-n rectangle. In other words, it is the number ways
the numbers 1, 2, ..., 2n can be arranged in a 2-by-n rectangle so that each row and each column is increasing. As
such, the formula can be derived as a special case of the hook formula.
• Cn is the number of ways that the vertices of a convex 2n-gon can be paired so that the line segments joining
paired vertices do not intersect.
• Cn is the number of semiorders on n unlabeled items.[2]

Proof of the formula

There are several ways of explaining why the formula

solves the combinatorial problems listed above. The first proof below uses a generating function. The other proofs
are examples of bijective proofs; they involve literally counting a collection of some kind of object to arrive at the
correct formula.

First proof
We first observe that many of the combinatorial problems listed above satisfy Segner's recurrence relation

For example, every Dyck word w of length ≥ 2 can be written in a unique way in the form
w = Xw1Yw2
with (possibly empty) Dyck words w1 and w2.
The generating function for the Catalan numbers is defined by

The two recurrence relations together can then be summarized in generating function form by the relation

in other words, this equation follows from the recurrence relations by expanding both sides into power series. On the
one hand, the recurrence relations uniquely determine the Catalan numbers; on the other hand, the generating
function solution

has a power series at 0 and its coefficients must therefore be the Catalan numbers. (Since the other solution has a
pole at 0, this reasoning doesn't apply to it.)
The square root term can be expanded as a power series using the identity
Catalan number 43

This is a special case of Newton's generalized binomial theorem; as with the general theorem, it can be proved by
computing derivatives to produce its Taylor series. Setting y = −4x and substituting this power series into the
expression for c(x) and shifting the summation index n by 1, the expansion simplifies to

The coefficients are now the desired formula for Cn.

Another way to get c(x) is to solve for xc(x) and observe that appears in each term of the power series.

Second proof
This proof depends on a trick known as André's reflection method (not to be confused with the Schwarz reflection
principle in complex analysis), which was originally used in connection with Bertrand's ballot theorem. The
reflection principle has been widely attributed to Désiré André, but his method did not actually use reflections; and
the reflection method is a variation due to Aebly and Mirimanoff[3] . It is most easily expressed in terms of the
"monotonic paths which do not cross the diagonal" problem (see above).
Suppose we are given a monotonic path in an n × n grid that does cross
the diagonal. Find the first edge in the path that lies above the diagonal,
and flip the portion of the path occurring after that edge, along a line
parallel to the diagonal. (In terms of Dyck words, we are starting with a
sequence of n X's and n Y's which is not a Dyck word, and exchanging
all X's with Y's after the first Y that violates the Dyck condition.) The
resulting path is a monotonic path in an (n − 1) × (n + 1) grid. Figure 1
Figure 1. The green portion of the path is flipped.
illustrates this procedure; the green portion of the path is the portion
being flipped.

Since every monotonic path in the (n − 1) × (n + 1) grid must cross the diagonal at some point, every such path can
be obtained in this fashion in precisely one way. The number of these paths is equal to

Therefore, to calculate the number of monotonic n × n paths which do not cross the diagonal, we need to subtract this
from the total number of monotonic n × n paths, so we finally obtain

which is the nth Catalan number Cn.

Catalan number 44

Third proof
The following bijective proof, while being more involved than the previous one, provides a more natural explanation
for the term n + 1 appearing in the denominator of the formula for Cn.
Suppose we are given a monotonic path, which may happen to cross the
diagonal. The exceedance of the path is defined to be the number of vertical
edges which lie above the diagonal. For example, in Figure 2, the edges
lying above the diagonal are marked in red, so the exceedance of the path is
5.
Now, if we are given a monotonic path whose exceedance is not zero, then
we may apply the following algorithm to construct a new path whose
exceedance is one less than the one we started with.
• Starting from the bottom left, follow the path until it first travels above
the diagonal. Figure 2. A path with exceedance 5.
• Continue to follow the path until it touches the diagonal again. Denote by
X the first such edge that is reached.
• Swap the portion of the path occurring before X with the portion occurring after X.
The following example should make this clearer. In Figure 3, the black dot indicates the point where the path first
crosses the diagonal. The black edge is X, and we swap the red portion with the green portion to make a new path,
shown in the second diagram.

Figure 3. The green and red portions are being

exchanged.

Notice that the exceedance has dropped from three to two. In fact, the algorithm will cause the exceedance to
decrease by one, for any path that we feed it, because the first vertical step starting on the diagonal (at the point
marked with a black dot) is the unique vertical edge that under the operation passes from above the diagonal to
below it; all other vertical edges stay on the same side of the diagonal.
Catalan number 45

It is also not difficult to see that this process is reversible: given any
path P whose exceedance is less than n, there is exactly one path which
yields P when the algorithm is applied to it. Indeed, the (black) edge X,
which originally was the first horizontal step ending on the diagonal,
has become the last horizontal step starting on the diagonal.
This implies that the number of paths of exceedance n is equal to the
number of paths of exceedance n − 1, which is equal to the number of
paths of exceedance n − 2, and so on, down to zero. In other words, we
have split up the set of all monotonic paths into n + 1 equally sized
classes, corresponding to the possible exceedances between 0 and n.
Since there are

Figure 4. All monotonic paths in a 3×3 grid,

illustrating the exceedance-decreasing algorithm.
monotonic paths, we obtain the desired formula

Figure 4 illustrates the situation for n = 3. Each of the 20 possible monotonic paths appears somewhere in the table.
The first column shows all paths of exceedance three, which lie entirely above the diagonal. The columns to the right
show the result of successive applications of the algorithm, with the exceedance decreasing one unit at a time. There
are five rows, that is, C3 = 5.

Fourth proof
This proof uses the triangulation definition of Catalan numbers to establish a relation between Cn and Cn+1. Given a
polygon P with n+ 2 sides, first mark one of its sides as the base. If P is then triangulated, we can further choose and
orient one of its 2n+1 edges. There are (4n+2)Cn such decorated triangulations. Now given a polygon Q with n+3
sides, again mark one of its sides as the base. If Q is triangulated, we can further mark one of the sides other than the
base side. There are (n+2)Cn+1 such decorated triangulations. Then there is a simple bijection between these two
kinds of decorated triangulations: We can either collapse the triangle in Q whose side is marked, or in reverse
expand the oriented edge in P to a triangle and mark its new side. Thus

The binomial formula for Cn follows immediately from this relation and the initial condition C1 = 1.

Fifth proof
This proof is based on the Dyck words interpretation of the Catalan numbers, so Cn is the number of ways to
correctly match n pairs of brackets. We denote a (possibly empty) correct string with c and its inverse (where "[" and
"]" are exchanged) with c+. Since any c can be uniquely decomposed into c = [ c1 ] c2, summing over the possible
spots to place the closing bracket immediately gives the recursive definition

Now let b stand for a balanced string of length 2n containing an equal number of "[" and "]" and
with some factor dn ≥ 1. As above, any balanced string can be uniquely decomposed into

either [ c ] b or ] c+[b, so

Catalan number 46

Also, any incorrect balanced string starts with c ], so

Subtracting the above equations and using Bi = di Ci gives

Comparing coefficients with the original recursion formula for Cn gives di = i + 1, so

Hankel matrix
The n×n Hankel matrix whose (i, j) entry is the Catalan number Ci+j−2 has determinant 1, regardless of the value of
n. For example, for n = 4 we have

Note that if the entries are "shifted", namely the Catalan numbers Ci+j−1, the determinant is still 1, regardless of the
size of n. For example, for n = 4 we have

The Catalan numbers form the unique sequence with this property.

Quadruple factorial
The quadruple factorial is given by , or . This is the solution to labelled variants of the above

combinatorics problems. It is entirely distinct from the multifactorials.

History
The Catalan sequence was first described in the 18th century by Leonhard Euler, who was interested in the number
of different ways of dividing a polygon into triangles. The sequence is named after Eugène Charles Catalan, who
discovered the connection to parenthesized expressions during his exploration of the Towers of Hanoi puzzle. The
counting trick for Dyck words was found by D. André in 1887.
Catalan number 47

Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000108
[2] Kim, K. H.; Roush, F. W. (1978), "Enumeration of isomorphism classes of semiorders", Journal of Combinatorics, Information &System
Sciences 3 (2): 58–61, MR538212.
[3] Renault, Marc, Lost (and found) in translation: André's actual method and its application to the generalized ballot problem. Amer. Math.
Monthly 115 (2008), no. 4, 358--363. (http:/ / webspace. ship. edu/ msrenault/ ballotproblem/ monthly358-363-renault. pdf)

References
• Conway and Guy, The Book of Numbers. New York: Copernicus, pp. 96–106, 1996.
• Koshy, Thomas (2008), Catalan Numbers with Applications (http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Koshy/e/
B001H6NZT4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-1953-3454-X
• Gardner, Martin (1988), Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments, New York: W.H. Freeman and
Company, pp. 253–266 (Ch. 20), ISBN 0-7167-1924-X
• Stanley, Richard P. (1999), Enumerative combinatorics. Vol. 2 (http://www-math.mit.edu/~rstan/ec/),
Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics, 62, Cambridge University Press, MR1676282,
ISBN 978-0-521-56069-6; 978-0-521-78987-5

External links
• Stanley, Richard P. (1998) (PDF), Catalan addendum to Enumerative Combinatorics, Volume 2 (http://
www-math.mit.edu/~rstan/ec/catadd.pdf)
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Catalan Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CatalanNumber.html)" from
MathWorld.
• (sequence A000108 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeis:a000108) in OEIS)
• Dickau, Robert M.: Catalan numbers (http://mathforum.org/advanced/robertd/catalan.html) Further examples.
• Davis, Tom: Catalan numbers (http://mathcircle.berkeley.edu/BMC6/pdf0607/catalan.pdf). Still more
examples.
• Schmidthammer, Jürgen: Catalan-Zahlen (http://www.bnv-bamberg.de/home/ba2636/catalanz.pdf)
Zulassungsarbeit zum Staatsexamen (PDF-File; 7,05 MB)
• Catalan Number Calculator (http://nitrxgen.net/catalan.php): computes Catalan numbers up to 200,000!.
• "Equivalence of Three Catalan Number Interpretations" from The Wolfram Demonstrations Project (http://
demonstrations.wolfram.com/EquivalenceOfThreeCatalanNumberInterpretations/)
Composite number 48

Composite number
A composite number is a positive integer which has a positive divisor other than one or itself. In other words, if
n > 0 is an integer and there are integers 1 < a, b < n such that n = a × b, then n is composite. By definition, every
integer greater than one is either a prime number or a composite number. The number one is a unit – it is neither
prime nor composite. For example, the integer 14 is a composite number because it can be factored as 2 × 7.
Likewise, the integers 2 and 3 are not composite numbers because each of them can only be divided by one and
itself.
The first 105 composite numbers (sequence A002808 [1] in OEIS) are
4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46,
48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 84,
85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 102, 104, 105, 106, 108, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116,
117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 140.
Every composite number can be written as the product of two or more (not necessarily distinct) primes; furthermore,
this representation is unique up to the order of the factors. This is called the fundamental theorem of arithmetic.
Wilson's theorem provides a test for whether a number is prime or composite:

Types of composite numbers

One way to classify composite numbers is by counting the number of prime factors. A composite number with two
prime factors is a semiprime or 2-almost prime (the factors need not be distinct, hence squares of primes are
included). A composite number with three distinct prime factors is a sphenic number. In some applications, it is
necessary to differentiate between composite numbers with an odd number of distinct prime factors and those with
an even number of distinct prime factors. For the latter

(where μ is the Möbius function and x is half the total of prime factors), while for the former

Note however that for prime numbers the function also returns -1, and that . For a number n with one or
more repeated prime factors, .
If all the prime factors of a number are repeated it is called a powerful number. If none of its prime factors are
repeated, it is called squarefree. (All prime numbers and 1 are squarefree.)
Another way to classify composite numbers is by counting the number of divisors. All composite numbers have at
least three divisors. In the case of squares of primes, those divisors are . A number n that has more
divisors than any x < n is a highly composite number (though the first two such numbers are 1 and 2).
Composite number 49

External links
• Java applet: Factorization using the Elliptic Curve Method to find very large composites [2]
• Lists of composites with prime factorization (first 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, and 1,000,000) [3]
• Divisor Plot (patterns found in large composite numbers) [4]

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002808
[2] http:/ / www. alpertron. com. ar/ ECM. HTM
[3] http:/ / naturalnumbers. org/ composites. html
[4] http:/ / www. divisorplot. com/ index. html

Deficient number
In mathematics, a deficient number or defective number is a number n for which σ(n) < 2n. Here σ(n) is the
sum-of-divisors function: the sum of all positive divisors of n, including n itself. An equivalent definition is that the
sum of all proper divisors of the number (divisors other than the number itself) is less than the number. The value
2n − σ(n) is called the deficiency of n.
The first few deficient numbers are:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, … (sequence A005100 [1] in OEIS)
As an example, consider the number 21. Its divisors are 1, 3, 7 and 21, and their sum is 32. Because 32 is less than
2 × 21, the number 21 is deficient. Its deficiency is 2 × 21 − 32 = 10.
An infinite number of both even and odd deficient numbers exist. For example, all odd numbers with one or two
distinct prime factors, and all proper divisors of deficient or perfect numbers are deficient.
Closely related to deficient numbers are perfect numbers with σ(n) = 2n, and abundant numbers with σ(n) > 2n. The
natural numbers were first classified as either deficient, perfect or abundant by Nicomachus in his Introductio
Arithmetica (circa 100).

External links
• The Prime Glossary: Deficient number [2]
• Weisstein, Eric W., "Deficient Number [3]" from MathWorld.
• deficient number [4] at PlanetMath.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa005100
[2] http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ glossary/ page. php?sort=DeficientNumber
[3] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ DeficientNumber. html
[4] http:/ / planetmath. org/ encyclopedia/ DeficientNumber. html
Euler numbers 50

Euler numbers
In the area of number theory, the Euler numbers are a sequence En of integers defined by the following Taylor
series expansion:

where cosh t is the hyperbolic cosine. The Euler numbers appear as a special value of the Euler polynomials.
[1]
The odd-indexed Euler numbers are all zero. The even-indexed ones (sequence A028296 in OEIS) have
alternating signs. Some values are:
E0 = 1
E2 = −1
E4 = 5
E6 = −61
E8 = 1,385
E10 = −50,521
E12 = 2,702,765
E14 = −199,360,981
E16 = 19,391,512,145
E18 = −2,404,879,675,441
Some authors re-index the sequence in order to omit the odd-numbered Euler numbers with value zero, and/or
change all signs to positive. This encyclopedia adheres to the convention adopted above.
The Euler numbers appear in the Taylor series expansions of the secant and hyperbolic secant functions. The latter is
the function in the definition. They also occur in combinatorics; see alternating permutation.

Explicit formula
An explicit formula for Euler numbers is given by[2] :

Asymptotic approximation
The Euler numbers grow quite rapidly for large indices as they have the following lower bound
Euler numbers 51

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa028296
[2] Ross Tang, "An Explicit Formula for the Euler zigzag numbers (Up/down numbers) from power series" (http:/ / www. voofie. com/ content/
117/ an-explicit-formula-for-the-euler-zigzag-numbers-updown-numbers-from-power-series/ )

External links
• Euler number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/EulerNumber.html) from MathWorld.
• The first 1000 Euler numbers (http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/euler10.txt) from Project Gutenberg
• Sequence A028296 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeis:a028296) from On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer
Sequences

Even and odd numbers

In mathematics, the parity of an object states whether it is even or odd.
This concept begins with integers. An even number is an integer that is "evenly divisible" by 2, i.e., divisible by 2
without remainder; an odd number is an integer that is not evenly divisible by 2. (The old-fashioned term "evenly
divisible" is now almost always shortened to "divisible".) A formal definition of an odd number is that it is an integer
of the form n = 2k + 1, where k is an integer. An even number has the form n = 2k where k is an integer.
Examples of even numbers are −4, 8, and 1728. Examples of odd numbers are −5, 9, 3, and 71. This classification
only applies to integers, i.e., a fractional number like 1/2 or 4.201 is neither even nor odd.
The sets of even and odd numbers can be defined as following:
• Even =
• Odd =
A number (i.e., integer) expressed in the decimal numeral system is even or odd according to whether its last digit is
even or odd. That is, if the last digit is 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9, then it's odd; otherwise it's even. The same idea will work
using any even base. In particular, a number expressed in the binary numeral system is odd if its last digit is 1 and
even if its last digit is 0. In an odd base, the number is even according to the sum of its digits – it is even if and only
if the sum of its digits is even.

Arithmetic on even and odd numbers

The following laws can be verified using the properties of divisibility. They are a special case of rules in modular
arithmetic, and are commonly used to check if an equality is likely to be correct by testing the parity of each side. As
with ordinary arithmetic, multiplication and addition are commutative and associative, and multiplication is
distibutive over addition. However, subtraction in parity is identical to addition, so subtraction also possesses these
properties (which are absent from ordinary arithmetic).
Even and odd numbers 52

Addition and subtraction

• even ± even = even;
• even ± odd = odd;
• odd ± odd = even;
Rules analogous to these for divisibility by 9 are used in the method of casting out nines.

Division
The division of two whole numbers does not necessarily result in a whole number. For example, 1 divided by 4
equals 1/4, which is neither even nor odd, since the concepts even and odd apply only to integers. But when the
quotient is an integer, it will be even if and only if the dividend has more factors of two than the divisor.

History
The ancient Greeks considered 1 to be neither fully odd nor fully even. Some of this sentiment survived into the 19th
century: Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel's 1826 The Education of Man instructs the teacher to drill students with
the claim that 1 is neither even nor odd, to which Fröbel attaches the philosophical afterthought,
It is well to direct the pupil's attention here at once to a great far-reaching law of nature and of thought. It is
this, that between two relatively different things or ideas there stands always a third, in a sort of balance,
seeming to unite the two. Thus, there is here between odd and even numbers one number (one) which is
neither of the two. Similarly, in form, the right angle stands between the acute and obtuse angles; and in
language, the semi-vowels or aspirants between the mutes and vowels. A thoughtful teacher and a pupil taught
to think for himself can scarcely help noticing this and other important laws.

Music theory
In wind instruments which are cylindrical and in effect closed at one end, such as the clarinet at the mouthpiece, the
harmonics produced are odd multiples of the fundamental frequency. (With cylindrical pipes open at both ends, used
for example in some organ stops such as the open diapason, the harmonics are even multiples of the same frequency,
but this is the same as being all multiples of double the frequency and is usually perceived as such.) See harmonic
series (music).

Higher mathematics
The even numbers form an ideal in the ring of integers, but the odd numbers do not — this is clear from the fact that
the identity element for addition, zero, is an element of the even numbers only. An integer is even if it is congruent to
0 modulo this ideal, in other words if it is congruent to 0 modulo 2, and odd if it is congruent to 1 modulo 2.
All prime numbers are odd, with one exception: the prime number 2. All known perfect numbers are even; it is
unknown whether any odd perfect numbers exist.
The squares of all even numbers are even, and the squares of all odd numbers are odd. Since an even number can be
expressed as 2x, (2x)2 = 4x2 which is even. Since an odd number can be expressed as 2x + 1, (2x + 1)2 = 4x2 + 4x +
1. 4x2 and 4x are even, which means that 4x2 + 4x + 1 is odd (since even + odd = odd).
Goldbach's conjecture states that every even integer greater than 2 can be represented as a sum of two prime
numbers. Modern computer calculations have shown this conjecture to be true for integers up to at least 4 × 1014, but
still no general proof has been found.
The Feit–Thompson theorem states that a finite group is always solvable if its order is an odd number. This is an
example of odd numbers playing a role in an advanced mathematical theorem where the method of application of the
simple hypothesis of "odd order" is far from obvious.
Even and odd numbers 53

Parity for other objects

Rubik's Revenge in solved state

a b c d e f g h

8 8

7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

a b c d e f g h

The two light bishops are confined to squares of opposite parity; the dark knight can only jump to squares of
alternating parity.
Parity is also used to refer to a number of other properties.
• The parity of a permutation (as defined in abstract algebra) is the parity of the number of transpositions into
which the permutation can be decomposed. For example (ABC) to (BCA) is even because it can be done by
swapping A and B then C and A (two transpositions). It can be shown that no permutation can be decomposed
both in an even and in an odd number of transpositions. Hence the above is a suitable definition. In Rubik's
Revenge, Square-1, and other twisty puzzles, the moves of the puzzle allow only even permutations of the puzzle
pieces, so parity is important in understanding the configuration space of these puzzles.
• The parity of a function describes how its values change when its arguments are exchanged with their negations.
An even function, such as an even power of a variable, gives the same result for any argument as for its negation.
An odd function, such as an odd power of a variable, gives for any argument the negation of its result when given
the negation of that argument. It is possible for a function to be neither odd nor even, and for the case f(x) = 0, to
be both odd and even.
• Integer coordinates of points in Euclidean spaces of two or more dimensions also have a parity, usually defined as
the parity of the sum of the coordinates. For instance, the checkerboard lattice contains all integer points of even
parity. This feature manifests itself in chess, as bishops are constrained to squares of the same parity; knights
alternate parity between moves. This form of parity was famously used to solve the Mutilated chessboard
problem.
Factorial 54

Factorial
n n!

0 1

1 1

2 2

3 6

4 24

5 120

6 720

7 5040

8 40320

9 362880

10 3628800

15 1307674368000

20 2432902008176640000

25 1.5511210043 × 1025

50 3.0414093202 × 1064

70 1.1978571670 × 10100

100 9.3326215444 × 10157

171 1.2410180702 × 10309

450 1.7333687331 × 101000

1000 4.0238726008 × 102567

3249 6.4123376883 × 1010000

10000 2.8462596809 × 1035659

25206 1.2057034382 × 10100000

100000 2.8242294080 × 10456573

205023 2.5038989317 × 101000004

1000000 8.2639316883 × 105565708

1.0248383838 × 1098 101.0000000000 × 10100

1.0000000000 × 10100 109.9565705518 × 10101

1.7976931349 × 10308 105.5336665775 × 10310

[1]
The first few and selected larger members of the sequence of factorials (sequence A000142 in OEIS). The values specified in
scientific notation are rounded to the displayed precision.
Factorial 55

In mathematics, the factorial of a positive integer n,[2] denoted by n!, is the product of all positive integers less than
or equal to n. For example,

0! is a special case that is explicitly defined to be 1.[2]

The factorial operation is encountered in many different areas of mathematics, notably in combinatorics, algebra and
mathematical analysis. Its most basic occurrence is the fact that there are n! ways to arrange n distinct objects into a
sequence (i.e., permutations of the set of objects). This fact was known at least as early as the 12th century, to Indian
scholars.[3] The notation n! was introduced by Christian Kramp in 1808.[4]
The definition of the factorial function can also be extended to non-integer arguments, while retaining its most
important properties; this involves more advanced mathematics, notably techniques from mathematical analysis.

Definition
The factorial function is formally defined by

or recursively defined by

Both of the above definitions incorporate the instance

in the first case by the convention that the product of no numbers at all is 1. This is useful because:
• There is exactly one permutation of zero objects (with nothing to permute, "everything" is left in place).
• The recurrence relation (n + 1)! = n! × (n + 1), valid for n > 0, extends to n = 0.
• It allows for the expression of many formulas, like the exponential function as a power series:

• It makes many identities in combinatorics valid for all applicable sizes. The number of ways to choose 0 elements
from the empty set is . More generally, the number of ways to choose (all) n elements among a
set of n is .
The factorial function can also be defined for non-integer values using more advanced mathematics, detailed in the
section below. This more generalized definition is used by advanced calculators and mathematical software such as
Maple or Mathematica.

Applications
Although the factorial function has its roots in combinatorics, formulas involving factorials occur in many areas of
mathematics.
• There are n! different ways of arranging n distinct objects into a sequence, the permutations of those objects.
• Often factorials appear in the denominator of a formula to account for the fact that ordering is to be ignored. A
classical example is counting k-combinations (subsets of k elements) from a set with n elements. One can obtain
such a combination by choosing a k-permutation: successively selecting and removing an element of the set, k
times, for a total of
Factorial 56

possibilities. This however produces the k-combinations in a particular order that one wishes to ignore; since
each k-combination is obtained in k! different ways, the correct number of k-combinations is

This number is known as the binomial coefficient , because it is also the coefficient of Xk in (1 + X)n.
• Factorials occur in algebra for various reasons, such as via the already mentioned coefficients of the binomial
formula, or through averaging over permutations for symmetrization of certain operations.
• Factorials also turn up in calculus; for example they occur in the denominators of the terms of Taylor's formula,
basically to compensate for the fact that the nth derivative of xn is n!.
• Factorials are also used extensively in probability theory.
• Factorials can be useful to facilitate expression manipulation. For instance the number of k-permutations of n can
be written as

while this is inefficient as a means to compute that number, it may serve to prove a symmetry property of
binomial coefficients:

Number theory
Factorials have many applications in number theory. In particular, n! is necessarily divisible by all prime numbers up
to and including n. As a consequence, n > 5 is a composite number if and only if

A stronger result is Wilson's theorem, which states that

if and only if p is prime.

Adrien-Marie Legendre found that the multiplicity of the prime p occurring in the prime factorization of n! can be
expressed exactly as

This fact is based on counting the number of factors p of the integers from 1 to n. The number of multiples of p in
the numbers 1 to n are given by ; however, this formula counts those numbers with two factors of p only once.

Hence another factors of p must be counted too. Similarly for three, four, five factors, to infinity. The sum is

finite since p i can only be less than or equal to n for finitely many values of i, and the floor function results in 0
when applied for p i > n.
The only factorial that is also a prime number is 2, but there are many primes of the form n! ± 1, called factorial
primes.
All factorials greater than 0! and 1! are even, as they are all multiples of 2. Also, all factorials greater than 5! are
multiples of 10 (and hence have a zero as their final digit), because they are multiples of 5 and 2.
Also note that the reciprocals of factorials produce a convergent series: (see e)
Factorial 57

Rate of growth
As n grows, the factorial n! becomes larger
than all polynomials and exponential
functions (but slower than double
exponential functions) in n.
Most approximations for n! are based on
approximating its natural logarithm

Plot of the natural logarithm of the factorial

The graph of the function f(n)=log n! is shown in the figure on the right. It looks approximately linear for all
reasonable values of n, but this intuition is false. We get one of the simplest approximations for log n! by bounding
the sum with an integral from above and below as follows:

which gives us the estimate

Hence log n! is Θ(n log n). This result plays a key role in the analysis of the computational complexity of sorting
algorithms (see comparison sort).
From the bounds on log n! deduced above we get that

It is sometimes practical to use weaker but simpler estimates. Using the above formula it is easily shown that for all
n we have , and for all we have .
For large n we get a better estimate for the number n! using Stirling's approximation:

In fact, it can be proved that for all n we have

A much better approximation for log n! was given by Srinivasa Ramanujan (Ramanujan 1988)
Factorial 58

Computation
Computing factorials is trivial from an algorithmic point of view: successively multiplying a variable initialized to 1
by the integers 2 up to n (if any) will compute n!, provided the result fits in the variable. Interestingly, the factorial is
often used as an example to illustrate recursive functions, while it is not intrinsically any more or less recursive
(from a mathematical or computational point of view) than for instance a function computing the sum of the first n
terms of a given sequence of numbers.
The main difficulty in computing factorials is the size of the result. To assure that the result will fit for all legal
values of even the smallest commonly used integral type (8-bit signed integers) would require more than 700 bits, so
no reasonable specification of a factorial function using fixed-size types can avoid questions of overflow. The values
12! and 20! are the largest factorials that can be stored in, respectively, the 32 bit and 64 bit integers commonly used
in personal computers. Although floating point representation of the result allows going a bit further, it remains quite
limited by possible overflow. The largest factorial that most calculators can handle is 69!, because 69! < 10100 < 70!.
Calculators that use 3-digit exponents can compute larger factorials, up to, for example, 253! ≈ 5.2×10499 on HP
calculators and 449! ≈ 3.9×10997 on the TI-86. The calculator seen in Mac OS X, Microsoft Excel and Google
Calculator, as well as the freeware Fox Calculator, can handle factorials up to 170!, which is the largest factorial that
can be represented as a 64-bit IEEE 754 floating-point value. The scientific calculator in Windows XP is able to
calculate factorials up to at least 100000!. Most software applications will compute small factorials by direct
multiplication or table lookup. Larger factorial values can be approximated using Stirling's formula.
Wolfram Alpha can calculate exact results for the ceiling function and floor function applied to the binary, natural
and common logarithm of n! for values of n up to 249999, and up to 20,000,000! for the Integers.
If very large exact factorials are needed, they can be computed using bignum arithmetic. In such computations speed
may be gained by not sequentially multiplying the numbers up to (or down from) n into a single accumulator, but by
partitioning the sequence so that the products for each of the two parts are approximately of the same size, compute
those products recursively and then multiply.
The asymptotically-best efficiency is obtained by computing n! from its prime factorization. As documented by Peter
Borwein, prime factorization allows n! to be computed in time O(n(log n log log n)2), provided that a fast
multiplication algorithm is used (for example, the Schönhage–Strassen algorithm).[5] Peter Luschny presents source
code and benchmarks for several efficient factorial algorithms, with or without the use of a prime sieve.[6]
Factorial 59

Extension of factorial to non-integer values of argument

The Gamma and Pi functions

Besides nonnegative integers, the
factorial function can also be defined
for non-integer values, but this requires
more advanced tools from
mathematical analysis. One function
that "fills in" the values of the factorial
(but with a shift of 1 in the argument)
is called the Gamma function, denoted
Γ(z), defined for all complex numbers
z except the non-positive integers, and
given when the real part of z is positive
by

The factorial function, generalized to all complex numbers except negative integers. For
example, 0! = 1! = 1, (−0.5)! = √π, (0.5)! = √π/2.

Its relation to the factorials is that for any natural number n

Euler's original formula for the Gamma function was

It is worth mentioning that there is an alternative notation that was originally introduced by Gauss which is
sometimes used. The Pi function, denoted Π(z) for real numbers z no less than 0, is defined by

In terms of the Gamma function it is

It truly extends the factorial in that

In addition to this, the Pi function satisfies the same recurrence as factorials do, but at every complex value z where it
is defined

In fact, this is no longer a recurrence relation but a functional equation. Expressed in terms of the Gamma function
this functional equation takes the form
Factorial 60

Since the factorial is extended by the Pi function, for every complex value z where it is defined, we can write:

The values of these functions at half-integer values is therefore determined by a single one of them; one has

from which it follows that for n ∈ N,

For example,

It also follows that for n ∈ N,

For example,

The Pi function is certainly not the only way to extend factorials to a function defined at almost all complex values,
and not even the only one that is analytic wherever it is defined. Nonetheless it is usually considered the most natural
way to extend the values of the factorials to a complex function. For instance, the Bohr–Mollerup theorem states that
the Gamma function is the only function that takes the value 1 at 1, satisfies the functional equation Γ(n + 1) = nΓ(n),
is meromorphic on the complex numbers, and is log-convex on the positive real axis. A similar statement holds for
the Pi function as well, using the Π(n) = nΠ(n − 1) functional equation.
However, there exist complex functions that are probably simpler in the sense of analytic function theory and which
interpolate the factorial values. For example, Hadamard's 'Gamma'-function (Hadamard 1894) which, unlike the
Gamma function, is an entire function.[7]
Euler also developed a convergent product approximation for the non-integer factorials, which can be seen to be
equivalent to the formula for the Gamma function above:

However, this formula does not provide a practical means of computing the Pi or Gamma function, as its rate of
convergence is slow.
Factorial 61

Applications of the gamma function

The volume of an n-dimensional hypersphere of radius R is

Factorial at the complex plane

Amplitude and phase of factorial of complex argument.

Representation through the Gamma-function allows evaluation of factorial of complex argument. Equilines of
amplitude and phase of factorial are shown in figure. Let .
Several levels of constant modulus (amplitude) and constant phase are shown. The grid
covers range , with unit step. The scratched line shows the level .
Thin lines show intermediate levels of constant modulus and constant phase. At poles
, phase and amplitude are not defined. Equilines are dense in vicinity of
singularities along negative integer values of the argument.
For , the Taylor expansions can be used:

The first coefficients of this expansion are

Factorial 62

approximation

where is the Euler constant and is the Riemann zeta function. Computer algebra systems such as Sage
(mathematics software) can generate many terms of this expansion.

Approximations of factorial
For the large values of the argument, factorial can be approximated through the integral of the digamma function,
using the continued fraction representation. This approach is due to T. J. Stieltjes (1894). Writing z! = exp(P(z))
where P(z) is

Stieltjes gave a continued fraction for p(z)

The first few coefficients an are [8]

n an

0 1 / 12

1 1 / 30

2 53 / 210

3 195 / 371

4 22999 / 22737

5 29944523 / 19773142

6 109535241009 / 48264275462

There is common misconception, that or for any complex z ≠ 0.

Indeed, the relation through the logarithm is valid only for specific range of values of z in vicinity of the real axis,
while . The larger is the real part of the argument, the smaller should be the imaginary part.
However, the inverse relation, z! = exp(P(z)), is valid for the whole complex plane apart from zero. The convergence
is poor in vicinity of the negative part of the real axis. (It is difficult to have good convergence of any approximation
in vicinity of the singularities). While or , the 6 coefficients above are sufficient for the
evaluation of the factorial with the complex<double> precision. For higher precision more coefficients can be
computed by a rational QD-scheme (H. Rutishauser's QD algorithm).[9]
Factorial 63

Non-extendability to negative integers

The relation n ! = (n − 1)! × n allows one to compute the factorial for an integer given the factorial for a smaller
integer. The relation can be inverted so that one can compute the factorial for an integer given the factorial for a
larger integer:

Note, however, that this recursion does not permit us to compute the factorial of a negative integer; use of the
formula to compute (−1)! would require a division by zero, and thus blocks us from computing a factorial value for
every negative integer. (Similarly, the Gamma function is not defined for non-positive integers, though it is defined
for all other complex numbers.)

Factorial-like products and functions

There are several other integer sequences similar to the factorial that are used in mathematics:

Primorial
[10]
The primorial (sequence A002110 in OEIS) is similar to the factorial, but with the product taken only over the
prime numbers.

Double factorial
A function related to the factorial is the product of all odd values up to some odd positive integer n. It is often called
double factorial (even though it only involves about half the factors of the ordinary factorial, and its value is
therefore closer to the square root of the factorial), and denoted by n!!.
For an odd positive integer n = 2k - 1, k ≥ 1, it is

For example, 9!! = 1 × 3 × 5 × 7 × 9 = 945. This notation creates a notational ambiguity with the composition of the
factorial function with itself (which for n > 2 gives much larger numbers than the double factorial); this may be
justified by the fact that composition arises very seldom in practice, and could be denoted by (n!)! to circumvent the
ambiguity. The double factorial notation is not essential; it can be expressed in terms of the ordinary factorial by

since the denominator equals and cancels the unwanted even factors from the numerator. The introduction of

the double factorial is motivated by the fact that it occurs rather frequently in combinatorial and other settings, for
instance
• (2n − 1)!! is the number of permutations of 2n whose cycle type consists of n parts equal to 2; these are the
involutions without fixed points.
• (2n − 1)!! is the number of perfect matchings in a complete graph K(2n).
• (2n − 5)!! is the number of unrooted binary trees with n labeled leaves.
• The value is equal to (see above)
Sometimes n!! is defined for non-negative even numbers as well. One choice is a definition similar to the one for odd
values
Factorial 64

For example, with this definition, 8!! = 2 × 4 × 6 × 8 = 384. However, note that this definition does not match the
expression above, of the double factorial in terms of the ordinary factorial, and is also inconsistent with the extension
of the definition of to complex numbers that is achieved via the Gamma function as indicated below. Also,
for even numbers, the double factorial notation is hardly shorter than expressing the same value using ordinary
factorials. For combinatorial interpretations (the value gives, for instance, the size of the hyperoctahedral group), the
latter expression can be more informative (because the factor 2n is the order of the kernel of a projection to the
symmetric group). Even though the formulas for the odd and even double factorials can be easily combined into

the only known interpretation for the sequence of all these numbers (sequence A006882 [11] in OEIS) is somewhat
artificial: the number of down-up permutations of a set of n + 1 elements for which the entries in the even positions
are increasing.
The sequence of double factorials for n = 1, 3, 5, 7, ... (sequence A001147 [12] in OEIS) starts as
1, 3, 15, 105, 945, 10395, 135135, ....
Some identities involving double factorials are:

Alternative extension of the double factorial

Disregarding the above definition of n!! for even values of n, the double factorial for odd integers can be extended to
most real and complex numbers z by noting that when z is a positive odd integer then

The expressions obtained by taking one of the above formulas for and and expressing the
occurring factorials in terms of the gamma function can both be seen (using the multiplication theorem) to be
equivalent to the one given here.
The expression found for z!! is defined for all complex numbers except the negative even numbers. Using it as the
definition, the volume of an n-dimensional hypersphere of radius R can be expressed as

Multifactorials
A common related notation is to use multiple exclamation points to denote a multifactorial, the product of integers
in steps of two ( ), three ( ), or more. The double factorial is the most commonly used variant, but one can
similarly define the triple factorial ( ) and so on. One can define the kth factorial, denoted by , recursively
for non-negative integers as

though see the alternative definition below.

Some mathematicians have suggested an alternative notation of for the double factorial and similarly for
other multifactorials, but this has not come into general use.
Factorial 65

With the above definition,

In the same way that is not defined for negative integers, and is not defined for negative even integers,
is not defined for negative integers evenly divisible by .

Alternative extension of the multifactorial

Alternatively, the multifactorial z!(k) can be extended to most real and complex numbers z by noting that when z is
one more than a positive multiple of k then

This last expression is defined much more broadly than the original; with this definition, z!(k) is defined for all
complex numbers except the negative real numbers evenly divisible by k. This definition is consistent with the
earlier definition only for those integers z satisfying z ≡ 1 mod k.
In addition to extending z!(k) to most complex numbers z, this definition has the feature of working for all positive
real values of k. Furthermore, when k = 1, this definition is mathematically equivalent to the Π(z) function, described
above. Also, when k = 2, this definition is mathematically equivalent to the alternative extension of the double
factorial, described above.

Quadruple factorial
The so-called quadruple factorial, however, is not the multifactorial n!(4); it is a much larger number given
by (2n)!/n!, starting as
1, 2, 12, 120, 1680, 30240, 665280, ... (sequence A001813 [13] in OEIS).
It is also equal to

Superfactorial
Neil Sloane and Simon Plouffe defined the superfactorial in 1995 as the product of the first factorials. So the
superfactorial of 4 is

In general

Equivalently, the superfactorial is given by the formula

which is the determinant of a Vandermonde matrix.

The sequence of superfactorials starts (from ) as
1, 1, 2, 12, 288, 34560, 24883200, ... (sequence A000178 [14] in OEIS)
Factorial 66

Alternative definition
Clifford Pickover in his 1995 book Keys to Infinity used a new notation, n$, to define the superfactorial

or as,

where the (4) notation denotes the hyper4 operator, or using Knuth's up-arrow notation,

This sequence of superfactorials starts:

Here, as is usual for compound exponentiation, the grouping is understood to be from right to left:

Hyperfactorial
Occasionally the hyperfactorial of n is considered. It is written as H(n) and defined by

For n = 1, 2, 3, 4, ... the values H(n) are 1, 4, 108, 27648,... (sequence A002109 [15] in OEIS).
The asymptotic growth rate is

where A = 1.2824... is the Glaisher–Kinkelin constant.[16] H(14) = 1.8474...×1099 is already almost equal to a

googol, and H(15) = 8.0896...×10116 is almost of the same magnitude as the Shannon number, the theoretical number
of possible chess games. Compared to the Pickover definition of the superfactorial, the hyperfactorial grows
relatively slowly.
The hyperfactorial function can be generalized to complex numbers in a similar way as the factorial function. The
resulting function is called the K-function.

Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000142
[2] Weisstein, Eric W., " Factorial (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Factorial. html)" from MathWorld.
[3] N. L. Biggs, The roots of combinatorics, Historia Math. 6 (1979) 109−136
[4] Higgins, Peter (2008), Number Story: From Counting to Cryptography, New York: Copernicus, p. 12, ISBN 978-1-84800-000-1 says Krempe
though.
[5] Peter Borwein. "On the Complexity of Calculating Factorials". Journal of Algorithms 6, 376–380 (1985)
[6] Peter Luschny, Fast-Factorial-Functions: The Homepage of Factorial Algorithms (http:/ / www. luschny. de/ math/ factorial/
FastFactorialFunctions. htm).
[7] Peter Luschny, Hadamard versus Euler - Who found the better Gamma function? (http:/ / www. luschny. de/ math/ factorial/ hadamard/
HadamardsGammaFunction. html).
[8] Digital Library of Mathematical Functions, http:/ / dlmf. nist. gov/ 5. 10
[9] Peter Luschny, On Stieltjes' Continued Fraction for the Gamma Function. (http:/ / www. luschny. de/ math/ factorial/ approx/
continuedfraction. html).
[10] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002110
[11] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa006882
Factorial 67

[12] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001147

[13] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001813
[14] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000178
[15] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002109
[16] Weisstein, Eric W., " Glaisher–Kinkelin Constant (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Glaisher-KinkelinConstant. html)" from MathWorld.

References
• Hadamard, M. J. (1894) (in French), Sur L’Expression Du Produit 1·2·3· · · · ·(n−1) Par Une Fonction Entière
(http://www.luschny.de/math/factorial/hadamard/HadamardFactorial.pdf), OEuvres de Jacques Hadamard,
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifiques, Paris, 1968
• Ramanujan, Srinivasa (1988), The lost notebook and other unpublished papers, Springer Berlin, p. 339,
ISBN 354018726X

External links
• Approximation formulas (http://www.luschny.de/math/factorial/approx/SimpleCases.html)
• All about factorial notation n! (http://factorielle.free.fr/index_en.html)
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Factorial (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Factorial.html)" from MathWorld.
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Double factorial (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DoubleFactorial.html)" from
MathWorld.
• Factorial (http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/Factorial.html) at PlanetMath.
• "Double Factorial Derivations" (http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5606124/
Double-Factorials-Selected-Proofs-and-Notes)
Factorial calculators and algorithms
• Factorial Calculator (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~chen165/Math.htm): instantly finds factorials up to 10^14!
• Animated Factorial Calculator (http://www.gfredericks.com/main/sandbox/arith/factorial): shows factorials
calculated as if by hand using common elementary school aglorithms
• "Factorial" (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/Factorial/) by Ed Pegg, Jr. and Rob Morris, Wolfram
Demonstrations Project, 2007.
• Fast Factorial Functions (with source code in Java, C#, C++, Scala and Go) (http://www.luschny.de/math/
factorial/FastFactorialFunctions.htm)
Fibonacci number 68

Fibonacci number
In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the
following integer sequence:

A tiling with squares whose sides are successive

Fibonacci numbers in length

A yupana (Quechua for "counting tool") is a

calculator that was used by the Incas. Researchers
believe that calculations were based on Fibonacci
numbers to minimize the number of necessary
[1]
grains per field.

A Fibonacci spiral created by drawing arcs

connecting the opposite corners of squares in the
Fibonacci tiling; this one uses squares of sizes 1,
1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and 34; see Golden spiral

(sequence A000045 [2] in OEIS)

By definition, the first two Fibonacci numbers are 0 and 1, and each subsequent number is the sum of the previous
two. Some sources omit the initial 0, instead beginning the sequence with two 1s.
In mathematical terms, the sequence Fn of Fibonacci numbers is defined by the recurrence relation

with seed values

Fibonacci number 69

The Fibonacci sequence is named after Leonardo of Pisa, who was known as Fibonacci (a contraction of filius
Bonacci, "son of Bonaccio"). Fibonacci's 1202 book Liber Abaci introduced the sequence to Western European
mathematics, although the sequence was independently described in Indian mathematics and it is disputed which
came first.
Fibonacci numbers are used in the analysis of financial markets, in strategies such as Fibonacci retracement, and are
used in computer algorithms such as the Fibonacci search technique and the Fibonacci heap data structure. The
simple recursion of Fibonacci numbers has also inspired a family of recursive graphs called Fibonacci cubes for
interconnecting parallel and distributed systems. They also appear in biological settings,[3] such as branching in trees,
arrangement of leaves on a stem, the fruit spouts of a pineapple,[4] the flowering of artichoke, an uncurling fern and
the arrangement of a pine cone.[5]

Origins
The Fibonacci sequence was known in Indian mathematics independently of the West, but scholars differ on the
timing of its discovery. Susantha Goonatilake writes that "Its development is attributed in part to Pingala (200 BC),
later being associated with Virahanka (c. 700 AD), Gopāla (c.1135 AD), and Hemachandra (c.1150)."[6] Parmanand
Singh cites Pingala's contributions to the analysis of prosody, but writes that Virahanka was "the first authority who
explicitly gave the rule for the formation" of the Fibonacci numbers.[7] In contrast, Rachel Hall only mentions
Hemachandra among these authors as having worked with Fibonacci numbers; she claims that around 1150,
Hemachandra noticed that the number of possible rhythms followed the Fibonacci sequence.[8] According to Donald
Knuth, the motivation for the Indian study of these numbers came from Sanskrit prosody, where long syllables have
duration 2 and short syllables have duration 1. As Knuth observes, Pingala numbered the different sequences that
may be formed by these syllables, and Kedara (8th century AD) gave procedures for generating them all, but the
connection to the Fibonacci sequence comes more specifically from considering the sequences with a fixed total
duration, for which Knuth cites the anonymous Prakrta Paingala (c. 1320 AD). The number of sequences with
duration m is the Fibonacci number Fm + 1, and the techniques in Prakrta Paingala involve Fibonacci coding.[9]
In the West, the sequence was studied by Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, in his Liber Abaci (1202).[10] He
considers the growth of an idealized (biologically unrealistic) rabbit population, assuming that: a newly-born pair of
rabbits, one male, one female, are put in a field; rabbits are able to mate at the age of one month so that at the end of
its second month a female can produce another pair of rabbits; rabbits never die and a mating pair always produces
one new pair (one male, one female) every month from the second month on. The puzzle that Fibonacci posed was:
how many pairs will there be in one year?
• At the end of the first month, they mate, but there is still only 1 pair.
• At the end of the second month the female produces a new pair, so now there are 2 pairs of rabbits in the field.
• At the end of the third month, the original female produces a second pair, making 3 pairs in all in the field.
• At the end of the fourth month, the original female has produced yet another new pair, the female born two
months ago produces her first pair also, making 5 pairs.
At the end of the nth month, the number of pairs of rabbits is equal to the number of new pairs (which is the number
of pairs in month n-2) plus the number of pairs alive last month. This is the nth Fibonacci number.[11]
Fibonacci number 70

List of Fibonacci numbers

The first 50 Fibonacci numbers Fn for n = 0, 1, 2, ... ,49 are:[12] [13]

F0= 0 F1= 1 F2= 1 F3= 2 F4= 3

F5= 5 F6= 8 F7= 13 F8= 21 F9= 34

F10= 55 F11= 89 F12= 144 F13= 233 F14= 377

F15= 610 F16= 987 F17= 1,597 F18= 2,584 F19= 4,181

F20= 6,765 F21= 10,946 F22= 17,711 F23= 28,657 F24= 46,368

F25= 75,025 F26= 121,393 F27= 196,418 F28= 317,811 F29= 514,229

F30= 832,040 F31= 1,346,269 F32= 2,178,309 F33= 3,524,578 F34= 5,702,887

F35= 9,227,465 F36= 14,930,352 F37= 24,157,817 F38= 39,088,169 F39= 63,245,986

F40= 102,334,155 F41= 165,580,141 F42= 267,914,296 F43= 433,494,437 F44= 701,408,733

F45= 1,134,903,170 F46= 1,836,311,903 F47= 2,971,215,073 F48= 4,807,526,976 F49= 7,778,742,049

The sequence can also be extended to negative index n using the re-arranged recurrence relation

which yields the sequence of "negafibonacci" numbers satisfying

Thus the complete sequence is

Properties
Every 3rd number of the sequence is even and more generally, every kth number of the sequence is a multiple of Fk.
Thus the Fibonacci sequence is an example of a divisibility sequence. In fact, the Fibonacci sequence satisfies the
stronger divisibility property

The Fibonacci numbers are also an example of a complete sequence. This means that every positive integer can be
written as a sum of Fibonacci numbers, where any one number is used once at most.
Fibonacci number 71

Relation to the golden ratio

Closed-form expression
Like every sequence defined by linear
recurrence,[14] the Fibonacci numbers
have a closed-form solution. It has
become very well known as Binet's
formula, even though it was already
known by Abraham de Moivre:[15]

Approximate and true golden spirals. The green spiral is made from quarter-circles
tangent to the interior of each square, while the red spiral is a Golden Spiral, a special
type of logarithmic spiral. Overlapping portions appear yellow. The length of the side of
one square divided by that of the next smaller square is the golden ratio.

where

is the golden ratio (sequence A001622 [16] in OEIS).

That

follows from the defining equation above.

The Fibonacci recursion

is similar to the defining equation of the golden ratio in the form

which is also known as the generating polynomial of the recursion.

Fibonacci number 72

Computation by rounding

Since for all , the number is the closest integer to Therefore it

can be found by rounding, or in terms of the floor function:

Similarly, if we already know that the number F is a Fibonacci number, we can determine its index within the
sequence by

Limit of consecutive quotients

Johannes Kepler observed that the ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers converges. He wrote that "as 5 is to 8 so is
8 to 13, practically, and as 8 is to 13, so is 13 to 21 almost”, and concluded that the limit approaches the golden ratio
.[17]

This convergence does not depend on the starting values chosen, excluding 0, 0. For example, the initial values 19
and 31 generate the sequence 19, 31, 50, 81, 131, 212, 343, 555 ... etc. The ratio of consecutive terms in this
sequence shows the same convergence towards the golden ratio.
In general, we have:

Decomposition of powers of the golden ratio

Since the golden ratio satisfies the equation

this expression can be used to decompose higher powers as a linear function of lower powers, which in turn can
be decomposed all the way down to a linear combination of and 1. The resulting recurrence relationships yield
Fibonacci numbers as the linear coefficients:

This expression is also true for if the Fibonacci sequence is extended to negative integers using the
Fibonacci rule

Matrix form
A 2-dimensional system of linear difference equations that describes the Fibonacci sequence is

or

The eigenvalues of the matrix A are and , and the elements of the eigenvectors of A, and

, are in the ratios and Using these facts, and the properties of eigenvalues, we can derive a
Fibonacci number 73

direct formula for the nth element in the fibonacci series:

The matrix has a determinant of −1, and thus it is a 2×2 unimodular matrix. This property can be understood in terms
of the continued fraction representation for the golden ratio:

The Fibonacci numbers occur as the ratio of successive convergents of the continued fraction for , and the matrix
formed from successive convergents of any continued fraction has a determinant of +1 or −1.
The matrix representation gives the following closed expression for the Fibonacci numbers:

Taking the determinant of both sides of this equation yields Cassini's identity

Additionally, since for any square matrix A, the following identities can be derived:

In particular, with ,

For another way to derive the formulas see the "EWD note" by Dijkstra.[18]

Recognizing Fibonacci numbers

The question may arise whether a positive integer z is a Fibonacci number. Since is the closest integer to
, the most straightforward, brute-force test is the identity

which is true if and only if z is a Fibonacci number. In this formula, can be computed rapidly using any of the
previously discussed closed-form expressions.
Alternatively, a positive integer z is a Fibonacci number if and only if one of or is a perfect
[19]
square.
A slightly more sophisticated test uses the fact that the convergents of the continued fraction representation of are
ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers. That is the inequality

(with coprime positive integers p, q) is true if and only if p and q are successive Fibonacci numbers. From this one
derives the criterion that z is a Fibonacci number if and only if the closed interval
Fibonacci number 74

contains a positive integer.[20] For , it is easy to show that this interval contains at most one integer, and in
the event that z is a Fibonacci number, the contained integer is equal to the next successive Fibonacci number after z.
Somewhat remarkably, this result still holds for the case , but it must be stated carefully since appears
twice in the Fibonacci sequence, and thus has two distinct successors.

Identities
Most identities involving Fibonacci numbers draw from combinatorial
arguments. F(n) can be interpreted as the number of sequences of 1s
and 2s that sum to n − 1, with the convention that F(0) = 0, meaning no
sum will add up to −1, and that F(1) = 1, meaning the empty sum will
"add up" to 0. Here the order of the summands matters. For example, 1
+ 2 and 2 + 1 are considered two different sums and are counted twice.
This is discussed in further detail at Young–Fibonacci lattice.

The Young–Fibonacci graph, showing a

combinatorial interpretation of the Fibonacci
numbers.

First identity

For n > 1.
The nth Fibonacci number is the sum of the previous two Fibonacci numbers.

Second identity

The sum of the first n Fibonacci numbers is the (n + 2)nd Fibonacci number minus 1.

Third identity
This identity has slightly different forms for Fj, depending on whether j is odd or even.
The sum of the first n − 1 Fibonacci numbers, Fj, such that j is odd, is the (2n)th Fibonacci number.

The sum of the first n Fibonacci numbers, Fj, such that j is even, is the (2n + 1)th Fibonacci number minus 1.

[21]
Fibonacci number 75

Fourth identity

Fifth identity

The sum of the squares of the first n Fibonacci numbers is the product of the nth and (n + 1)th Fibonacci
numbers.

Identity for doubling n

[15]

Another identity
Another identity useful for calculating Fn for large values of n is[15]

from which other identities for specific values of k, n, and c can be derived below, including

for all integers n and k. Dijkstra[18] points out that doubling identities of this type can be used to calculate Fn using
O(log n) long multiplication operations of size n bits. The number of bits of precision needed to perform each
multiplication doubles at each step, so the performance is limited by the final multiplication; if the fast
Schönhage-Strassen multiplication algorithm is used, this is O(n log n log log n) bit operations. Notice that, with the
definition of Fibonacci numbers with negative n given in the introduction, this formula reduces to the double n
formula when k = 0.

Other identities
Other identities include relationships to the Lucas numbers, which have the same recursive properties but start with
L0 = 2 and L1 = 1. These properties include F2n = FnLn.
There are also scaling identities, which take you from Fn and Fn+1 to a variety of things of the form Fan+b; for
instance
by Cassini's identity.

These can be found experimentally using lattice reduction, and are useful in setting up the special number field sieve
to factorize a Fibonacci number. Such relations exist in a very general sense for numbers defined by recurrence
relations. See the section on multiplication formulae under Perrin numbers for details.
Fibonacci number 76

Power series
The generating function of the Fibonacci sequence is the power series

This series has a simple and interesting closed-form solution for

This solution can be proven by using the Fibonacci recurrence to expand each coefficient in the infinite sum defining
:

Solving the equation for results in the closed form solution.

In particular, math puzzle-books note the curious value ,[22] or more generally

for all integers .

Conversely,

Reciprocal sums
Infinite sums over reciprocal Fibonacci numbers can sometimes be evaluated in terms of theta functions. For
example, we can write the sum of every odd-indexed reciprocal Fibonacci number as

and the sum of squared reciprocal Fibonacci numbers as

If we add 1 to each Fibonacci number in the first sum, there is also the closed form

and there is a nice nested sum of squared Fibonacci numbers giving the reciprocal of the golden ratio,
Fibonacci number 77

Results such as these make it plausible that a closed formula for the plain sum of reciprocal Fibonacci numbers could
be found, but none is yet known. Despite that, the reciprocal Fibonacci constant

has been proved irrational by Richard André-Jeannin.

Millin series gives a remarkable identity:[23]

which follows from the closed form for its partial sums as N tends to infinity:

Primes and divisibility

Fibonacci primes
A Fibonacci prime is a Fibonacci number that is prime (sequence A005478 [24] in OEIS). The first few are:
2, 3, 5, 13, 89, 233, 1597, 28657, 514229, ...
Fibonacci primes with thousands of digits have been found, but it is not known whether there are infinitely many.[25]
Fkn is divisible by Fn, so, apart from F4 = 3, any Fibonacci prime must have a prime index. As there are arbitrarily
long runs of composite numbers, there are therefore also arbitrarily long runs of composite Fibonacci numbers.
With the exceptions of 1, 8 and 144 (F1 = F2, F6 and F12) every Fibonacci number has a prime factor that is not a
factor of any smaller Fibonacci number (Carmichael's theorem).[26]
144 is the only nontrivial square Fibonacci number.[27] Attila Pethő proved[28] in 2001 that there are only finitely
many perfect power Fibonacci numbers. In 2006, Y. Bugeaud, M. Mignotte, and S. Siksek proved that only 8 and
144 are non-trivial perfect powers.[29]
No Fibonacci number greater than F6 = 8 is one greater or one less than a prime number.[30]
Any three consecutive Fibonacci numbers, taken two at a time, are relatively prime: that is,
gcd(Fn, Fn+1) = gcd(Fn, Fn+2) = 1.
More generally,
gcd(Fn, Fm) = Fgcd(n, m).[31] [32]

Prime divisors of Fibonacci numbers

The divisibility of Fibonacci numbers by a prime p is related to the Legendre symbol which is evaluated as
follows:

[33] [34]
If p is a prime number then

For example,
Fibonacci number 78

It is not known whether there exists a prime p such that . Such primes (if there are any)

would be called Wall-Sun-Sun primes.

Also, if p ≠ 5 is an odd prime number then:[35]

Examples of all the cases:

For odd n, all odd prime divisors of Fn are ≡ 1 (mod 4), implying that all odd divisors of Fn (as the products of odd
prime divisors) are ≡ 1 (mod 4).[36] [37]
For example, F1 = 1, F3 = 2, F5 = 5, F7 = 13, F9 = 34 = 2×17, F11 = 89, F13 = 233, F15 = 610 = 2×5×61
Fibonacci number 79

Divisibility by 11
The sum of any 10 consecutive Fibonacci numbers is divisible by 11; i.e.,

For example, let n = 1:

n = 2:

n = 3:

In fact, the identity is true for all integers n, not just positive ones:
n = 0:

n = −1:

n = −2:

Periodicity modulo n
It may be seen that if the members of the Fibonacci sequence are taken mod n, the resulting sequence must be
periodic with period at most n2. The lengths of the periods for various n form the so-called Pisano periods (sequence
A001175 [38] in OEIS). Determining the Pisano periods in general is an open problem, although for any particular n
it can be solved as an instance of cycle detection.

Right triangles
Starting with 5, every second Fibonacci number is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with integer sides,
or in other words, the largest number in a Pythagorean triple. The length of the longer leg of this triangle is equal to
the sum of the three sides of the preceding triangle in this series of triangles, and the shorter leg is equal to the
difference between the preceding bypassed Fibonacci number and the shorter leg of the preceding triangle.
The first triangle in this series has sides of length 5, 4, and 3. Skipping 8, the next triangle has sides of length 13, 12
(5 + 4 + 3), and 5 (8 − 3). Skipping 21, the next triangle has sides of length 34, 30 (13 + 12 + 5), and 16 (21 − 5).
This series continues indefinitely. The triangle sides a, b, c can be calculated directly:

These formulas satisfy for all n, but they only represent triangle sides when .
Any four consecutive Fibonacci numbers Fn, Fn+1, Fn+2 and Fn+3 can also be used to generate a Pythagorean triple in
a different way:

Example 1: let the Fibonacci numbers be 1, 2, 3 and 5. Then:

Fibonacci number 80

Example 2: let the Fibonacci numbers be 8, 13, 21 and 34. Then:

Magnitude
Since is asymptotic to , the number of digits in is asymptotic to . As a
consequence, for every integer there are either 4 or 5 Fibonacci numbers with d decimal digits.
More generally, in the base b representation, the number of digits in is asymptotic to .

Binary strings and compositions

The Fibonacci numbers can be found in different ways in the sequence of binary strings.
• The number of binary strings of length n without consecutive 1s is the Fibonacci number Fn+2. For example, out
of the 16 binary strings of length 4, there are F6 = 8 without consecutive 1s - they are 0000, 1000, 0100, 0010,
1010, 0001, 1001 and 0101. By symmetry, the number of strings of length n without consecutive 0s is also Fn+2.
• The number of binary strings of length n without an odd number of consecutive 1s is the Fibonacci number Fn+1.
For example, out of the 16 binary strings of length 4, there are F5 = 5 without an odd number of consecutive 1s -
they are 0000, 0011, 0110, 1100, 1111.
• The number of binary strings of length n without an even number of consecutive 0s or 1s is 2Fn. For example, out
of the 16 binary strings of length 4, there are 2F4 = 6 without an even number of consecutive 0s or 1s - they are
0001, 1000, 1110, 0111, 0101, 1010.

Applications
The Fibonacci numbers are important in the computational run-time analysis of Euclid's algorithm to determine the
greatest common divisor of two integers: the worst case input for this algorithm is a pair of consecutive Fibonacci
numbers.[39]
Yuri Matiyasevich was able to show that the Fibonacci numbers can be defined by a Diophantine equation, which
led to his original solution of Hilbert's tenth problem.
The Fibonacci numbers occur in the sums of "shallow" diagonals in Pascal's triangle and Lozanić's triangle (see
Binomial coefficient). They occur more obviously in Hosoya's triangle.
Every positive integer can be written in a unique way as the sum of one or more distinct Fibonacci numbers in such a
way that the sum does not include any two consecutive Fibonacci numbers. This is known as Zeckendorf's theorem,
and a sum of Fibonacci numbers that satisfies these conditions is called a Zeckendorf representation. The Zeckendorf
representation of a number can be used to derive its Fibonacci coding.
The Fibonacci numbers and principle is also used in the financial markets. It is used in trading algorithms,
applications and strategies. Some typical forms include: the Fibonacci fan, the Fibonacci arc, Fibonacci retracement
and the Fibonacci time extension.[40]
Fibonacci numbers are used by some pseudorandom number generators.
Fibonacci number 81

Fibonacci numbers are used in a polyphase version of the merge sort algorithm in which an unsorted list is divided
into two lists whose lengths correspond to sequential Fibonacci numbers - by dividing the list so that the two parts
have lengths in the approximate proportion φ. A tape-drive implementation of the polyphase merge sort was
described in The Art of Computer Programming.
Fibonacci numbers arise in the analysis of the Fibonacci heap data structure.
The Fibonacci cube is an undirected graph with a Fibonacci number of nodes that has been proposed as a network
topology for parallel computing.
A one-dimensional optimization method, called the Fibonacci search technique, uses Fibonacci numbers.[41]
The Fibonacci number series is used for optional lossy compression in the IFF 8SVX audio file format used on
Amiga computers. The number series compands the original audio wave similar to logarithmic methods e.g.
µ-law.[42] [43]
In music, Fibonacci numbers are sometimes used to determine tunings, and, as in visual art, to determine the length
or size of content or formal elements. It is commonly thought that the third movement of Béla Bartók's Music for
Strings, Percussion, and Celesta was structured using Fibonacci numbers.
Since the conversion factor 1.609344 for miles to kilometers is close to the golden ratio (denoted φ), the
decomposition of distance in miles into a sum of Fibonacci numbers becomes nearly the kilometer sum when the
Fibonacci numbers are replaced by their successors. This method amounts to a radix 2 number register in golden
ratio base φ being shifted. To convert from kilometers to miles, shift the register down the Fibonacci sequence
instead.[44]

In nature
Fibonacci sequences appear in biological settings,[3] in two consecutive
Fibonacci numbers, such as branching in trees, arrangement of leaves
on a stem, the fruitlets of a pineapple,[4] the flowering of artichoke, an
uncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine cone.[5] In addition,
numerous poorly substantiated claims of Fibonacci numbers or golden
sections in nature are found in popular sources, e.g. relating to the
breeding of rabbits, the spirals of shells, and the curve of waves.[45]
The Fibonacci numbers are also found in the family tree of
honeybees.[46]
Sunflower head displaying florets in spirals of 34
and 55 around the outside
Fibonacci number 82

Przemysław Prusinkiewicz advanced the idea that real instances can in

part be understood as the expression of certain algebraic constraints on
free groups, specifically as certain Lindenmayer grammars.[47]
A model for the pattern of florets in the head of a sunflower was
proposed by H. Vogel in 1979.[48] This has the form

The shell of Achatina fulica respects the fibonacci

logic

where n is the index number of the floret and c is a constant scaling factor; the florets thus lie on Fermat's spiral. The
divergence angle, approximately 137.51°, is the golden angle, dividing the circle in the golden ratio. Because this
ratio is irrational, no floret has a neighbor at exactly the same angle from the center, so the florets pack efficiently.
Because the rational approximations to the golden ratio are of the form F(j):F(j + 1), the nearest neighbors of floret
number n are those at n ± F(j) for some index j which depends on r, the distance from the center. It is often said that
sunflowers and similar arrangements have 55 spirals in one direction and 89 in the other (or some other pair of
adjacent Fibonacci numbers), but this is true only of one range of radii, typically the outermost and thus most
conspicuous.[49]

The bee ancestry code

Fibonacci numbers also appear in the description of the reproduction of a population of idealized honeybees,
according to the following rules:
• If an egg is laid by an unmated female, it hatches a male or drone bee.
• If, however, an egg was fertilized by a male, it hatches a female.
Thus, a male bee will always have one parent, and a female bee will have two.
If one traces the ancestry of any male bee (1 bee), he has 1 female parent (1 bee). This female had 2 parents, a male
and a female (2 bees). The female had two parents, a male and a female, and the male had one female (3 bees).
Those two females each had two parents, and the male had one (5 bees). This sequence of numbers of parents is the
Fibonacci sequence.[50]
This is an idealization that does not describe actual bee ancestries. In reality, some ancestors of a particular bee will
always be sisters or brothers, thus breaking the lineage of distinct parents.
Fibonacci number 83

Generalizations
The Fibonacci sequence has been generalized in many ways. These include:
• Generalizing the index to negative integers to produce the Negafibonacci numbers.
• Generalizing the index to real numbers using a modification of Binet's formula.[15]
• Starting with other integers. Lucas numbers have L1 = 1, L2 = 3, and Ln = Ln−1 + Ln−2. Primefree sequences use
the Fibonacci recursion with other starting points in order to generate sequences in which all numbers are
composite.
• Letting a number be a linear function (other than the sum) of the 2 preceding numbers. The Pell numbers have Pn
= 2Pn – 1 + Pn – 2.
• Not adding the immediately preceding numbers. The Padovan sequence and Perrin numbers have P(n) = P(n – 2)
+ P(n – 3).
• Generating the next number by adding 3 numbers (tribonacci numbers), 4 numbers (tetranacci numbers), or more.
• Adding other objects than integers, for example functions or strings—one essential example is Fibonacci
polynomials.

Notes
[1] http:/ / www. quipus. it/ english/ Andean%20Calculators. pdf
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000045
[3] S. Douady and Y. Couder (1996). "Phyllotaxis as a Dynamical Self Organizing Process" (http:/ / www. math. ntnu. no/ ~jarlet/ Douady96.
pdf) (PDF). Journal of Theoretical Biology 178 (178): 255–274. doi:10.1006/jtbi.1996.0026. .
[4] Jones, Judy; William Wilson (2006). "Science". An Incomplete Education. Ballantine Books. p. 544. ISBN 978-0-7394-7582-9.
[5] A. Brousseau (1969). "Fibonacci Statistics in Conifers". Fibonacci Quarterly (7): 525–532.
[6] Susantha Goonatilake (1998). Toward a Global Science (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=SI5ip95BbgEC& pg=PA126& dq=Virahanka+
Fibonacci). Indiana University Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780253333889. .
[7] Singh, Parmanand (1985). "The So-called Fibonacci numbers in ancient and medieval India". Historia Mathematica 12 (3): 229–244.
doi:10.1016/0315-0860(85)90021-7.
[8] Hall, Rachel W. (2008). "Math for poets and drummers" (http:/ / www. sju. edu/ ~rhall/ mathforpoets. pdf). Math Horizons 15: 10–11. .
[9] Donald Knuth (2006). The Art of Computer Programming: Generating All Trees—History of Combinatorial Generation; Volume 4 (http:/ /
books. google. com/ ?id=56LNfE2QGtYC& pg=PA50& dq=rhythms). Addison-Wesley. p. 50. ISBN 9780321335708. .
[10] Sigler, Laurence E. (trans.) (2002). Fibonacci's Liber Abaci. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-95419-8. Chapter II.12, pp. 404–405.
[11] Knott, Ron. "Fibonacci's Rabbits" (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ Fibonacci/ fibnat. html#Rabbits). University
of Surrey Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. .
[12] By modern convention, the sequence begins with F0=0. The Liber Abaci began the sequence with F1 = 1, omitting the initial 0, and the
sequence is still written this way by some.
[13] The website (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ Fibonacci/ fibtable. html) has the first 300 Fn factored into primes
and links to more extensive tables.
[14] Greene, Daniel H.; Knuth, Donald E. (1982). "2.1.1 Constant coefficients – A) Homogeneous equations". Mathematics for the Analysis of
Algorithms (2nd ed.). Birkhäuser. p. 17.
[15] Weisstein, Eric W., " Fibonacci Number (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ FibonacciNumber. html)" from MathWorld.
[16] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001622
[17] Kepler, Johannes (1966). A New Year Gift: On Hexagonal Snow. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 0198581203. Strena seu de Nive
Sexangula (1611).
[18] E. W. Dijkstra (1978). In honour of Fibonacci. Report EWD654 (http:/ / www. cs. utexas. edu/ users/ EWD/ ewd06xx/ EWD654. PDF)
[19] Posamentier, Alfred; Lehmann, Ingmar (2007). The (Fabulous) FIBONACCI Numbers. Prometheus Books. p. 305.
ISBN 978-1-59102-475-0.
[20] M. Möbius, Wie erkennt man eine Fibonacci Zahl?, Math. Semesterber. (1998) 45; 243–246.
[21] Vorobiev, Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich; Mircea Martin (2002). "Chapter 1". Fibonacci Numbers. Birkhäuser. pp. 5–6. ISBN 3-7643-6135-2.
[22] The Remarkable Number 1/89 (http:/ / www. geom. uiuc. edu/ ~rminer/ 1over89/ ) at The Geometry Center.
[23] Weisstein, Eric W., " Millin Series (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ MillinSeries. html)" from MathWorld.
[24] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa005478
[25] Weisstein, Eric W., " Fibonacci Prime (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ FibonacciPrime. html)" from MathWorld.
[26] Ron Knott, "The Fibonacci numbers" (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ Fibonacci/ fibtable. html).
[27] J H E Cohn (1964). "Square Fibonacci Numbers Etc" (http:/ / math. la. asu. edu/ ~checkman/ SquareFibonacci. html). Fibonacci Quarterly
2: 109–113. .
Fibonacci number 84

[28] A. Pethő, Diophantine properties of linear recursive sequences II, Acta Math. Paedagogicae Nyíregyháziensis, 17(2001), 81–96.
[29] Y. Bugeaud, M. Mignotte, S. Siksek: Classical and modular approaches to exponential Diophantine equations. I. Fibonacci and Lucas
perfect powers. Ann. of Math. (2), 163(2006), 969–1018.
[30] Ross Honsberger Mathematical Gems III (AMS Dolciani Mathematical Expositions No. 9), 1985, ISBN 0-88385-318-3, p. 133.
[31] Paulo Ribenboim, My Numbers, My Friends, Springer-Verlag 2000.
[32] Su, Francis E., et al. "Fibonacci GCD's, please." (http:/ / www. math. hmc. edu/ funfacts/ ffiles/ 20004. 5. shtml), Mudd Math Fun Facts.
[33] Paulo Ribenboim (1996), The New Book of Prime Number Records, New York: Springer, ISBN 0-387-94457-5, p. 64.
[34] Franz Lemmermeyer (2000), Reciprocity Laws, New York: Springer, ISBN 3-540-66957-4, ex 2.25–2.28, pp. 73–74.
[35] Lemmermeyer, ex. 2.28, pp. 73–74.
[36] Lemmermeyer, ex. 2.27 p. 73.
[37] The website (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ Fibonacci/ fibtable. html) has the first 300 Fibonacci numbers
factored into primes.
[38] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001175
[39] Knuth, Donald E. (1997). The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms (3rd ed.). Addison-Wesley.
ISBN 0-201-89683-4. (p. 343).
[40] http:/ / www. investopedia. com/ terms/ f/ fibonaccilines. asp
[41] M. Avriel and D.J. Wilde (1966). "Optimality of the Symmetric Fibonacci Search Technique". Fibonacci Quarterly (3): 265–269.
[42] Amiga ROM Kernel Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley 1991.
[43] IFF - MultimediaWiki (http:/ / wiki. multimedia. cx/ index. php?title=IFF#Fibonacci_Delta_Compression).
[44] Zeckendorf representation (http:/ / eom. springer. de/ Z/ z120020. htm).
[45] "Fibonacci Flim-Flam" (http:/ / www. lhup. edu/ ~dsimanek/ pseudo/ fibonacc. htm). .
[46] "Marks for the da Vinci Code: B–" (http:/ / www. cs4fn. org/ maths/ bee-davinci. php). Computer Science For Fun: CS4FN. .
[47] Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw; James Hanan (1989). Lindenmayer Systems, Fractals, and Plants (Lecture Notes in Biomathematics).
Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-97092-4.
[48] Vogel, H (1979). "A better way to construct the sunflower head". Mathematical Biosciences 44 (44): 179–189.
doi:10.1016/0025-5564(79)90080-4
[49] Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw; Lindenmayer, Aristid (1990). [[The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants (http:/ / algorithmicbotany. org/ papers/
#webdocs)]]. Springer-Verlag. pp. 101–107. ISBN 978-0387972978. .
[50] The Fibonacci Numbers and the Ancestry of Bees (http:/ / www1. math. american. edu/ newstudents/ shared/ puzzles/ fibbee. html).

External links
• Fibonacci Sequence (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008ct2j) on In Our Time at the BBC. ( listen now
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b008ct2j/In_Our_Time_Fibonacci_Sequence))
• Sequence A000045 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeis:a000045) Fibonacci Numbers at the On-Line
Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
• Periods of Fibonacci Sequences Mod m (http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath078.htm) at MathPages
• Chaotic behaviour in Fibonacci sequences (http://www.scientificblogging.com/hammock_physicist/
fibonacci_butterflies)
• Scientists find clues to the formation of Fibonacci spirals in nature (http://www.physorg.com/news97227410.
html)
• Implementations to calculate the Fibonacci sequence in 21 languages (http://codecodex.com/wiki/
Calculate_the_Fibonacci_sequence)
Fibonacci word 85

Fibonacci word
A Fibonacci word is a specific
sequence of binary digits (or symbols
from any two-letter alphabet). The
Fibonacci word is formed by repeated
concatenation in the same way that the
Fibonacci numbers are formed by
repeated addition.

It is a paradigmatic example of a
Sturmian word.
The name “Fibonacci word” has also
been used to refer to the members of a
formal language L consisting of strings
of zeros and ones with no two repeated
Characterization by a cutting sequence with a line of slope or -1 with , the
ones. Any prefix of the specific
golden ratio.
Fibonacci word belongs to L, but so do
many other strings. L has a Fibonacci
number of members of each possible length.

Definition
Let be "0" and be "01". Now (the concatenation of the previous sequence and the one
before that).
The infinite Fibonacci word is the limit .

The Fibonacci words

We have:
   0
   01
   010
   01001
   01001010
   0100101001001
...
The first few elements of the infinite Fibonacci word are:
0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1,
0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1,
0, 1, 0, 0, 1, ...
Fibonacci word 86

Closed-form expression for individual digits

The nth digit of the word is where is the golden ratio and is the floor
[1]
function (sequence A003849 in OEIS).

Substitution rules
Another way of going from Sn to Sn + 1 is to replace each symbol 0 in Sn with the pair of consecutive symbols 0, 1 in
Sn + 1, and to replace each symbol 1 in Sn with the single symbol 0 in Sn + 1.
Alternatively, one can imagine directly generating the entire infinite Fibonacci word by the following process: start
with a cursor pointing to the single digit 0. Then, at each step, if the cursor is pointing to a 0, append 1, 0 to the end
of the word, and if the cursor is pointing to a 1, append 0 to the end of the word. In either case, complete the step by
moving the cursor one position to the right.
A similar infinite word, sometimes called the rabbit sequence, is generated by a similar infinite process with a
different replacement rule: whenever the cursor is pointing to a 0, append 1, and whenever the cursor is pointing to a
1, append 0, 1. The resulting sequence begins
0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, ...
However this sequence differs from the Fibonacci word only trivially, by swapping 0's for 1's and shifting the
positions by one.

Discussion
The word is related to the famous sequence of the same name (the Fibonacci sequence) in the sense that addition of
integers in the inductive definition is replaced with string concatenation. This causes the length of Sn to be Fn + 2, the
(n + 2)th Fibonacci number. Also the number of 1s in Sn is Fn and the number of 0s in Sn is Fn + 1.

Other properties
• The infinite Fibonacci word is not periodic and not ultimately periodic.
• The last two letters of a Fibonacci word are alternately "01" and "10".
• Suppressing the last two letters of a Fibonacci word, or prefixing the complement of the last two letters, creates a
palindrome. Example: 01 = 0101001010 is a palindrome.
• In the infinite Fibonacci word, the ratio (number of letters)/(number of zeroes) is , the golden ratio, as is the
ratio of zeroes to ones.
• The infinite Fibonacci word is "balanced": Take two factors of the same length anywhere in the Fibonacci word.
The difference between the number of "0" in any of them and the number of "0" in the other one never exceeds 1.
• The subwords 11 and 000 never occur.
• The complexity function of the infinite Fibonacci word is n+1: it contains n+1 distinct subwords of length n.
Example: There are 4 distinct subwords of length 3 : "001", "010", "100" and "101". Being also non-periodic, it is
then of "minimal complexity", and hence a Sturmian word,[2] with slope . The infinite Fibonacci word is
the standard word generated by the directive sequence (1,1,1,....).
• The infinite Fibonacci word is recurrent; that is, every subword occurs infinitely often.
• If is a subword of the infinite Fibonacci word, then so is its reversal, denoted .
• If is a subword of the infinite Fibonacci word, then the least period of is a Fibonacci number.
• The concatenation of two successive Fibonacci words is "almost commutative". and
differ only by their last two letters.
• As a consequence, the infinite Fibonacci word can be characterized by a cutting sequence of a line of slope or
. See figure above.
Fibonacci word 87

• The number 0.010010100..., whose decimals are built with the digits of the infinite Fibonacci word, is
transcendental.
• The letters "1" can be found at the positions given by the successive values of the Upper Wythoff sequence (OEIS
A001950):
• The letters "0" can be found at the positions given by the successive values of the Lower Wythoff sequence (OEIS
A000201):
• The infinite Fibonacci word can contain repetitions of 3 successive identical subwords, but never 4. The infinite
Fibonacci word contains at most repetitions. It is the smallest index (or critical exponent)
among all Sturmian words.
• The infinite Fibonacci word is often cited as the worst case for algorithms detecting repetitions in a string.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa003849
[2] de Luca, Aldo (1995). "A division property of the Fibonacci word". Information Processing Letters: 307–312.
doi:10.1016/0020-0190(95)00067-M.

• Lothaire, M (1997), Combinatorics on Words, Cambridge Mathematical Library, ISBN 978-0521599245.

• Allouche, Jean-Paul; Shallit, Jeffrey (2003), Automatic Sequences: Theory, Applications, Generalizations,
Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521823326.

External links
• A detailed and accessible description, on Ron Knott's site (http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/
Fibonacci/fibrab.html)
• Repetitions in the infinite Fibonacci word, by Mignosi and Pirillo (http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&
cpsidt=5478956)
• Sequence A003849 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeis:a003849) The Fibonacci word in the On-Line
Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
• The Rabbit sequence on Mathworld (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/RabbitSequence.html)
• Fibonacci Word (First 200,000 bits) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDGGEQqSXew) at YouTube
Figurate numbers 88

Figurate numbers
A figurate number is a number represented as a discrete r-dimensional regular geometric pattern of r-dimensional
balls such as a polygonal number (for r = 2) or a polyhedral number (for r = 3).

Terminology
The triangular numbers can be generalized in various ways. As used here, and in a number of other places, the term
figurate number is meant to be broadly inclusive.
In historical works about Greek mathematics the preferred term is figured number. For example A history of Greek
Mathematics by T. Heath and Greek Mathematical Philosophy by E.A. Maziarz.
In a use going back to Jakob Bernoulli's Ars Conjectandi, the term figurate number is used for triangular numbers
made up of successive integers, tetrahedral numbers made up of successive triangular numbers, etc.: in other words,
binomial coefficients. In this usage the square numbers 4, 9, 16, 25 would not be considered figurate numbers when
viewed as arranged in a square. This is the sense in which L.E. Dickson uses the term in his History of the Theory of
Numbers.
A number of other sources use the term figurate number as synonymous for the polygonal numbers, either just the
usual kind or both those and the centered polygonal numbers.

Triangular numbers
The triangular numbers for n = 1, 2, 3, ... are the result of the juxtaposition of the linear numbers (linear gnomons)
for n = 1, 2, 3, ...:

These are the binomial coefficients . This is the case r=2 of the fact that the rth diagonal of Pascal's

triangle for consists of the figurate numbers for the r-dimensional analogs of triangles (r-dimensional
simplices).
The simplicial polytopic numbers for r = 1, 2, 3, 4, ... are:

• (linear numbers),

• (triangular numbers),

• (tetrahedral numbers),

• (pentachoron numbers, pentatopic numbers, 4-simplex

numbers),
Figurate numbers 89

• (r-topic numbers, r-simplex numbers).

The terms square number and cubic number derive from their geometric representation as a square or cube. The
difference of two positive triangular numbers is a trapezoidal number.

Gnomon
Figurate numbers were a concern of Pythagorean geometry, since Pythagoras is credited with initiating them and the
notion that these numbers are generated from a gnomon or basic unit. The gnomon is the piece added to a figurate
number to transform it to the next larger one.
For example, the gnomon of the square number is the odd number, of the general form 2n + 1, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, ... . The
square of size 8 composed of gnomons looks like this:
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
8 7 6 6 6 6 6 6
8 7 6 5 5 5 5 5
8 7 6 5 4 4 4 4
8 7 6 5 4 3 3 3
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 2
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To transform from the n-square (the square of size n) to the (n + 1)-square, one adjoins 2n + 1 elements: one to the
end of each row (n elements), one to the end of each column (n elements), and a single one to the corner. For
example, when transforming the 7-square to the 8-square, we add 15 elements; these adjunctions are the 8s in the
above figure.
This gnomonic technique also provides a mathematical proof that the sum of the first n odd numbers is n2; the figure
illustrates 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 + 13 + 15 = 64 = 82.

Demonstration of mathematical properties

School children construct figurate numbers from pebbles, bottle caps, etc. As a bonus, children can use figurate
numbers to discover the commutative law and associative law for addition and multiplication — laws usually
dictated to them — by building rows and tables of dots.
For example, the additive commutativity of 2 + 3 = 3 + 2 = 5 becomes:

+ = + =

And the multiplicative commutativity of 2 × 3 = 3 × 2 = 6 becomes:

= =

Besides the subtractive method, the additive method can also approximate square roots of positive integers and solve
quadratic equations.
The concepts of figurate numbers and gnomon implicitly anticipate the modern concept of recursion.
Figurate numbers 90

References
• Gazalé, Midhat J. (1999), Gnomon: From Pharaohs to Fractals, Princeton University Press,
ISBN 978-0-691-00514-0

Golomb sequence
In mathematics, the Golomb sequence, named after Solomon W. Golomb (but also called Silverman's sequence), is
a non-decreasing integer sequence where an is the number of times that n occurs in the sequence, starting with a1 = 1,
and with the property that for n > 1 each an is the smallest integer which makes it possible to satisfy the condition.
For example, a1 = 1 says that 1 only occurs once in the sequence, so a2 cannot be 1 too, but it can be, and therefore
must be, 2. The first few values are
1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 12,
12, 12, 12, 12, 12 (sequence A001462 [1] in OEIS).
Colin Mallows has given an explicit recurrence relation a(1) = 1; a(n + 1) = 1 + a(n + 1 − a(a(n))). An asymptotic
expression for an is

where φ is the golden ratio.

References
• Richard K. Guy, Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (3rd ed), Springer Verlag, 2004 ISBN 0-387-20860-7;
section E25.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001462
Happy number 91

Happy number
A happy number is defined by the following process. Starting with any positive integer, replace the number by the
sum of the squares of its digits, and repeat the process until the number equals 1 (where it will stay), or it loops
endlessly in a cycle which does not include 1. Those numbers for which this process ends in 1 are happy numbers,
while those that do not end in 1 are unhappy numbers (or sad numbers[1] ).

Overview
More formally, given a number , define a sequence , , ... where is the sum of the squares of
the digits of . Then n is happy if and only if there exists i such that .
If a number is happy, then all members of its sequence are happy; if a number is unhappy, all members of its
sequence are unhappy.
For example, 7 is happy, as the associated sequence is:
72 = 49
42 + 92 = 97
92 + 72 = 130
12 + 32 + 02 = 10
12 + 02 = 1.
The happy numbers below 500 are
1, 7, 10, 13, 19, 23, 28, 31, 32, 44, 49, 68, 70, 79, 82, 86, 91, 94, 97, 100, 103, 109, 129, 130, 133, 139, 167,
176, 188, 190, 192, 193, 203, 208, 219, 226, 230, 236, 239, 262, 263, 280, 291, 293, 301, 302, 310, 313, 319,
320, 326, 329, 331, 338, 356, 362, 365, 367, 368, 376, 379, 383, 386, 391, 392, 397, 404, 409, 440, 446, 464,
469, 478, 487, 490, 496 (sequence A007770 [2] in OEIS).
The happiness of a number is preserved by rearranging the digits, and by inserting or removing any number of zeros
anywhere in the number.

Sequence behavior
If n is not happy, then its sequence does not go to 1. What happens instead is that it ends up in the cycle
4, 16, 37, 58, 89, 145, 42, 20, 4, ...
To see this fact, first note that if n has m digits, then the sum of the squares of its digits is at most , or .
For and above,

so any number over 1000 gets smaller under this process and in particular becomes a number with strictly fewer
digits. Once we are under 1000, the number for which the sum of squares of digits is largest is 999, and the result is 3
times 81, that is, 243.
• In the range 100 to 243, the number 199 produces the largest next value, of 163.
• In the range 100 to 163, the number 159 produces the largest next value, of 107.
• In the range 100 to 107, the number 107 produces the largest next value, of 50.
Considering more precisely the intervals [244,999], [164,243], [108,163] and [100,107], we see that every number
above 99 gets strictly smaller under this process. Thus, no matter what number we start with, we eventually drop
below 100. An exhaustive search then shows that every number in the interval [1,99] either is happy or goes to the
above cycle.
Happy number 92

The above work produces the interesting result that no positive integer other than 1 is the sum of the squares of its
own digits.
There are infinitely many happy numbers and infinitely many unhappy numbers. For example, if you wonder if any
number will produce 14308, say, the quick response is to write down the digit 1 14308 times and you have created
such a number. In fact, you have created infinitely many such numbers since there is nothing to stop you slotting in
as many zero digits as you fancy.
The first pair of consecutive happy numbers is 31, 32. The first set of triplets is 1880, 1881, and 1882.
An interesting question is to wonder about the density of happy numbers. In the interval [1,243] 15.6% (to 3
significant figures) are happy.

Happy primes
A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime. The happy primes below 500 are
7, 13, 19, 23, 31, 79, 97, 103, 109, 139, 167, 193, 239, 263, 293, 313, 331, 367, 379, 383, 397, 409, 487
(sequence A035497 [3] in OEIS).
All numbers, and therefore all primes, of the form 10n + 3 and 10n + 9 for n greater than 0 are Happy (This of course
does not mean that these are the only happy primes, as evidenced by the sequence above). To see this, note that
• All such numbers will have at least 2 digits;
• The first digit will always be 1 due to the 10n
• The last digit will always be either 3 or 9.
• Any other digits will always be 0 (and therefore will not contribute to the sum of squares of the digits).
• The sequence for adding 3 is: 12 + 32 = 10 → 12 = 1
• The sequence for adding 9 is: 12 + 92 = 82 → 82 + 22 = 64 + 4 = 68 → 62 + 82 = 36 + 64 = 100 -> 1
The palindromic prime 10150006 + 7426247×1075000 + 1 is also a happy prime with 150,007 digits because the many
0's do not contribute to the sum of squared digits, and ,
which is a happy number. Paul Jobling discovered the prime in 2005.[4]
As of 2010, the largest known happy prime is (Mersenne prime). Its decimal expansion has
[5]
12,837,064 digits.

Special happy numbers

• 986543210 : Greatest happy number with no redundant digits
• 1234456789 : Smallest zeroless pandigital happy number
• 10234456789 : Smallest pandigital happy number
• 13456789298765431 : Smallest zeroless pandigital palindromic happy number
• 1034567892987654301 : Smallest pandigital palindromic happy number

Happy pythagorean triplets

• All Pythagorean triplets with all integers happy and less than 10000
Happy number 93

( 700, 3465, 3535) ( 748, 8211, 8245) ( 910, 8256, 8306) ( 940, 2109, 2309)

( 940, 4653, 4747) (1092, 1881, 2175) (1323, 4536, 4725) (1527, 2036, 2545)

(1785, 3392, 3833) (1900, 1995, 2755) (1995, 4788, 5187) (2715, 3620, 4525)

(2751, 8360, 8801) (2784, 6440, 7016) (3132, 7245, 7893) (3135, 7524, 8151)

(3290, 7896, 8554) (3367, 3456, 4825) (3680, 5313, 6463) (4284, 5313, 6825)

(4633, 5544, 7225) (5178, 6904, 8630) (5286, 7048, 8810) (5445, 6308, 8333)

(5712, 7084, 9100) (6528, 7480, 9928)

Happy numbers in other bases

The definition of happy numbers depends on the decimal (i.e., base 10) representation of the numbers. The definition
can be extended to other bases.
To represent numbers in other bases, we may use a subscript to the right to indicate the base. For instance,
represents the number 4, and

Then, it is easy to see that there are happy numbers in every base. For instance, the numbers

are all happy, for any base b.

By a similar argument to the one above for decimal happy numbers, unhappy numbers in base b lead to cycles of
numbers less than . If , then the sum of the squares of the base-b digits of n is less than or
equal to

which can be shown to be less than . This shows that once the sequence reaches a number less than , it
stays below , and hence must cycle or reach 1.
In base 2, all numbers are happy. All binary numbers larger than 10002 decay into a value equal to or less than
10002, and all such values are happy: The following four sequences contain all numbers less than :

Since all sequences end in 1, we conclude that all numbers are happy in base 2. This makes base 2 a happy base.
The only known happy bases are 2 and 4. There are no others less than 500,000,000.[6]
Happy number 94

Cubing the digits rather than squaring

An interesting extension to the Happy Numbers problem is to find the sum of the cubes of the digits rather than the
sum of the squares of the digits. For example, working in base 10, 1579 is happy, since:
13+53+73+93=1+125+343+729=1198
13+13+93+83=1+1+729+512=1243
13+23+43+33=1+8+64+27=100
13+03+03=1
In the same way that when summing the squares of the digits (and working in base 10) each number above
243(=3*81) produces a number which is strictly smaller, when summing the cubes of the digits each number above
2916(=4*729) produces a number which is strictly smaller.
By conducting an exhaustive search of [1,2916] one finds that for summing the cubes of digits base 10 there are
happy numbers and eight different types of unhappy number:
those that eventually reach which perpetually produces itself.
those that eventually reach which perpetually produces itself.
those that eventually reach the loop
those that eventually reach which perpetually produces itself.
those that eventually reach the loop
those that eventually reach which perpetually produces itself.
those that eventually reach the loop
those that eventually reach the loop
Starting with the happy numbers and then following with the unhappy numbers in the order given above, the density
of each type of number in the interval [1,2916] is 1.54%, 28.4%, 34.7%, 5.73%, 17.4%, 4.60%, 3.60%, 2.67% and
1.34% (all to 3 significant figures).
Intriguingly, the second type of unhappy number includes all multiples of three . This fact can be proved by the
exhaustive search up to 2916 and noting that a number is a multiple of three if and only if the sum of digits is a
multiple of three if and only if the sum of its cubed digits are a multiple of three. By similar reasoning, all happy
numbers of this type must have a remainder of 1 when dividing by 3.
One interesting result which comes from the above work is that the only positive whole numbers which are the sum
of the cubes of their digits are 1, 153, 370, 371 and 407.

Origin
The origin of happy numbers is not clear. Happy numbers were brought to the attention of Reg Allenby (a British
author and Senior Lecturer in pure mathematics at Leeds University) by his daughter, who had learned of them at
school. However they "may have originated in Russia" (Guy 2004:§E34).

Popular culture
In the Doctor Who episode "42", a sequence of happy primes (313, 331, 367, 379) is used as a code for unlocking a
sealed door on a spaceship about to collide with a sun.
Happy number 95

Programming examples
• Simple test in Python to check if a number is happy.

SQUARE = dict([(c,int(c)**2) for c in "0123456789"])

def is_happy(n):
s = set()
while (n > 1) and (n not in s):
s.add(n)
n = sum(SQUARE[d] for d in str(n))
return (n == 1)

References
[1] "Sad Number" (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ SadNumber. html). Wolfram Research, Inc.. . Retrieved 2009-09-16.
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa007770
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa035497
[4] The Prime Database: 10^150006+7426247*10^75000+1 (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ primes/ page. php?id=76550)
[5] Prime Pages entry for 242643801 - 1 (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ primes/ page. php?id=88847)
[6] A161872 (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis:a161872)

Additional resources
• Walter Schneider, Mathews: Happy Numbers (http://web.archive.org/web/20060204094653/http://www.
wschnei.de/digit-related-numbers/happy-numbers.html).
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Happy Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HappyNumber.html)" from MathWorld.
• Happy Numbers (http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/55856.html) at The Math Forum.
• Guy, Richard (2004). Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (third edition). Springer-Verlag. ISBN
0-387-20860-7.

External links
• Reg Allenby page (http://www.maths.leeds.ac.uk/pure/staff/allenby/allenby.html)
Highly totient number 96

Highly totient number

A highly totient number k is an integer that has more solutions to the equation φ(x) = k, where φ is Euler's totient
function, than any integer below it. The first few highly totient numbers are
1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 144, 240, 432, 480, 576, 720, 1152, 1440 (sequence A097942 [1] in OEIS).
with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 17, 21, 31, 34, 37, 38, 49, 54, and 72 totient solutions respectively. The sequence of highly
totient numbers is a subset of the sequence of smallest number k with exactly n solutions to φ(x) = k.
These numbers have more ways of being expressed as products of numbers of the form p - 1 and their products than
smaller integers.
The concept is somewhat analogous to that of highly composite numbers, and in the same way that 1 is the only odd
highly composite number, it is also the only odd highly totient number (indeed, the only odd number to not be a
nontotient). And just as there are infinitely many highly composite numbers, there are also infinitely many highly
totient numbers, though the highly totient numbers get tougher to find the higher one goes, since calculating the
totient function involves factorization into primes, something that becomes extremely difficult as the numbers get
larger.

References
• L. Havelock, A Few Observations on Totient and Cototient Valence [2] from PlanetMath

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa097942
[2] http:/ / aux. planetmath. org/ files/ papers/ 335/ C:TempObsTotientCototientValence. pdf
Highly composite number 97

Highly composite number

A highly composite number (HCN) is a positive integer with more divisors than any positive integer smaller than
itself.
The initial or smallest twenty-one highly composite numbers are listed in the table at right.

number of
divisors of

1 1

2 2

4 3

6 4

12 6

24 8

36 9

48 10

60 12

120 16

180 18

240 20

360 24

720 30

840 32

1,260 36

1,680 40

2,520 48

5,040 60

7,560 64

10,080 72

The sequence of highly composite numbers (sequence A002182 [1] in OEIS) is a subset of the sequence of smallest
numbers k with exactly n divisors (sequence A005179 [2] in OEIS).
There are an infinite number of highly composite numbers. To prove this fact, suppose that n is an arbitrary highly
composite number. Then 2n has more divisors than n (2n itself is a divisor and so are all the divisors of n) and so
some number larger than n (and not larger than 2n) must be highly composite as well.
Roughly speaking, for a number to be highly composite it has to have prime factors as small as possible, but not too
many of the same. If we decompose a number n in prime factors like this:

where are prime, and the exponents are positive integers, then the number of divisors of
n is exactly

Hence, for n to be a highly composite number,

Highly composite number 98

• the k given prime numbers pi must be precisely the first k prime numbers (2, 3, 5, ...); if not, we could replace one
of the given primes by a smaller prime, and thus obtain a smaller number than n with the same number of divisors
(for instance 10 = 2 × 5 may be replaced with 6 = 2 × 3; both have 4 divisors);
• the sequence of exponents must be non-increasing, that is ; otherwise, by exchanging two
exponents we would again get a smaller number than n with the same number of divisors (for instance
18 = 21 × 32 may be replaced with 12 = 22 × 31; both have six divisors).
Also, except in two special cases n = 4 and n = 36, the last exponent ck must equal 1. Saying that the sequence of
exponents is non-increasing is equivalent to saying that a highly composite number is a product of primorials.
Because the prime factorization of a highly composite number uses all of the first k primes, every highly composite
number must be a practical number.[3]
Highly composite numbers higher than 6 are also abundant numbers. One need only look at the three or four highest
divisors of a particular highly composite number to ascertain this fact. It is false that all highly composite numbers
are also Harshad numbers in base 10. The first HCN that is not a Harshad number is 245,044,800, which has a digit
sum of 27, but 27 does not divide evenly into 245,044,800.
Many of these numbers are used in traditional systems of measurement, and tend to be used in engineering designs,
due to their ease of use in calculations involving vulgar fractions.
If Q(x) denotes the number of highly composite numbers which are less than or equal to x, then there exist two
constants a and b, both bigger than 1, so that
(ln x)a ≤ Q(x) ≤ (ln x)b.
with the first part of the inequality proved by Paul Erdős in 1944 and the second part by Jean-Louis Nicolas in 1988.

Examples

The highly composite number : 

10,080.
10,080  =  (2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2)  ×  (3 × 3)  ×  5  ×  7
By (2) above, 10,080 has exactly seventy-two divisors.

1 2 3 4 5 6
× × × × × ×
10,080 5,040 3,360 2,520 2,016 1,680

7 8 9 10 12 14
× × × × × ×
1,440 1,260 1,120 1,008 840 720

15 16 18 20 21 24
× × × × × ×
672 630 560 504 480 420

28 30 32 35 36 40
× × × × × ×
360 336 315 288 280 252

42 45 48 56 60 63
× × × × × ×
240 224 210 180 168 160

70 72 80 84 90 96
× × × × × ×
144 140 126 120 112 105
Highly composite number 99

Note:  The bolded numbers are themselves highly composite numbers.

Only the twentieth highly composite number 7560 (=3×2520) is absent.

[4]
10080 is a so-called 7-smooth number, (sequence A002473 in OEIS).

The 15,000th highly composite number can be found on Achim Flammenkamp's website. It is the product of 230
primes:
,
where is the sequence of successive prime numbers, and all omitted terms (a22 to a228) are factors with exponent
equal to one (i.e. the number is ). [5]

Prime factor subsets

For any highly composite number, if one takes any subset of prime factors for that number and their exponents, the
resulting number will have more divisors than any smaller number that uses the same prime factors. For example for
the highly composite number 720 which is 24 × 32 × 5 we can be sure that
• 144 which is 24 × 32 has more divisors than any smaller number that has only the prime factors 2 and 3
• 80 which is 24 × 5 has more divisors than any smaller number that has only the prime factors 2 and 5
• 45 which is 32 × 5 has more divisors than any smaller number that has only the prime factors 3 and 5
If this were untrue for any particular highly composite number and subset of prime factors, we could exchange that
subset of primefactors and exponents for the smaller number using the same primefactors and get a smaller number
with at least as many divisors.
This property is useful for finding highly composite numbers.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002182
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa005179
[3] Srinivasan, A. K. (1948), "Practical numbers" (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ jarch/ currsci/ 17/ 179. pdf), Current Science 17: 179–180,
MR0027799, .
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002473
[5] Flammenkamp, Achim, Highly Composite Numbers (http:/ / wwwhomes. uni-bielefeld. de/ achim/ highly. html), .

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Highly Composite Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HighlyCompositeNumber.
html)" from MathWorld.
• Earth360: Versatile Numbers: Self-Organization, Emergence, and Economics (http://earth360.com/
math-versatile.html)
• Algorithm for computing Highly Composite Numbers (http://web.archive.org/web/19980707133810/www.
math.princeton.edu/~kkedlaya/math/hcn-algorithm.tex)
• First 10000 Highly Composite Numbers (http://web.archive.org/web/19980707133953/www.math.
princeton.edu/~kkedlaya/math/hcn10000.txt.gz)
• Achim Flammenkamp, First 779674 HCN with sigma,tau,factors (http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/achim/
highly.html)
Home prime 100

Home prime
In number theory, the home prime HP(n) of an integer n greater than 1 is the prime obtained by repeatedly factoring
the increasing concatenation of prime factors including repetitions. The mth intermediate stage in the process of
determining HP(n) is designated HPn(m). For instance, HP(10) = 773, as 10 factors as 2×5 yielding HP10(1) = 25,
25 factors as 5×5 yielding HP10(2) = HP25(1) = 55, 55 = 5×11 implies HP10(3) = HP25(2) = HP55(1) = 511, and
511 = 7×73 gives HP10(4) = HP25(3) = HP55(2) = HP511(1) = 773, a prime number. Some sources use the
alternative notation HPn for the homeprime, leaving out parentheses. Investigations into home primes make up a
minor side issue in number theory. Its questions have served as test fields for the implementation of efficient
algorithms for factoring composite numbers, but the subject is really one in recreational mathematics.
The outstanding computational problem at present (January, 2011) is whether HP(49) = HP(77) can be calculated in
practice. As each iteration is greater than the previous up until a prime is reached, factorizations generally grow more
difficult so long as an end is not reached. The pursuit of HP(49) is now a process of factoring a 210-digit composite
factor of HP49(106) after a break was achieved on 8 February 2010 with the calculation of HP49(100) after work
lasting the larger part of a decade and an extensive use of computational resources and the successful factorization of
a 178-digit composite in HP49(104) into 88- and 90-digit primes on 11 January 2011. Details of the history of this
search, as well as the sequences leading to home primes for all other numbers through 100, are maintained at Patrick
De Geest's worldofnumbers website. A wiki primarily associated with the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
maintains the complete known data through 1000 in base 10 and also has lists for the bases 2 through 9.
Aside from the computational problems that have had so much time devoted to them, it appears absolute proof of
existence of a home prime for any specific number might entail its effective computation. In purely heuristic terms,
the existence has probability 1 for all numbers, but such heuristics make assumptions about numbers drawn from a
wide variety of processes that, though they likely are correct, fall short of the standard of proof usually required of
mathematical claims.

Early history and additional terminology

While it's unlikely that the idea was not conceived of numerous times in the past, the first reference in print appears
to be an article written in 1990 in a small and now-defunct publication called Recreational and Educational
Computation. The same person who authored that article, Jeffrey Heleen, revisited the subject in the 1996–7 volume
of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics in an article entitled Family Numbers: Constructing Primes By Prime
Factor Splicing, which included all of the results HP(n) for n through 100 other than the ones still unresolved. It also
included a now-obsolete list of 3-digit unresolved numbers (The 58 listed have been cut precisely in half as of
January, 2011). It appears that this article is largely responsible for provoking attempts by others to resolve the case
involving 49 and 77. The article uses the terms daughter and parent to describe composites and the primes that they
lead to, with numbers leading to the same home prime called siblings (even if one is an iterate of another), and calls
the number of iterations required to reach a parent, the persistence of a number under the map to obtain a home
prime, the number of lives. The brief article does little other than state the origins of the subject, define terms, give a
couple of examples, mention machinery and methods used at the time, and then provide tables. It appears that Mr.
De Geest is responsible for the notation now in use. The OEIS also uses homeliness as the term for the number of
numbers, including the prime itself, that have a certain prime as its home prime.
Home prime 101

References
1. http://oeis.org/A037274
2. http://www.worldofnumbers.com/topic1.htm
3. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HomePrime.html
4. http://www.mersennewiki.org/index.php/Home_Primes_Search
5. J. Heleen, Family Numbers: Constructing Primes By Prime Factor Splicing, J. Rec. Math., 28, pp. 116–9, 1996-7
6. J. Heleen, Family Numbers: Mathemagical Black Holes, Recreational and Educational Computing, 5:5, p. 6, 1990

Hyperperfect number
In mathematics, a k-hyperperfect number is a natural number n for which the equality n = 1 + k(σ(n) − n − 1)
holds, where σ(n) is the divisor function (i.e., the sum of all positive divisors of n). A hyperperfect number is a
k-hyperperfect number for some integer k. Hyperperfect numbers generalize perfect numbers, which are
1-hyperperfect.
The first few numbers in the sequence of k-hyperperfect numbers are 6, 21, 28, 301, 325, 496, ... (sequence A034897
[1]
in OEIS), with the corresponding values of k being 1, 2, 1, 6, 3, 1, 12, ... (sequence A034898 [2] in OEIS). The
first few k-hyperperfect numbers that are not perfect are 21, 301, 325, 697, 1333, ... (sequence A007592 [3] in OEIS).

List of hyperperfect numbers

The following table lists the first few k-hyperperfect numbers for some values of k, together with the sequence
number in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) of the sequence of k-hyperperfect numbers:

k OEIS Some known k-hyperperfect numbers

1 [4] 6, 28, 496, 8128, 33550336, ...

A000396

2 [5] 21, 2133, 19521, 176661, 129127041, ...

A007593

3 325, ...

4 1950625, 1220640625, ...

6 [6] 301, 16513, 60110701, 1977225901, ...

A028499

10 159841, ...

11 10693, ...

12 [7] 697, 2041, 1570153, 62722153, 10604156641, 13544168521, ...

A028500

18 [8] 1333, 1909, 2469601, 893748277, ...

A028501

19 51301, ...

30 3901, 28600321, ...

31 214273, ...

35 306181, ...

40 115788961, ...

48 26977, 9560844577, ...

59 1433701, ...

60 24601, ...
Hyperperfect number 102

66 296341, ...

75 2924101, ...

78 486877, ...

91 5199013, ...

100 10509080401, ...

108 275833, ...

126 12161963773, ...

132 96361, 130153, 495529, ...

136 156276648817, ...

138 46727970517, 51886178401, ...

140 1118457481, ...

168 250321, ...

174 7744461466717, ...

180 12211188308281, ...

190 1167773821, ...

192 163201, 137008036993, ...

198 1564317613, ...

206 626946794653, 54114833564509, ...

222 348231627849277, ...

228 391854937, 102744892633, 3710434289467, ...

252 389593, 1218260233, ...

276 72315968283289, ...

282 8898807853477, ...

296 444574821937, ...

342 542413, 26199602893, ...

348 66239465233897, ...

350 140460782701, ...

360 23911458481, ...

366 808861, ...

372 2469439417, ...

396 8432772615433, ...

402 8942902453, 813535908179653, ...

408 1238906223697, ...

414 8062678298557, ...

430 124528653669661, ...

438 6287557453, ...

480 1324790832961, ...

522 723378252872773, 106049331638192773, ...

546 211125067071829, ...

Hyperperfect number 103

570 1345711391461, 5810517340434661, ...

660 13786783637881, ...

672 142718568339485377, ...

684 154643791177, ...

774 8695993590900027, ...

810 5646270598021, ...

814 31571188513, ...

816 31571188513, ...

820 1119337766869561, ...

968 52335185632753, ...

972 289085338292617, ...

978 60246544949557, ...

1050 64169172901, ...

1410 80293806421, ...

2772 [9] 95295817, 124035913, ...

A028502

3918 61442077, 217033693, 12059549149, 60174845917, ...

9222 404458477, 3426618541, 8983131757, 13027827181, ...

9828 432373033, 2797540201, 3777981481, 13197765673, ...

14280 848374801, 2324355601, 4390957201, 16498569361, ...

23730 2288948341, 3102982261, 6861054901, 30897836341, ...

31752 [10] 4660241041, 7220722321, 12994506001, 52929885457, 60771359377, ...

A034916

55848 15166641361, 44783952721, 67623550801, ...

67782 18407557741, 18444431149, 34939858669, ...

92568 50611924273, 64781493169, 84213367729, ...

100932 50969246953, 53192980777, 82145123113, ...

It can be shown that if k > 1 is an odd integer and p = (3k + 1) / 2 and q = 3k + 4 are prime numbers, then p²q is
k-hyperperfect; Judson S. McCranie has conjectured in 2000 that all k-hyperperfect numbers for odd k > 1 are of this
form, but the hypothesis has not been proven so far. Furthermore, it can be proven that if p ≠ q are odd primes and k
is an integer such that k(p + q) = pq - 1, then pq is k-hyperperfect.
It is also possible to show that if k > 0 and p = k + 1 is prime, then for all i > 1 such that q = pi − p + 1 is prime, n = pi
− 1
q is k-hyperperfect. The following table lists known values of k and corresponding values of i for which n is
k-hyperperfect:
Hyperperfect number 104

k OEIS Values of i

16 [11] 11, 21, 127, 149, 469, ...

A034922

22 17, 61, 445, ...

28 33, 89, 101, ...

36 67, 95, 341, ...

42 [12] 4, 6, 42, 64, 65, ...

A034923

46 [13] 5, 11, 13, 53, 115, ...

A034924

52 21, 173, ...

58 11, 117, ...

72 21, 49, ...

88 [14] 9, 41, 51, 109, 483, ...

A034925

96 6, 11, 34, ...

100 A034926 [15] 3, 7, 9, 19, 29, 99, 145, ...

Hyperdeficiency
The newly-introduced mathematical concept of hyperdeficiency is related to the hyperperfect numbers.
Definition (Minoli 2010): For any integer n and for integer k, -∞<k<∞, define the k-hyperdeficiency (or simply the
hyperdeficiency) for the number n as

δk(n) = n(k+1) +(k-1) –kσ(n)

A number n is said to be k-hyperdeficient if δk(n) > 0.

Note that for k=1 one gets δ1(n)= 2n–σ(n), which is the standard traditional definition of deficiency.
Lemma: A number n is k-hyperperfect (including k=1) if and only if the k-hyperdeficiency of n, δk(n) = 0.
Lemma: A number n is k-hyperperfect (including k=1) if and only if for some k, δk-j(n) = -δk+j(n) for at least one j >
0.

Further reading

Articles
• Daniel Minoli, Robert Bear (Fall 1975), "Hyperperfect numbers", Pi Mu Epsilon Journal 6 (3): 153–157.
• Daniel Minoli (Dec 1978), "Sufficient forms for generalized perfect numbers", Annales de la Faculté des Sciences
UNAZA 4 (2): 277–302.
• Daniel Minoli (Feb. 1981), "Structural issues for hyperperfect numbers", Fibonacci Quarterly 19 (1): 6–14.
• Daniel Minoli (April 1980), "Issues in non-linear hyperperfect numbers", Mathematics of Computation 34 (150):
639–645.
• Daniel Minoli (October 1980), "New results for hyperperfect numbers", Abstracts of the American Mathematical
Society 1 (6): 561.
• Daniel Minoli, W. Nakamine (1980), "Mersenne numbers rooted on 3 for number theoretic transforms",
International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing.
• Judson S. McCranie (2000), "A study of hyperperfect numbers" [16], Journal of Integer Sequences 3.
Hyperperfect number 105

Books
• Daniel Minoli, Voice over MPLS, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2002, ISBN 0-07-140615-8 (p.114-134)

External links
• MathWorld: Hyperperfect number [17]
• has a long list of hyperperfect numbers under Data [18]

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034897
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034898
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa007592
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000396
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa007593
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa028499
[7] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa028500
[8] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa028501
[9] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa028502
[10] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034916
[11] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034922
[12] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034923
[13] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034924
[14] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034925
[15] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa034926
[16] http:/ / www. math. uwaterloo. ca/ JIS/ VOL3/ mccranie. html
[17] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ HyperperfectNumber. html
[18] http:/ / j. mccranie. home. comcast. net
Juggler sequence 106

Juggler sequence
In recreational mathematics a juggler sequence is an integer sequence that starts with a positive integer a0, with
each subsequent term in the sequence defined by the recurrence relation:

Background
Juggler sequences were publicised by American mathematician and author Clifford A. Pickover.[1] The name is
derived from the rising and falling nature of the sequences, like balls in the hands of a juggler.[2]
For example, the juggler sequence starting with a0 = 3 is

If a juggler sequence reaches 1, then all subsequent terms are equal to 1. It is conjectured that all juggler sequences
eventually reach 1. This conjecture has been verifed for initial terms up to 106,[3] but has not been proved. Juggler
sequences therefore present a problem that is similar to the Collatz conjecture, about which Paul Erdős stated that
"mathematics is not yet ready for such problems".
For a given initial term n we define l(n) to be the number of steps which the juggler sequence starting at n takes to
first reach 1, and h(n) to be the maximum value in the juggler sequence starting at n. For small values of n we have:

n Juggler sequence [4] [5]

l(n) (sequence A007320 in OEIS) h(n) (sequence A094716 in OEIS)

2 2, 1 1 2

3 3, 5, 11, 36, 6, 2, 1 6 36

4 4, 2, 1 2 4

5 5, 11, 36, 6, 2, 1 5 36

6 6, 2, 1 2 6

7 7, 18, 4, 2, 1 4 18

8 8, 2, 1 2 8

9 9, 27, 140, 11, 36, 6, 2, 1 7 140

10 10, 3, 5, 11, 36, 6, 2, 1 7 36

Juggler sequences can reach very large values before descending to 1. For example, the juggler sequence starting at
a0 = 37 reaches a maximum value of 24906114455136. Harry J. Smith has determined that the juggler sequence
starting at a0 = 48443 reaches a maximum value at a60 with 972,463 digits, before reaching 1 at a157.[6]
Juggler sequence 107

References
[1] Pickover, Clifford A. (1992). Computers and the Imagination. St. Martin's Press. pp. Chapter 40. ISBN 978-0312083434.
[2] Pickover, Clifford A. (2002). The Mathematics of Oz. Cambridge University Press. pp. Chapter 45. ISBN 978-0521016780.
[3] *Weisstein, Eric W., " Juggler Sequence (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ JugglerSequence. html)" from MathWorld.
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa007320
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa094716
[6] Letter from Harry J. Smith to Cliiford A. Pickover, 27th June 1992 (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20091027155431/ http:/ / geocities. com/
hjsmithh/ Juggler/ Juggle3L. html)

External links
• Juggler sequence calculator (http://members.chello.nl/k.ijntema/juggler.html) at Collatz Conjecture
Calculation Center
• Juggler Number pages (http://web.archive.org/web/20091027103635/http://geocities.com/hjsmithh/
Juggler/index.html) by Harry J. Smith

Kolakoski sequence
In mathematics, the Kolakoski sequence is an infinite list that begins with
1,2,2,1,1,2,1,2,2,1,2,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,2,1,2,1,1,2,1,2,2,1,1,...
The rules for generating this sequence are as follows:

1) The only numbers allowed are 1 and 2

2) Each number tells us how many numbers to append to the sequence
2a) 1 tells us to append one more number
2b) 2 tells us to append two more numbers
3) We can have no more than two of the same number in sequence
3a) This is because if we write 222 that means that somewhere in the
sequence it told us to append 3 twos, but the only numbers allowed are
1 and 2
4) Every time we "read" a new number, we alternate between writing 1
and 2
5) A0=1

This is an example of a self-generating sequence, with the first term as 1. Each individual number describes how
many numbers to write next. This is called the run of the numbers. To start the sequence we have to write one 2 after
the 1 because the 1 tells us to write one number, and because our initial condition "wrote" the one we must alternate
by writing the 2. This gives us as our sequence so far (1 2). Next, The 2 tells us that the length, or the run, of the next
set of numbers must be 2, but we cannot have any more than two ones or two twos in sequence because that would
mean that the sequence told us to write three 2's, which would mean a 3 would have to be in the sequence, which is
not allowed. Therefore, we must write 2 1. This gives us our sequence so far (1 2 2 1). The next number in the list is
a 2, so we must write two numbers. The next two numbers that we should write is a 1; however, we cannot write
three 1's in a row, so we must append 1 2 to the sequence. This gives us our sequence so far (1 2 2 1 1 2). The fourth
number in the list is a 1. As we wrote a 2 last we write a 1 now. This gives us our sequence so far (1 2 2 1 1 2 1). The
fifth number in the sequence is a 1. As we wrote a 1 before, we must write a 2 now. This gives us our sequence so far
(1 2 2 1 1 2 1 2). This continues on. Another explanation for the generation of the Kolakoski sequence is indicated
here:
(1) write 1; read it as the number of 1's to write before switching to 2;
Kolakoski sequence 108

(2) write 2; read it as the number of 2's to write before switching back to 1;
(3) so far... 1,2,2; read the new 2 as the number of 1's to write;
(4) so far... 1,2,2,1,1; read the new 1,1 as the number of 2's and then 1's to write;
(5) so far... 1,2,2,1,1,2,1; continue generating forever.
To truly understand how the sequence is generated, follow either of the two examples above and write out the first
few terms.
It seems plausible that the density of 1's is 1/2, but this conjecture remains unproved. This and related simply stated
unsolved problems are presented at Integer Sequences and Arrays. [1] Attempts to solve them are referenced at
MathWorld [2] and sequence A000002 [3] at On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. In the unpublished
technical report Notes on the Kolakoski Sequence [4], Chvátal proved that the upper density of 1's is less than
0.50084.
Kolakoski's self-generating sequence has attracted the interest of computer scientists as well as mathematicians. For
example, in A New Kind of Science, p. 895, Stephen Wolfram describes the Kolakoski sequence in connection with
the history of cyclic tag systems.

Kolakoski fan
The Kolakoski fan is the following array:
1
2
22
1122
121122
211212211
(and so on, where the initial entries are given by the Kolakoski sequence, and the block lengths in each row are given
by the entries in the previous row)
Associated with this array, indexed as A143477 [5] (in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences) are many
other such arrays, such as A111090 [6], for which it is conjectured that the growth rate of row-length is asymptotic to
c(3/2) n for some constant c.

References
• J.-P. Allouche and J. Shallit, Automatic Sequences, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003, p. 337.
• Vašek Chvátal, "Notes on the Kolakoski Sequence", DIMACS Technical Report 93-84, December 1993.
• F. M. Dekking, "What Is the Long Range Order in the Kolakoski Sequence?" In Proceedings of the NATO
Advanced Study Institute held in Waterloo, ON, August 21-September 1, 1995 (dd. R. V. Moody). Dordrecht,
Netherlands: Kluwer, pp. 115-125, 1997.
• M. S. Keane, "Ergodic Theory and Subshifts of Finite Type." In Ergodic Theory, Symbolic Dynamics and
Hyperbolic Spaces (ed. T. Bedford and M. Keane). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, pp. 35-70, 1991.
• William Kolakoski, proposal 5304, American Mathematical Monthly 72 (1965), 674; for a partial solution, see
"Self Generating Runs," by Necdet Üçoluk, Amer. Math. Mon. 73 (1966), 681-2.
• J. C. Lagarias, "Number Theory and Dynamical Systems." In The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Number Theory
(ed. S. A. Burr). Providence, RI: Amer. Math. Soc., pp. 35-72, 1992.
• G. Paun and A. Salomaa, "Self-Reading Sequences." Amer. Math. Monthly 103, 166-168, 1996.
Kolakoski sequence 109

• Bertran Steinsky, "A Recursive Formula for the Kolakoski Sequence A000002," Journal of Integer Sequences 9
(2006) Article 06.3.7.
• J.M. Fedou and G. Fici, "Some remarks on differentiable sequences and recursivity", "Journal of Integer
Sequences" 13(3) (2010) Article 10.3.2.

External links
• Kolakoski Sequence [2]
• Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences [7] (search "Kolakoski")
• Kolakoski Constant to 25000 Digits. [8]

References
[1] http:/ / faculty. evansville. edu/ ck6/ integer/ index. html
[2] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ KolakoskiSequence. html
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000002
[4] http:/ / dimacs. rutgers. edu/ TechnicalReports/ abstracts/ 1993/ 93-84. html
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa143477
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa111090
[7] http:/ / www. research. att. com/ ~njas/ sequences/
[8] http:/ / pi. lacim. uqam. ca/ piDATA/ Kolakoski. txt

Lucky number
In number theory, a lucky number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a "sieve" similar to the Sieve
of Eratosthenes that generates the primes.
Begin with a list of integers starting with 1:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,

Every second number (all even numbers) is eliminated, leaving only the odd integers:

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25,

The second term in this sequence is 3. Every third number which remains in the list is eliminated:

1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 19, 21, 25,

The third surviving number is now 7, so every seventh number that remains is eliminated:

1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 21, 25,

As this procedure is repeated indefinitely, the survivors are the lucky numbers:
1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 21, 25, 31, 33, 37, 43, 49, 51, 63, 67, 69, 73, 75, 79, 87, 93, 99, ... (sequence A000959 [1] in
OEIS).
Lucky number 110

The term was introduced in 1955 in a paper by Gardiner, Lazarus,

Metropolis and Ulam. They suggest also calling its defining sieve the
sieve of Josephus Flavius[2] because of its similarity with the
counting-out game in the Josephus problem.
Lucky numbers share some properties with primes, such as asymptotic
behaviour according to the prime number theorem; also Goldbach's
conjecture has been extended to them. There are infinitely many lucky
numbers. Because of these apparent connections with the prime
numbers, some mathematicians have suggested that these properties
may be found in a larger class of sets of numbers generated by sieves
of a certain unknown form, although there is little theoretical basis for
this conjecture. Twin lucky numbers and twin primes also appear to
occur with similar frequency.

A lucky prime is a lucky number that is prime. It is not known An animation demonstrating the lucky number
sieve. The numbers in red are lucky numbers.
whether there are infinitely many lucky primes. The first few are
3, 7, 13, 31, 37, 43, 67, 73, 79, 127, 151, 163, 193 (sequence
A031157 [3] in OEIS).

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000959
[2] V. Gardiner, R. Lazarus, N. Metropolis and S. Ulam, "On certain sequences of integers defined by sieves", Mathematics Magazine 29:3
(1955), pp. 117–122.
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa031157

External links
• Peterson, Ivars. MathTrek: Martin Gardner's Lucky Number (http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc97/9_6_97/
mathland.htm)
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Lucky Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LuckyNumber.html)" from MathWorld.
• Lucky Numbers (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/LuckyNumbers/) by Enrique Zeleny, The Wolfram
Demonstrations Project.
Lucas number 111

Lucas number
The Lucas numbers are an integer sequence named after the mathematician François Édouard Anatole Lucas
(1842–1891), who studied both that sequence and the closely related Fibonacci numbers. Lucas numbers and
Fibonacci numbers form complementary instances of Lucas sequences.

Definition
Like the Fibonacci numbers, each Lucas number is defined to be the sum of its two immediate previous terms, i.e. it
is a Fibonacci integer sequence. Consequently, the ratio between two consecutive Lucas numbers converges to the
golden ratio. However, the first two Lucas numbers are L0 = 2 and L1 = 1 instead of 0 and 1, and the properties of
Lucas numbers are therefore somewhat different from those of Fibonacci numbers.
A Lucas number may thus be defined as follows:

The sequence of Lucas numbers begins:

2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29, 47, 76, 123, ... (sequence A000032 [1] in OEIS)

Extension to negative integers

Using Ln-2 = Ln - Ln-1, one can extend the Lucas numbers to negative integers to obtain a doubly infinite sequence :
..., -11, 7, -4, 3, -1, 2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, ... (terms for are shown).
The formula for terms with negative indices in this sequence is

Relationship to Fibonacci numbers

The Lucas numbers are related to the Fibonacci numbers by the identities
•

• , and thus as approaches +∞, the ratio approaches

•
•

Their closed formula is given as:

where is the Golden ratio. Alternatively, is the closest integer to .

Lucas number 112

Congruence relation
Ln is congruent to 1 mod n if n is prime, but some composite values of n also have this property.

Lucas primes
A Lucas prime is a Lucas number that is prime. The first few Lucas primes are
2, 3, 7, 11, 29, 47, 199, 521, 2207, 3571, 9349, ... (sequence A005479 [2] in OEIS)
If Ln is prime then n is either 0, prime, or a power of 2.[3] L is prime for = 1, 2, 3, and 4 and no other known
values of .

Lucas polynomials
The Lucas polynomials Ln(x) are a polynomial sequence derived from the Lucas numbers in the same way as
Fibonacci polynomials are derived from the Fibonacci numbers. Lucas polynomials are defined by the following
recurrence relation:

Lucas polynomials can be expressed in terms of Lucas sequences as

The first few Lucas polynomials are:

The Lucas numbers are recovered by evaluating the polynomials at x = 1. The degree of Ln(x) is n. The ordinary
generating function for the sequence is

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000032
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa005479
[3] Chris Caldwell, " The Prime Glossary: Lucas prime (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ glossary/ page. php?sort=LucasPrime)" from The Prime Pages.

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Lucas Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LucasNumber.html)" from MathWorld.
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Lucas Polynomial (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LucasPolynomial.html)" from
MathWorld.
• Dr Ron Knott (http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/lucasNbs.html)
• Lucas numbers and the Golden Section (http://milan.milanovic.org/math/english/lucas/lucas.html)
Lucas number 113

• A Lucas Number Calculator can be found here. (http://www.plenilune.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

fibonacci-calculator.asp)
• A Tutorial on Generalized Lucas Numbers (http://nakedprogrammer.com/LucasNumbers.aspx)

Padovan sequence
The Padovan sequence is the sequence of integers P(n) defined by the initial values

and the recurrence relation

The first few values of P(n) are

1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 16, 21, 28, 37, 49, 65, 86, 114, 151, 200, 265, ... (sequence A000931 [1] in OEIS)
The Padovan sequence is named after
Richard Padovan who attributed its
discovery to Dutch architect Hans van
der Laan in his 1994 essay Dom. Hans
van der Laan : Modern Primitive. The
sequence was described by Ian Stewart
in his Scientific American column
Mathematical Recreations in June
1996.

The above definition is the one given

by Ian Stewart and by MathWorld.
Other sources may start the sequence
at a different place, in which case
some of the identities in this article
must be adjusted with appropriate
Spiral of equilateral triangles with side lengths which follow the Padovan sequence.
offsets.

Recurrence relations
In the spiral, each triangle shares a side with two others giving a visual proof that the Padovan sequence also satisfies
the recurrence relation

Starting from this, the defining recurrence and other recurrences as they are discovered, one can create an infinite
number of further recurrences by repeatedly replacing by
The Perrin sequence satisfies the same recurrence relations as the Padovan sequence, although it has different initial
values. This is a property of recurrence relations.
The Perrin sequence can be obtained from the Padovan sequence by the following formula:
Padovan sequence 114

Extension to negative parameters

As with any sequence defined by a recurrence relation, Padovan numers P(m) for m<0 can be defined by rewriting
the recurrence relation as

Starting with n=2 and working backwards. Extending P(m) to negative indices gives the values
..., −7, 4, 0, −3, 4, −3, 1, 1, −2, 2, −1, 0, 1, −1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, ...

Sums of terms
The sum of the first n terms in the Padovan sequence is 2 less than P(n + 5) i.e.

Sums of alternate terms, sums of every third term and sums of every fifth term are also related to other terms in the
sequence:

Sums involving products of terms in the Padovan sequence satisfy the following identities:

Other identities
The Padovan sequence also satisfies the identity

The Padovan sequence is related to sums of binomial coefficients by the following identity:

For example, for k = 12, the values for the pair (m, n) with 2m + n = 12 which give non-zero binomial coefficients
are (6, 0), (5, 2) and (4, 4), and:
Padovan sequence 115

Binet-like formula
The Padovan sequence numbers can be written in terms of powers of the roots of the equation

This equation has 3 roots; one real root p (known as the plastic number) and two complex conjugate roots q and r.
Given these three roots, the Padovan sequence can be expressed by a formula involving p,q and r:

where a, b and c are constants.

Since the magnitudes of the complex roots q and r are both less than 1 (and hence p is a Pisot–Vijayaraghavan
number), the powers of these roots approach 0 for large n, and tends to zero.

For all , P(n) is the integer closest to , where s = p/a = 1.0453567932525329623... is the only real root

of s3 − 2s2 + 23s − 23 = 0. The ratio of successive terms in the Padovan sequence approaches p, which has a value of
approximately 1.324718. This constant bears the same relationship to the Padovan sequence and the Perrin sequence
as the golden ratio does to the Fibonacci sequence.

Combinatorial interpretations
• P(n) is the number of ways of writing n + 2 as an ordered sum in which each term is either 2 or 3 (i.e. the number
of compositions of n + 2 in which each term is either 2 or 3). For example, P(6) = 4, and there are 4 ways to write
8 as an ordered sum of 2s and 3s:
2+2+2+2;2+3+3;3+2+3;3+3+2
• The number of ways of writing n as an ordered sum in which no term is 2 is P(2n − 2). For example, P(6) = 4, and
there are 4 ways to write 4 as an ordered sum in which no term is 2:
4;1+3;3+1;1+1+1+1
• The number of ways of writing n as a palindromic ordered sum in which no term is 2 is P(n). For example, P(6) =
4, and there are 4 ways to write 6 as a palindromic ordered sum in which no term is 2:
6;3+3;1+4+1;1+1+1+1+1+1
• The number of ways of writing n as an ordered sum in which each term is congruent to 2 mod 3 is equal to
P(n − 4). For example, P(6) = 4, and there are 4 ways to write 10 as an ordered sum in which each term is
congruent to 2 mod 3:
8+2;2+8;5+5;2+2+2+2+2
Padovan sequence 116

Generating function
The generating function of the Padovan sequence is

This can be used to prove identities involving products of the Padovan sequence with geometric terms, such as:

Generalizations
In a similar way to the Fibonacci numbers that can be generalized to a set of polynomials called the Fibonacci
polynomials, the Padovan sequence numbers can be generalized to yield the Padovan polynomials.

Padovan prime
A Padovan prime is P(n) that is prime. The first few Padovan primes A100891 [2] are
2, 3, 5, 7, 37, 151, 3329, 23833, ....

Padovan L-system
If we define the following simple grammar:
variables : A B C
constants : none
start : A
rules : (A → B), (B → C), (C → AB)
then this Lindenmayer system or L-system produces the following sequence of strings:
n=0:A
n=1:B
n=2:C
n = 3 : AB
n = 4 : BC
n = 5 : CAB
n = 6 : ABBC
n = 7 : BCCAB
n = 8 : CABABBC
and if we count the length of each string, we obtain the Padovan sequence of numbers:
1 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 ...
Also, if you count the number of As, Bs and Cs in each string, then for the nth string, you have P(n − 5) As, P(n − 3)
Bs and P(n − 4) Cs. The count of BB pairs, AA pairs and CC pairs are also Padovan numbers.
Padovan sequence 117

Padovan Cuboid Spiral

A spiral can be formed based on connecting the corners of a set of 3 dimensional cuboids. This is the Padovan
cuboid spiral. Successive sides of this spiral have lengths that are the Padovan sequence numbers multiplied by the
square root of 2.

External links
• Padovan sequence: A000931 [1] in the OEIS
• Weisstein, Eric W., "Padovan Sequence [3]" from MathWorld.
• Dom Hans Van Der Laan And The Plastic Number [4] by Richard Padovan
• Tales of a Neglected Number [5] by Ian Stewart
• A Padovan Sequence Calculator can be found here. [6]

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000931
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa100891
[3] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ PadovanSequence. html
[4] http:/ / www. nexusjournal. com/ conferences/ N2002-Padovan. html
[5] http:/ / members. fortunecity. com/ templarser/ padovan. html
[6] http:/ / www. plenilune. pwp. blueyonder. co. uk/ fibonacci-calculator. asp

Partition number
In number theory, a partition of a positive
integer n, also called an integer partition, is
a way of writing n as a sum of positive
integers. Two sums that differ only in the
order of their summands are considered to
be the same partition; if order matters then
the sum becomes a composition. A
summand in a partition is also called a part.
The number of partitions of n is given by the
partition function p(n).

Examples
The partitions of 4 are listed below:
1. 4
2. 3+1
3. 2+2
4. 2+1+1
5. 1+1+1+1 Ferrers diagrams showing the partitions of positive integers 1 through 8. They are
The partitions of 8 are listed below: so arranged that images under the reflection about the main diagonal of the square
are conjugate partitions.
1. 8
2. 7 + 1
3. 6 + 2
Partition number 118

4. 6 + 1 + 1
5. 5 + 3
6. 5 + 2 + 1
7. 5 + 1 + 1 + 1
8. 4 + 4
9. 4 + 3 + 1
10. 4 + 2 + 2
11. 4 + 2 + 1 + 1
12. 4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
13. 3 + 3 + 2
14. 3 + 3 + 1 + 1
15. 3 + 2 + 2 + 1
16. 3 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1
17. 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
18. 2 + 2 + 2 + 2
19. 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1
20. 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
21. 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
22. 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1

Partition function
In number theory, the partition function p(n) represents the number of possible partitions of a natural number n,
which is to say the number of distinct (and order independent) ways of representing n as a sum of natural numbers.
For example, 4 can be partitioned in five distinct ways:
4,     3 + 1,     2 + 2,     2 + 1 + 1,     1 + 1 + 1 + 1.
The order dependent composition 1 + 3 is the same partition as 3 + 1, while 1 + 2 + 1 and 1 + 1 + 2 are the same
partition as 2 + 1 + 1.
So p(4) = 5. By convention p(0) = 1, p(n) = 0 for n negative. Partitions can be graphically visualized with Young
diagrams (also called Ferrers diagrams). They occur in a number of branches of mathematics and physics, including
the study of symmetric polynomials, the symmetric group and in group representation theory in general.
In 2011 it was announced that Ken Ono, professor at Emory University, in collaboration with many others,
discovered a finite formula determining the value of p(n) for any positive integer n.[1]

Intermediate function
One way of getting a handle on the partition function involves an intermediate function p(k, n), which represents the
number of partitions of n using only natural numbers at least as large as k. For any given value of k, partitions
counted by p(k, n) fit into exactly one of the following categories:
1. smallest addend is k
2. smallest addend is strictly greater than k.
The number of partitions meeting the first condition is p(k, n − k). To see this, imagine a list of all the partitions of
the number n − k into numbers of size at least k, then imagine appending "+ k" to each partition in the list. Now what
is it a list of? As a side note, one can use this to define a sort of recursion relation for the partition function in term of
the intermediate function, namely
Partition number 119

where is the floor function.

The number of partitions meeting the second condition is p(k + 1, n) since a partition into parts of at least k that
contains no parts of exactly k must have all parts at least k + 1.
Since the two conditions are mutually exclusive, the number of partitions meeting either condition is
p(k + 1, n) + p(k, n − k). The recursively defined function is thus:
• p(k, n) = 0 if k > n
• p(k, n) = 1 if k = n
• p(k, n) = p(k+1, n) + p(k, n − k) otherwise.
This function tends to exhibit deceptive behavior.
p(1, 4) = 5
p(2, 8) = 7
p(3, 12) = 9
p(4, 16) = 11
p(5, 20) = 13
p(6, 24) = 16
Our original function p(n) is just p(1, n).
The values of this function:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

n 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

4 5 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

5 7 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

6 11 4 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0

7 15 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

8 22 7 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0

9 30 8 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 0

10 42 12 5 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
Partition number 120

Generating function
A generating function for p(n) is given by the reciprocal of Euler's function:

Expanding each term on the right-hand side as a geometric series, we can rewrite it as
(1 + x + x2 + x3 + ...)(1 + x2 + x4 + x6 + ...)(1 + x3 + x6 + x9 + ...) ....
The xn term in this product counts the number of ways to write
n = a1 + 2a2 + 3a3 + ... = (1 + 1 + ... + 1) + (2 + 2 + ... + 2) + (3 + 3 + ... + 3) + ...,
where each number i appears ai times. This is precisely the definition of a partition of n, so our product is the desired
generating function. More generally, the generating function for the partitions of n into numbers from a set A can be
found by taking only those terms in the product where k is an element of A. This result is due to Euler.
The formulation of Euler's generating function is a special case of a q-Pochhammer symbol and is similar to the
product formulation of many modular forms, and specifically the Dedekind eta function. It can also be used in
conjunction with the pentagonal number theorem to derive a recurrence for the partition function stating that:
p(k) = p(k − 1) + p(k − 2) − p(k − 5) − p(k − 7) + p(k − 12) + p(k − 15) − p(k − 22) − ...
where p(0) is taken to equal 1, p(k) is zero for negative k, and the sum is taken over all generalized pentagonal
numbers of the form ½n(3n − 1), for n running over positive and negative integers: successively taking n = 1, −1, 2,
−2, 3, −3, 4, −4 ..., generates the values 1, 2, 5, 7, 12, 15, 22, 26, 35, 40, 51, .... The signs in the summation continue
to alternate +, +, −, −, +, +, ...

Table of values
Some values of the partition function are as follows (sequence A000041 [2] in OEIS):
• p(1) = 1
• p(2) = 2
• p(3) = 3
• p(4) = 5
• p(5) = 7
• p(6) = 11
• p(7) = 15
• p(8) = 22
• p(9) = 30
• p(10) = 42
• p(100) = 190,569,292
• p(200) = 3,972,999,029,388
• p(1000) = 24,061,467,864,032,622,473,692,149,727,991 ≈ 2.4×1031.
As of February 2010, the largest known prime number of this kind is p(29099391), with 6002 decimal digits, found
by Predrag Minovic.[3]
Partition number 121

Asymptotic behaviour
An asymptotic expression for p(n) is given by

This asymptotic formula was first obtained by G. H. Hardy and Ramanujan in 1918 and independently by J. V.
Uspensky in 1920. Considering p(1000), the asymptotic formula gives about 2.4402 × 1031, reasonably close to the
exact answer given above.
In 1937, Hans Rademacher was able to improve on Hardy and Ramanujan's results by providing a convergent series
expression for p(n). It is

where

Here, the notation (m, n) = 1 implies that the sum should occur only over the values of m that are relatively prime to
n. The function s(m, k) is a Dedekind sum. The proof of Rademacher's formula is interesting in that it involves Ford
circles, Farey sequences, modular symmetry and the Dedekind eta function in a central way.

Congruences
Srinivasa Ramanujan is credited with discovering that "congruences" in the number of partitions exist for integers
ending in 4 and 9.

For instance, the number of partitions for the integer 4 is 5. For the integer 9, the number of partitions is 30; for 14
there are 135 partitions. He also discovered congruences related to 7 and 11:

Since 5, 7, and 11 are consecutive primes, one might think that there would be such a congruence for the next prime
13, for some a. This is, however, false. It can also be shown that there is no congruence of
the form for any prime b other than 5, 7, or 11.
In the 1960s, A. O. L. Atkin of the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered additional congruences for small
prime moduli. For example:

In 2000, Ken Ono of the University of Wisconsin–Madison proved that there are such congruences for every prime
modulus. A few years later Ono, together with Scott Ahlgren of the University of Illinois, proved that there are
partition congruences modulo every integer coprime to 6.[4]
Partition number 122

Restricted partitions
Among the 22 partitions for the number 8, 6 contain only odd parts:
• 7+1
• 5+3
• 5+1+1+1
• 3+3+1+1
• 3+1+1+1+1+1
• 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1
If we count the partitions of 8 with distinct parts, we also obtain the number 6:
• 8
• 7+1
• 6+2
• 5+3
• 5+2+1
• 4+3+1
It is true for all positive numbers that the number of partitions with odd parts always equals the number of partitions
with distinct parts. This result was proved by Leonard Euler in 1748.[5]
Some similar results about restricted partitions can be obtained by the aid of a visual tool, a Ferrers graph (also
called Ferrers diagram, since it is not a graph in the graph-theoretical sense, or sometimes Young diagram,
alluding to the Young tableau).

Ferrers diagram
The partition 6 + 4 + 3 + 1 of the positive number 14 can be represented by the following diagram; these diagrams
are named in honor of Norman Macleod Ferrers:

6+4+3+1

The 14 circles are lined up in 4 columns, each having the size of a part of the partition. The diagrams for the 5
partitions of the number 4 are listed below:

4 = 3+1 = 2+2 = 2+1+1 = 1+1+1+1

If we now flip the diagram of the partition 6 + 4 + 3 + 1 along its main diagonal, we obtain another partition of 14:
Partition number 123

6+4+3+1 = 4+3+3+2+1+1

By turning the rows into columns, we obtain the partition 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 1 of the number 14. Such partitions are
said to be conjugate of one another. In the case of the number 4, partitions 4 and 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 are conjugate pairs,
and partitions 3 + 1 and 2 + 1 + 1 are conjugate of each other. Of particular interest is the partition 2 + 2, which has
itself as conjugate. Such a partition is said to be self-conjugate.
Claim: The number of self-conjugate partitions is the same as the number of partitions with distinct odd parts.
Proof (outline): The crucial observation is that every odd part can be "folded" in the middle to form a self-conjugate
diagram:

One can then obtain a bijection between the set of partitions with distinct odd parts and the set of self-conjugate
partitions, as illustrated by the following example:

9+7+3 = 5+5+4+3+2

Dist. odd self-conjugate

Similar techniques can be employed to establish, for example, the following equalities:
• The number of partitions of n into no more than k parts is the same as the number of partitions of n into parts no
larger than k.
• The number of partitions of n into no more than k parts is the same as the number of partitions of n + k into
exactly k parts.
Partition number 124

Notes
[1] http:/ / www. aimath. org/ news/ partition/
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000041
[3] http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=54
[4] Ono, Ken; Ahlgren, Scott (2001). "Congruence properties for the partition function" (http:/ / www. math. wisc. edu/ ~ono/ reprints/ 061. pdf).
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98 (23): 12,882–12,884. doi:10.1073/pnas.191488598. .
[5] Andrews, George E. Number Theory. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1971. Dover edition, page 149–150.

References
• George E. Andrews, The Theory of Partitions (1976), Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-63766-X .
• Tom M. Apostol, Modular functions and Dirichlet Series in Number Theory (1990), Springer-Verlag, New York.
ISBN 0-387-97127-0 (See chapter 5 for a modern pedagogical intro to Rademacher's formula).
• Sautoy, Marcus Du. The Music of the Primes. New York: Perennial-HarperCollins, 2003.
• D. H. Lehmer, On the remainder and convergence of the series for the partition function Trans. Amer. Math. Soc.
46(1939) pp 362–373. (Provides the main formula (no derivatives), remainder, and older form for Ak(n).)
• Gupta, Gwyther, Miller, Roy. Soc. Math. Tables, vol 4, Tables of partitions, (1962) (Has text, nearly complete
bibliography, but they (and Abramowitz) missed the Selberg formula for Ak(n), which is in Whiteman.)
• Ian G. Macdonald, Symmetric functions and Hall polynomials, Oxford University Press, 1979, ISBN
0-19-853530-9 (See section I.1)
• Ken Ono, Distribution of the partition function modulo m, Annals of Mathematics 151 (2000) pp 293–307. (This
paper proves congruences modulo every prime greater than 3)
• Richard P. Stanley, Enumerative Combinatorics, Volumes 1 and 2 (http://www-math.mit.edu/~rstan/ec/).
Cambridge University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-521-56069-1
• A. L. Whiteman, A sum connected with the series for the partition function (http://projecteuclid.org/Dienst/UI/
1.0/Summarize/euclid.pjm/1103044252), Pacific Journal of Math. 6:1 (1956) 159–176. (Provides the Selberg
formula. The older form is the finite Fourier expansion of Selberg.)
• Hans Rademacher, Collected Papers of Hans Rademacher, (1974) MIT Press; v II, p 100–107, 108–122,
460–475.
• Miklós Bóna (2002). A Walk Through Combinatorics: An Introduction to Enumeration and Graph Theory. World
Scientific Publishing. ISBN 981-02-4900-4. (qn elementary introduction to the topic of integer partition,
including a discussion of Ferrers graphs)
• George E. Andrews, Kimmo Eriksson (2004). Integer Partitions. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-60090-1.
• 'A Disappearing Number', devised piece by Complicite, mention Ramanujan's work on the Partition Function,
2007

External links
• Partition and composition calculator (http://www.btinternet.com/~se16/js/partitions.htm)
• First 4096 values of the partition function (http://www.numericana.com/data/partition.htm)
• An algorithm to compute the partition function (http://www.numericana.com/answer/numbers.
htm#partitions)
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Partition (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Partition.html)" from MathWorld.
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Partition Function P (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PartitionFunctionP.html)" from
MathWorld.
• Pieces of Number (http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050618/bob9.asp) from Science News Online
• Lectures on Integer Partitions (http://www.math.upenn.edu/~wilf/PIMS/PIMSLectures.pdf) by Herbert S.
Wilf
Partition number 125

• Counting with partitions (http://www.luschny.de/math/seq/CountingWithPartitions.html) with reference

tables to the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
• Integer::Partition Perl module (http://search.cpan.org/perldoc?Integer::Partition) from CPAN
• Fast Algorithms For Generating Integer Partitions (http://www.site.uottawa.ca/~ivan/F49-int-part.pdf)
• Generating All Partitions: A Comparison Of Two Encodings (http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.2331)
• Amanda Folsom, Zachary A. Kent, and Ken Ono, l-adic properties of the partition function (http://www.aimath.
org/news/partition/folsom-kent-ono.pdf). In press.
• Jan Hendrik Bruinier and Ken Ono, An algebraic formula for the partition function (http://www.aimath.org/
news/partition/brunier-ono.pdf). In press.

Perfect number
In mathematics, a perfect number is a positive integer that is the sum of its proper positive divisors, that is, the sum
of the positive divisors excluding the number itself. Equivalently, a perfect number is a number that is half the sum
of all of its positive divisors (including itself), or σ1(n) = 2n.
The first perfect number is 6, because 1, 2, and 3 are its proper positive divisors, and 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. Equivalently, the
number 6 is equal to half the sum of all its positive divisors: ( 1 + 2 + 3 + 6 ) / 2 = 6.
The next perfect number is 28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14. This is followed by the perfect numbers 496 and 8128 (sequence
A000396 [4] in OEIS).
These first four perfect numbers were the only ones known to early Greek mathematics.

Even perfect numbers

Euclid discovered that the first four perfect numbers are generated by the formula 2p−1(2p−1), with p a prime
number:
for p = 2:   21(22−1) = 6
for p = 3:   22(23−1) = 28
for p = 5:   24(25−1) = 496
for p = 7:   26(27−1) = 8128.
Noticing that in each of these cases 2p−1 is a prime number, Euclid proved that 2p−1(2p−1) is an even perfect number
whenever 2p−1 is prime (Euclid, Prop. IX.36).
In order for 2p−1 to be prime, it is necessary that p itself be prime. Prime numbers of the form 2p−1 are known as
Mersenne primes, after the seventeenth-century monk Marin Mersenne, who studied number theory and perfect
numbers. However, not all numbers of the form 2p−1 with p a prime are prime; for example, 211−1 = 2047 = 23 × 89
is not a prime number. In fact, Mersenne primes are very rare — of the 78,498 prime numbers p below 1,000,000,
2p−1 is prime for only 33 of them.
Over a millennium after Euclid, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) circa 1000 AD conjectured that every even perfect
number is of the form 2p−1(2p−1) where 2p−1 is prime, but he was not able to prove this result.[1] It was not until the
18th century that Leonhard Euler proved that the formula 2p−1(2p−1) will yield all the even perfect numbers. Thus,
there is a one-to-one relationship between even perfect numbers and Mersenne primes; each Mersenne prime
generates one even perfect number, and vice versa. This result is often referred to as the Euclid–Euler Theorem. As
of June 2010, 47 Mersenne primes and therefore 47 even perfect numbers are known.[2] The largest of these is
243,112,608 × (243,112,609−1) with 25,956,377 digits.
The first 40 even perfect numbers are 2p−1(2p−1) for
Perfect number 126

p = 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 17, 19, 31, 61, 89, 107, 127, 521, 607, 1279, 2203, 2281, 3217, 4253, 4423, 9689, 9941,
11213, 19937, 21701, 23209, 44497, 86243, 110503, 132049, 216091, 756839, 859433, 1257787, 1398269,
2976221, 3021377, 6972593, 13466917, 20996011 [2] (sequence A000043 [3] in OEIS).
The other 7 known are for p = 24036583, 25964951, 30402457, 32582657, 37156667, 42643801, 43112609. It is not
known whether there are others between them.
It is still uncertain whether there are infinitely many Mersenne primes and perfect numbers. The search for new
Mersenne primes is the goal of the GIMPS distributed computing project.
Since any even perfect number has the form 2p−1(2p−1), it is the (2p−1)th triangular number and the 2p−1th
hexagonal number. Like all triangular numbers, it is the sum of all natural numbers up to a certain point; in this case:
2p−1. Furthermore, any even perfect number except the first one is the ((2p+1)/3)th centered nonagonal number as
well as the sum of the first 2(p−1)/2 odd cubes:

Even perfect numbers (except 6) give remainder 1 when divided by 9. This can be reformulated as follows. Adding
the digits of any even perfect number (except 6), then adding the digits of the resulting number, and repeating this
process until a single digit is obtained — the resulting number is called the digital root — produces the number 1.
For example, the digital root of 8128 = 1, since 8 + 1 + 2 + 8 = 19, 1 + 9 = 10, and 1 + 0 = 1. The reason that this
digital root doesn't work with the perfect number 6 is because it only works with perfect numbers 2p−1(2p−1), with
odd prime p; the perfect number 6 being associated with the even prime 2.
Owing to their form, 2p−1(2p−1), every even perfect number is represented in binary as p ones followed
by p − 1  zeros:
610 = 1102
2810 = 111002
49610 = 1111100002
812810 = 11111110000002
3355033610 = 11111111111110000000000002
Perfect number 127

Odd perfect numbers

It is unknown whether there are any odd perfect numbers. Various results have been obtained, but none that has
helped to locate one or otherwise resolve the question of their existence. Carl Pomerance has presented a heuristic
argument which suggests that no odd perfect numbers exist.[4] All perfect numbers are also Ore's harmonic numbers,
and it has been conjectured as well that there are no odd Ore's harmonic numbers other than 1.
Any odd perfect number N must satisfy the following conditions:
• N > 10300. A search has tentatively shown that N > 101500, but this result is as yet unpublished.[5]
• N is of the form

where:
• q, p1, ..., pk are distinct primes (Euler).
• q ≡ α ≡ 1 (mod 4) (Euler).
• The smallest prime factor of N is less than (2k + 8) / 3 (Grün 1952).
• Either qα > 1020, or p j2ej  > 1020 for some j (Cohen 1987).
• N < 24k+1 (Nielsen 2003).
• The largest prime factor of N is greater than 108 (Takeshi Goto and Yasuo Ohno, 2006).
• The second largest prime factor is greater than 104, and the third largest prime factor is greater than 100 (Iannucci
1999, 2000).
• N has at least 75 prime factors and at least 9 distinct prime factors. If 3 is not one of the factors of N, then N has at
least 12 distinct prime factors (Nielsen 2006; Kevin Hare 2005).
In 1888, Sylvester stated:[6]
...a prolonged meditation on the subject has satisfied me that the existence of any one such [odd perfect
number] — its escape, so to say, from the complex web of conditions which hem it in on all sides — would be
little short of a miracle.

Minor results
All even perfect numbers have a very precise form; odd perfect numbers either do not exist or are rare. There are a
number of results on perfect numbers that are actually quite easy to prove but nevertheless superficially impressive;
some of them also come under Richard Guy's strong law of small numbers:
• An odd perfect number is not divisible by 105 (Kühnel 1949).
• Every odd perfect number is of the form N = 1 mod 12 or N = 117 mod 468 or N = 81 mod 324 (Roberts 2008).
• The only even perfect number of the form x3 + 1 is 28 (Makowski 1962).
• The reciprocals of the divisors of a perfect number N must add up to 2:
• For 6, we have ;
• For 28, we have , etc.
• The number of divisors of a perfect number (whether even or odd) must be even, since N cannot be a perfect
square.
• From these two results it follows that every perfect number is an Ore's harmonic number.
• The even perfect numbers are not trapezoidal numbers; that is, they cannot be represented as the difference of two
positive non-consecutive triangular numbers. There are only three types of non-trapezoidal numbers: even perfect
numbers, powers of two, and a class of numbers formed from Fermat primes in a similar way to the construction
of even perfect numbers from Mersenne primes. [7]
Perfect number 128

Related concepts
The sum of proper divisors gives various other kinds of numbers. Numbers where the sum is less than the number
itself are called deficient, and where it is greater than the number, abundant. These terms, together with perfect itself,
come from Greek numerology. A pair of numbers which are the sum of each other's proper divisors are called
amicable, and larger cycles of numbers are called sociable. A positive integer such that every smaller positive integer
is a sum of distinct divisors of it is a practical number.
By definition, a perfect number is a fixed point of the restricted divisor function s(n) = σ(n) − n, and the aliquot
sequence associated with a perfect number is a constant sequence.
All perfect numbers are also -perfect numbers, or Granville numbers.

Notes
[1] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/
Al-Haytham. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, .
[2] "GIMPS Home" (http:/ / www. mersenne. org/ ). Mersenne.org. . Retrieved 2010-11-10.
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000043
[4] "Oddperfect.org" (http:/ / oddperfect. org/ pomerance. html). Oddperfect.org. . Retrieved 2010-11-10.
[5] http:/ / www. lri. fr/ ~ochem/ opn/ opn. pdf
[6] The Collected Mathematical Papers of James Joseph Sylvester p. 590, tr. from "Sur les nombres dits de Hamilton", Compte Rendu de
l'Assoiation Française (Toulouse, 1887), pp. 164–168.
[7] Jones, Chris; Lord, Nick (1999), "Characterising non-trapezoidal numbers" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 3619053), The Mathematical
Gazette (The Mathematical Association) 83 (497): 262–263, doi:10.2307/3619053,

References
• Graeme L. Cohen, "On the largest component of an odd perfect number", Journal of the Australian Mathematical
Society, 42:2 (1987), pp. 280–286.
• Euclid, Elements, Book IX, Proposition 36. See D.E. Joyce's website (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/
elements/bookIX/propIX36.html) for a translation and discussion of this proposition and its proof.
• Takeshi Goto and Yasuo Ohno, "Odd perfect numbers have a prime factor exceeding 108", Mathematics of
Computation 77:263 (2008), pp. 1859–1868. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-08-02050-9.
• Otto Grün, "Über ungerade vollkommene Zahlen", Mathematische Zeitschrift, 55 (1952), pp. 353–354.
• Kevin Hare, New techniques for bounds on the total number of prime factors of an odd perfect number. (http://
www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~kghare/Preprints/PDF/P20_OPN.pdf) Preprint, 2005. Available from his webpage
(http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~kghare/Preprints/).
• Douglas E. Iannucci, "The second largest prime divisor of an odd perfect number exceeds ten thousand",
Mathematics of Computation, 68:228 (1999), pp. 1749–1760.
• Douglas E. Iannucci, "The third largest prime divisor of an odd perfect number exceeds one hundred",
Mathematics of Computation, 69:230 (2000), pp. 867–879.
• H.-J. Kanold, "Untersuchungen über ungerade vollkommene Zahlen", Journal für die Reine und Angewandte
Mathematik, 183 (1941), pp. 98–109.
• Ullrich Kühnel, "Verschärfung der notwendigen Bedingungen für die Existenz von ungeraden vollkommenen
Zahlen", Mathematische Zeitschrift, 52 (1949), pp. 201–211.
• Pace P. Nielsen, " An upper bound for odd perfect numbers (http://www.integers-ejcnt.org/vol3.html),"
Integers (http://www.integers-ejcnt.org/), 3 (2003), A14, 9 pp.
• Pace P. Nielsen, "Odd perfect numbers have at least nine different prime factors", Mathematics of Computation,
in press, 2006. arXiv:math.NT/0602485.
• T. Roberts, "On the Form of an Odd Perfect Number" (http://www.austms.org.au/Publ/Gazette/2008/Sep08/
CommsRoberts.pdf), Australian Mathematical Gazette, 35:4 (2008), p. 244.
Perfect number 129

• R. Steuerwald, "Verschärfung einer notwendigen Bedingung für die Existenz einer ungeraden vollkommenen
Zahl", S.-B. Bayer. Akad. Wiss., 1937, pp. 69–72.

Further reading
• Dickson, L.E.: History of the Theory of Numbers, 1, Chelsea, reprint, 1952.
• Nankar, M.L.: "History of perfect numbers," Ganita Bharati 1, no. 1–2 (1979), 7–8.
• Hagis, P.: "A Lower Bound for the set of odd Perfect Prime Numbers", Mathematics of Computation 27, (1973),
951–953.
• Riele, H.J.J. "Perfect Numbers and Aliquot Sequences" in H.W. Lenstra and R. Tijdeman (eds.): Computational
Methods in Number Theory, Vol. 154, Amsterdam, 1982, pp. 141–157.
• Riesel, H. Prime Numbers and Computer Methods for Factorisation, Birkhauser, 1985.

External links
• David Moews: Perfect, amicable and sociable numbers (http://djm.cc/amicable.html)
• Perfect numbers - History and Theory (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/
Perfect_numbers.html)
• Weisstein, Eric W., " perfect number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PerfectNumber.html)" from MathWorld.
• A000396 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeis:a000396): List of perfect numbers
• OddPerfect.org (http://www.oddperfect.org) A projected distributed computing project to search for odd perfect
numbers
• (http://www.mersenne.org/(GIMPS)), Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
• Perfect Numbers (http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.perfect.html), Math forum at Drexel

Pseudoperfect number
In number theory, a semiperfect number or pseudoperfect number is a natural number n that is equal to the sum of
all or some of its proper divisors. A semiperfect number that is equal to the sum of all its proper divisors is a perfect
number.
The first few semiperfect numbers are
6, 12, 18, 20, 24, 28, 30, 36, 40, ... (sequence A005835 [1] in OEIS);
every multiple of a semiperfect number is semiperfect, and every number of the form 2mp for a natural number m
and a prime number p such that p < 2m + 1 is also semiperfect. In particular, every number of the form 2m-1(2m-1) is
semiperfect, and indeed perfect if 2m-1 is a Mersenne prime.
The smallest odd semiperfect number is 945 (see, e.g., Friedman 1993).
A semiperfect number is necessarily either perfect or abundant; an abundant number which is not semiperfect is
called a weird number. With the exception of 2, all primary pseudoperfect numbers are semiperfect. Every practical
number that is not a power of two is semiperfect.
A semiperfect number that is not divisible by any smaller semiperfect number is a primitive semiperfect number.
Pseudoperfect number 130

References
• Friedman, Charles N. (1993). "Sums of divisors and Egyptian fractions" [2]. Journal of Number Theory 44:
328–339. doi:10.1006/jnth.1993.1057. MR1233293.
• Guy, Richard K. (2004). Unsolved Problems in Number Theory. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-20860-7.
OCLC 54611248. Section B2.
• Sierpiński, Wacław (1965). "Sur les nombres pseudoparfaits" (in French). Mat. Vesn., N. Ser. 2 17: 212–213.

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., "Pseudoperfect Number [3]" from MathWorld.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa005835
[2] http:/ / dell5. ma. utexas. edu/ users/ friedman/ divisors. ps
[3] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ PseudoperfectNumber. html

Prime number
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number that has exactly two distinct natural number divisors: 1 and itself.
The smallest twenty-five prime numbers (all the prime numbers under 100) are:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97 (sequence A000040 [1]
in OEIS).
An infinitude of prime numbers exists, as demonstrated by Euclid around 300 BC,[2] although the density of prime
numbers within natural numbers is 0. The number 1 is by definition not prime. The fundamental theorem of
arithmetic establishes the central role of primes in number theory: any positive integer n can be factored into primes,
written as a product of primes or powers of different primes (including the empty product of factors for 1).
Moreover, this factorization is unique except for a possible reordering of the factors.
The property of being prime is called primality. Verifying the primality of a given number n can be done by trial
division. The simplest trial division method tests whether n is a multiple of an integer m between 2 and √n. If n is a
multiple of any of these integers then it is a composite number, and so not prime; if it is not a multiple of any of
these integers then it is prime. As this method requires up to √n trial divisions, it is only suitable for relatively small
values of n. More sophisticated algorithms, which are much more efficient than trial division, have been devised to
test the primality of large numbers.
There is no known useful formula that yields all of the prime numbers and no composites. However, the distribution
of primes, that is to say, the statistical behaviour of primes in the large can be modeled. The first result in that
direction is the prime number theorem which says that the probability that a given, randomly chosen number n is
prime is inversely proportional to its number of digits, or the logarithm of n. This statement has been proven since
the end of the 19th century. The unproven Riemann hypothesis dating from 1859 implies a refined statement
concerning the distribution of primes.
Despite being intensely studied, there remain some open questions around prime numbers which can be stated
simply. For example, Goldbach's conjecture, which asserts that any even natural number greater than two can be
expressed as the sum of two primes, and the twin prime conjecture, which says that there are infinitely many twin
primes (pairs of primes whose difference is two), have been unresolved for more than a century, notwithstanding the
simplicity of their statements.
Prime number 131

Prime numbers give rise to various generalizations in other mathematical domains, mainly algebra, notably the
notion of prime ideals.
Primes are applied in several routines in information technology, such as public-key cryptography, which makes use
of the difficulty of factoring large numbers into their prime factors. Searching for big primes, often using distributed
computing, has stimulated studying special types of primes, chiefly Mersenne primes whose primality is comparably
quick to decide. As of 2011, the largest known prime number has about 13 million decimal digits.[3]

Definition and examples

A natural number
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...
is called a prime or a prime number if it has exactly two divisors, 1 and the number itself. Natural numbers greater
than 1 that are not prime are called composite.
Among the numbers 1 to 6, the numbers 2, 3, and 5 are the prime
numbers, while 1, 4, and 6 are not prime. 1 is excluded as a prime
number, for reasons explained below. 2 is a prime number, since the
only natural numbers dividing it are 1 and 2. Next, 3 is prime, too: 1
and 3 do divide 3 without remainder, but 3 divided by 2 gives
remainder 1. Thus, 3 is prime. However, 4 is composite, since 2 is
another number (in addition to 1 and 4) dividing 4 without remainder:

4 = 2 · 2.
5 is again prime: none of the numbers 2, 3, or 4 divide 5. Next, 6 is
divisible by 2 or 3, since Illustration showing that 11 is a prime number
while 12 is not
6 = 2 · 3.

Hence, 6 is not prime. The image at the right illustrates that 12 is not prime: 12 = 3 · 4. More generally, no even
number bigger than 2 is prime: any such number n has at least three distinct divisors, namely 1, 2, and n. This
implies that n is not prime. Accordingly, the term odd prime refers to any prime number greater than 2. In a similar
vein, all prime numbers bigger than 5, written in the usual decimal system, end in 1, 3, 7 or 9, since even numbers
are multiples of 2 and numbers ending in 0 or 5 are multiples of 5.
For any natural number n, 1 and n divide n without remainder. Therefore, the condition on being a prime can also be
restated as: a number is prime if it is bigger than one and if none of
2, 3, ..., n − 1
divides n (without remainder). Yet another way to say the same is: a number n > 1 is prime if it cannot be written as
a product of two integers a and b, both of which are larger than 1:
n = a · b.
The set of all primes is often denoted P.
Prime number 132

The fundamental theorem of arithmetic

The crucial importance of prime numbers to number theory and mathematics in general stems from the fundamental
theorem of arithmetic which states that every positive integer larger than 1 can be written as a product of one or more
primes in a way which is unique except possibly for the order of the prime factors. Primes can thus be considered the
“basic building blocks” of the natural numbers. For example, we can write:

23244 = 2 · 2 · 3 · 13 · 149

= 22 · 3 · 13 · 149. (22 denotes the square or second power of 2.)

As in this example, the same prime factor may occur multiple times. A decomposition:
n = p1 · p2 · ... · pt
of a number n into (finitely many) prime factors p1, p2, ... to pt is called prime factorization of n. The fundamental
theorem of arithmetic can be rephrased so as to say that any factorization into primes will be identical except for the
order of the factors. So, albeit there are many prime factorization algorithms to do this in practice for larger numbers,
they all have to yield the same result.
If p is a prime number and p divides a product ab of integers, then p divides a or p divides b. This proposition is
known as Euclid's lemma. It is used in some proofs of the uniqueness of prime factorizations.

Primality of one
Until the 19th century, most mathematicians considered the number 1 a prime. Then, the definition was that a prime
is divisible only by 1 and itself. For example, Derrick Norman Lehmer's list of primes up to 10,006,721, reprinted as
late as 1956,[4] started with 1 as its first prime.[5] Henri Lebesgue is said to be the last professional mathematician to
call 1 prime.[6] A large body of mathematical work that is also valid when calling 1 a prime, but the above
fundamental theorem of arithmetic does no longer hold as stated. For example, the number 15 can be factored as 3 ·
5 or 1 · 1 · 3 · 5. If 1 were admitted as a prime, these two presentations would be considered different factorizations
of 15 into prime numbers, so the statement of that theorem would have to be modified. In the words of Timothy
Gowers
"The seemingly arbitrary exclusion of 1 from the definition of a prime … does not express some deep fact
about numbers: it just happens to be a useful convention, adopted so there is only one way of factorizing any
given number into primes." (emphasis added)[7] [8]
Furthermore, the prime numbers have several properties that the number 1 lacks, such as the relationship of the
number to its corresponding value of Euler's totient function or the sum of divisors function.[9]
Prime number 133

History
There are hints in the surviving records of
the ancient Egyptians that they had some
knowledge of prime numbers: the Egyptian
fraction expansions in the Rhind papyrus,
for instance, have quite different forms for
primes and for composites. However, the
earliest surviving records of the explicit
study of prime numbers come from the
Ancient Greeks. Euclid's Elements (circa
300 BC) contain important theorems about
primes, including the infinitude of primes
and the fundamental theorem of arithmetic.
Euclid also showed how to construct a
perfect number from a Mersenne prime. The
Sieve of Eratosthenes, attributed to
Eratosthenes, is a simple method to compute
The Sieve of Eratosthenes is a simple algorithm for finding all prime numbers up
primes, although the large primes found to a specified integer. It was created in the 3rd century BC by Eratosthenes, an
today with computers are not generated this ancient Greek mathematician. (Click to see animation.)
way.

After the Greeks, little happened with the study of prime numbers until the 17th century. In 1640 Pierre de Fermat
stated (without proof) Fermat's little theorem (later proved by Leibniz and Euler). A special case of Fermat's theorem
may have been known much earlier by the Chinese. Fermat conjectured that all numbers of the form 22n + 1 are
prime (they are called Fermat numbers) and he verified this up to n = 4 (or 216 + 1). However, the very next Fermat
number 232 + 1 is composite (one of its prime factors is 641), as Euler discovered later, and in fact no further Fermat
numbers are known to be prime. The French monk Marin Mersenne looked at primes of the form 2p − 1, with p a
prime. They are called Mersenne primes in his honor.

Euler's work in number theory included many results about primes. He showed the infinite series 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/5 +
1/7 + 1/11 + … is divergent. In 1747 he showed that the even perfect numbers are precisely the integers of the form
2p−1(2p − 1), where the second factor is a Mersenne prime.
At the start of the 19th century, Legendre and Gauss independently conjectured that as x tends to infinity, the number
of primes up to x is asymptotic to x/ln(x), where ln(x) is the natural logarithm of x. Ideas of Riemann in his 1859
paper on the zeta-function sketched a program which would lead to a proof of the prime number theorem. This
outline was completed by Hadamard and de la Vallée Poussin, who independently proved the prime number theorem
in 1896.
Proving a number is prime is not done (for large numbers) by trial division. Many mathematicians have worked on
primality tests for large numbers, often restricted to specific number forms. This includes Pépin's test for Fermat
numbers (1877), Proth's theorem (around 1878), the Lucas–Lehmer primality test (originated 1856),[10] and the
generalized Lucas primality test. More recent algorithms like APRT-CL, ECPP, and AKS work on arbitrary numbers
but remain much slower.
For a long time, prime numbers were thought to have extremely limited application outside of pure mathematics; this
changed in the 1970s when the concepts of public-key cryptography were invented, in which prime numbers formed
the basis of the first algorithms such as the RSA cryptosystem algorithm.
Since 1951 all the largest known primes have been found by computers. The search for ever larger primes has
generated interest outside mathematical circles. The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search and other distributed
Prime number 134

computing projects to find large primes have become popular in the last ten to fifteen years, while mathematicians
continue to struggle with the theory of primes.

The number of prime numbers

There are infinitely many prime numbers. Another way of saying this is that the sequence
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...
of prime numbers never ends. This statement is referred to as Euclid's theorem in honor of the ancient Greek
mathematician Euclid, since the first known proof for this statement is attributed to him. Many more proofs of the
infinitude of primes are known, including an analytical proof by Euler, Goldbach's proof based on Fermat
numbers,[11] Fürstenberg's proof using general topology,[12] and Kummer's elegant proof.[13]

Euclid's proof
Euclid's proof (Book IX, Proposition 20[14] ) begins with the definition of prime and then considers any finite set of
primes, which we denote p1, p2, up to pn. The key idea is to consider the product of all these numbers plus one (this
number is called Euclid number):
P = p1 · p2 · ... · pn + 1.
Like any natural number, P can be written as a product of prime numbers; this is assured by the fundamental theorem
of arithmetic:
P = q1 · q2 · ... · qm
(it is possible that P itself is prime, in which case m = 1).
None of the primes p1, p2, etc., to pn can divide P, because dividing P by any of these leaves a remainder of 1.
Therefore the primes q1, q2, ..., qm are additional primes beyond the ones we started with. Thus any finite set of
primes can be extended to a larger finite set of primes.
The Euclid number P need not be prime, for example
2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 + 1 = 30,031 = 59 · 509 (both primes).
It is often erroneously reported that Euclid proved this result by contradiction, beginning with the assumption that
the set initially considered contains all prime numbers, or that it contains precisely the n smallest primes, rather than
any arbitrary finite set of primes.[15]

Euler's analytical proof

Euler's proof uses the sum of the reciprocals of primes,

This sum becomes bigger than any arbitrary real number provided that p is big enough. This shows that there are
infinitely many primes, since otherwise this sum would grow only until the biggest prime p is reached. The sum S(p)
grows as fast as ln(ln(p)), up to a bounded error term (Mertens' second theorem). For comparison, the sums

do not grow to infinity, when n grows. In this sense, prime numbers occur more often than squares of natural
numbers. Brun's theorem states that the sum of the reciprocals of twin primes,
Prime number 135

is finite.

Testing primality and integer factorization

Various methods called primality tests determine whether a given number n is prime. Most such methods only tell
whether n is prime or not but do not yield the prime factors of n. A routine accomplishing the latter task, too, is
called a factorization algorithm.

Trial division
The most basic method of checking the primality of a given integer n is called trial division. This routine consists in
dividing n by each integer m which is greater than 1 and less than or equal to the square root of n. If the result of any
of these divisions is an integer, then n is not a prime; otherwise, it is a prime. For example, for n = 35, the procedure
divides 35 by m ranging from 2 to 5. 35 divided by 5 is 7, which shows that 35 is composite. It is not necessary to
check whether 35 / m is an integer for m bigger than 5, since at least one prime factor of 35 has to be less than the
square root of 35 (approximately 5.9).
If a list of primes up to the square root of n is known, then trial divisions can be checked for those m that are prime,
only. Thus, to check the primality of 35, three divisions are necessary, namely 35 : 2, 35 : 3, and 35 : 5. Although it
is a simple algorithm, trial division quickly becomes impractical for testing large integers because the number of
possible factors grows too rapidly as n increases. According to the prime number theorem, the number of prime
numbers less than is approximately

The algorithm may need up to this number of trial divisions to check whether n is prime. For n = 1020, this number is
450 million—too large for many practical applications.
An algorithm yielding all primes up to a given limit, such as required in the trial division method, is called a sieve.
The oldest example, the sieve of Eratosthenes (see above) is useful for relatively small primes. The modern sieve of
Atkin is more complicated, but faster when properly optimized. Before the advent of computers, lists of primes up to
bounds like 107 were also used.[16]

Primality testing vs. primality proving

Modern primality tests can be divided into two main classes, probabilistic (or "Monte Carlo") and deterministic
algorithms. The former merely "test" whether a given number n is prime in the sense that they declare n to be
(definitely) composite or "probably prime", which latter means that n may or may not be a prime number. For
example, Fermat's primality test relies on Fermat's little theorem. This theorem says for any prime number p, ap − 1
leaves remainder 1 when divided by p. Thus, if an − 1 does not give remainder 1 upon division by n, n cannot be
prime. On the other hand, the remainder in question being 1 does not imply that n is prime. A pseudoprime is a
composite number that is declared prime by such a probabilistic test. For example, the Carmichael numbers (the
smallest being 561) are not detected prime by the Fermat test, no matter what choice of a is made.
The interest in probabilistic algorithms lies in the fact that they are typically faster than the deterministic algorithms
known so far. Deterministic algorithms do not erroneously report composite numbers as prime. In practice, the
fastest such method is known as elliptic curve primality proving. Analyzing its run time is based on heuristic
arguments, as opposed to a the rigorously proven complexity of the more recent AKS primality test.
The following table lists a number of prime test, both deterministic and probabilistic. The running time is given in
terms of n, the number to be tested and, for probabilistic algorithms, the number k of tests performed.
Prime number 136

Test Developed in Deterministic Running time Notes

AKS primality test 2002 Yes O(log6+ε(n)) (using big O notation)

Elliptic curve primality proving 1977 Yes heuristic running time

O(log5+ε(n))

Miller–Rabin primality test 1980 No O(k · log2 n · log log n · log log log n) error probability 4−k

Solovay–Strassen primality test 1977 No O(k · log3 n) error probability 2−k

Fermat primality test No O(k · log2 n · log log n · log log log n) fails for Carmichael numbers

Special-purpose algorithms
In addition to the aforementioned tests applying to any natural number
n, a number of much more efficient primality tests is available for
special numbers. For example, to run Lucas' primality test requires the
knowledge of the prime factors of n − 1, while the Lucas–Lehmer
primality test needs the prime factors of n + 1 as input. For example,
these tests can be applied to check whether

n! ± 1 = 1 · 2 · 3 · ... · n ± 1
are prime. Prime numbers of this form are known as factorial primes.
Other primes where either p + 1 or p − 1 is of a particular shape
include the Sophie Germain primes (primes of the form 2p + 1 with p
prime), primorial primes, Fermat primes and Mersenne primes, that is,
prime numbers that are of the form 2p − 1, where p is an arbitrary Construction of a regular pentagon. 5 is a Fermat
prime.
prime. It is not known whether there are infinitely many primes of any
of these types.

Fermat primes are of the form 22k + 1, with k an arbitrary natural number. They are named after Pierre de Fermat
who conjectured that all numbers Fk = 22k + 1 are prime. This was based on the evidence of the first five numbers in
this series—3, 5, 17, 257, and 65,537—being prime. However, F6 is composite and so are all other Fermat numbers
that have been verified as of 2011. A regular n-gon is constructible using straightedge and compass if and only if
n = 2i · m
where m is a product of any number of distinct Fermat primes and i is any natural number, including zero.

The largest known prime

Since the dawn of electronic computers the largest known prime has almost always been a Mersenne prime because
there is a fast algorithm, the Lucas–Lehmer primality test, for these numbers. Some of these primes have been found
using distributed computing, such as the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search. On October 22, 2009, this project
was awarded a US$100,000 prize for first discovering a prime with at least 10 million digits.[17] The Electronic
Frontier Foundation also offers $150,000 and $250,000 for primes with at least 100 million digits and 1 billion
digits, respectively.[18] Other projects searching primes are PrimeGrid and Wieferich@Home, which tries to find the
third Wieferich prime.
The following table gives the largest known primes of the mentioned types. Some of the largest primes not known to
have any particular form (that is, no simple formula such as that of Mersenne primes) have been found by taking a
piece of semi-random binary data, converting it to a number n, multiplying it by 256k for some positive integer k,
and searching for possible primes within the interval [256kn + 1, 256k(n + 1) − 1].
Prime number 137

Prime Number of decimal Type Date Found by

digits

12,978,189 Mersenne prime August 23, Great Internet Mersenne Prime

243,112,609 − 1
2008 Search

3,918,990 not a Mersenne prime (Proth March 26, 2007 Seventeen or Bust
19,249 × 213,018,586 + 1
number)

94550! − 1 429,390 factorial prime October 2010 [19]

Domanov, PrimeGrid

392113# + 1 169,966 primorial prime 2001 [20]

Heuer

100,355 twin primes 2009 [21]

65516468355 × 2333333 ± Twin prime search
1

Integer factorization
Given a composite integer n, the task of providing one (or all) prime factors is referred to as factorization of n.
Elliptic curve factorization is an algorithm relying on arithmetic on an elliptic curve.

Generating prime numbers

There are many formulas for primes, but they are usually computationally inefficient.
One formula is based on Wilson's theorem and generates the number 2 many times and all other primes exactly once.
There are other similar formulas which also produce primes.
There is no non-constant polynomial, even in several variables, that takes only prime values. But there is a set of
Diophantine equations in 9 variables and one parameter with the following property: the parameter is prime if and
only if the resulting system of equations has a solution over the natural numbers. This can be used to obtain a single
formula with the property that all its positive values are prime.

Distribution
The problem of modeling the distribution of prime numbers is a
popular subject of investigation for number theorists. In a 1975
lecture, noted number theorist Don Zagier commented
There are two facts about the distribution of prime
numbers of which I hope to convince you so
overwhelmingly that they will be permanently
engraved in your hearts. The first is that, despite their
simple definition and role as the building blocks of the
natural numbers, the prime numbers grow like weeds
among the natural numbers, seeming to obey no other
law than that of chance, and nobody can predict where
the next one will sprout. The second fact is even more
astonishing, for it states just the opposite: that the The Ulam spiral. Black pixels show prime numbers.
prime numbers exhibit stunning regularity, that there
are laws governing their behavior, and that they obey these laws with almost military precision.[22]

Euler noted that the function

n2 + n + 41
Prime number 138

gives prime numbers[23] for n < 40 (but not necessarily so for bigger n),[24] a remarkable fact leading into deep
algebraic number theory, more specifically Heegner numbers. The Ulam spiral depicts all natural numbers in a
spiral-like way. Surprisingly, prime numbers cluster on certain diagonals and not others.

Number of prime numbers below a given number

The prime counting function π(n) is defined as the number of
primes up to n. For example π(11) = 5, since there are five primes
less than or equal to 11. There are known algorithms to compute
exact values of π(n) faster than it would be possible to compute
each prime up to n. Values as large as π(1020) can be calculated
quickly and accurately with modern computers.

For larger values of n, beyond the reach of modern equipment, the

prime number theorem provides an estimate: π(n) is approximately
n/ln(n). In other words, as n gets very large, the likelihood that a
number less than n is prime is inversely proportional to the number A chart depicting π(n) (blue), n / ln (n) (green) and Li
of digits in n. Even better estimates are known; see for example (n), the offset logarithmic integral (red)
Prime number theorem#The prime-counting function in terms of
the logarithmic integral.

Gaps between primes

A sequence of consecutive integers none of which is prime constitutes a prime gap. There are arbitrarily long prime
gaps: for any natural number n larger than 1, the sequence (for the notation n! read factorial)
n! + 2, n! + 3, …, n! + n
is a sequence of n − 1 consecutive composite integers, since
n! + m = m · (n!/m + 1) = m · [(1 · 2 · … · (m − 1) · (m + 1) … n) + 1]
is composite for any 2 ≤ m ≤ n. On the other hand, the gaps get arbitrarily small in proportion to the primes: the
quotient
(pi + 1 − pi) / pi,
where pi denotes the ith prime number (i.e., p1 = 2, p2 = 3, etc.), approaches zero as i approaches infinity.

Arithmetic progressions
An arithmetic progression is the set of natural numbers that give the same remainder when divided by some fixed
number q called modulus. For example,
3, 12, 21, 30, 39, ...,
is an arithmetic progression modulo q = 9. Except for 3, none of these numbers is prime, since 3 + 9n = 3(1 + 3n) so
that the remaining numbers in this progression are all composite. (More generally, all prime numbers above q are of
form q#·n + m, where 0 < m < q#, and m has no prime factor ≤ q.) Thus, the progression
a, a + q, a + 2q, a + 3q, …
can have infinitely many primes only when a and q are coprime, i.e., their greatest common divisor is one. If this
necessary condition is satisfied, Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions asserts that the progression contains
infinitely many primes. The picture below illustrates this with q = 9: the numbers are "wrapped around" as soon as a
multiple of 9 is passed. Primes are highlighted in red. The rows (=progressions) starting with a = 3, 6, or 9 contain at
most one prime number. In all other rows (a = 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8) there are infinitely many prime numbers. What is
Prime number 139

more, the primes are distributed equally among those rows in the long run—the density of all primes congruent a
modulo 9 is 1/6.
The Green–Tao theorem shows that there are arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions consisting of primes.[25] Any
odd prime is either congruent to 1 or 3 modulo 4. An odd prime p is expressible as the sum of two squares, p = x2 +
y2, exactly if p is congruent 1 modulo 4 (Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares).

Bertrand's postulate
Bertrand's postulate, proven first by Chebyshev, states that there always exists at least one prime number p with
n < p < 2n − 2, for any natural number n > 1.

Open questions

The Riemann hypothesis

To state the Riemann hypothesis, one of the oldest, yet still unproven, mathematical conjectures, it is necessary to
understand the Riemann zeta function (s is a complex number with real part bigger than 1)

The second equality is a consequence of the fundamental theorem of arithmetics, and shows that the zeta function is
deeply connected with prime numbers. For example, the fact (see above) that there are infinitely many primes can be
read off from the divergence of the harmonic series:

If there were a finite number of primes then would have a finite value - but instead we know that the Riemann
zeta function has a simple pole at 1.
Another example of the richness of the zeta function and a glimpse of modern algebraic number theory is the
following identity (Basel problem), due to Euler,

Riemann's hypothesis is concerned with the zeroes of the ζ-function (i.e., s such that ζ(s) = 0). The connection to
prime numbers is that it essentially says that the primes are as regularly distributed as possible. From a physical
viewpoint, it roughly states that the irregularity in the distribution of primes only comes from random noise. From a
mathematical viewpoint, it roughly states that the asymptotic distribution of primes (about 1/ log x of numbers less
than x are primes, the prime number theorem) also holds for much shorter intervals of length about the square root of
x (for intervals near x). This hypothesis is generally believed to be correct. In particular, the simplest assumption is
that primes should have no significant irregularities without good reason.

Other conjectures
In addition to the Riemann hypothesis, many more conjectures revolving about primes have been posed. Often
having an elementary formulation, many of these conjectures have withstood a proof for decades: all four of
Landau's problems from 1912 are still unsolved. One of them is Goldbach's conjecture which asserts that every even
integer n greater than 2 can be written as a sum of two primes. As of February 2011, this conjecture has been verified
for all numbers up to n = 2 · 1017.[26] Weaker statements than this have been proven, for example Goldbach's weak
conjecture which says that every odd integer greater than 5 can be written as a sum of three primes is known to hold
for all sufficiently large integers (Vinogradov's theorem). Also, any even integer can be written as the sum of six
Prime number 140

primes.[27] The branch of number theory studying such questions is called additive number theory.
Other conjectures deal with the question whether an infinity of prime numbers subject to certain constraints exists. It
is conjectured that there are infinitely many Fibonacci primes[28] and infinitely many Mersenne primes, but not
Fermat primes.[29] It is not known whether or not there are an infinite number of prime Euclid numbers.
A third type of conjectures concerns aspects of the distribution of primes. It is conjectured that there are infinitely
many twin primes, pairs of primes with difference 2 (twin prime conjecture). Polignac's conjecture is a strengthening
of that conjecture, it states that for every positive integer n, there are infinitely many pairs of consecutive primes that
differ by 2n. It is conjectured there are infinitely many primes of the form n2 + 1.[30] These conjectures are special
cases of the broad Schinzel's hypothesis H. Brocard's conjecture says that there are always at least four primes
between the squares of consecutive primes greater than 2. Legendre's conjecture states that there is a prime number
between n2 and (n + 1)2 for every positive integer n. It is implied by the stronger Cramér's conjecture.

Applications
For a long time, number theory in general, and the study of prime numbers in particular, was seen as the canonical
example of pure mathematics, with no applications outside of the self-interest of studying the topic. In particular,
number theorists such as British mathematician G. H. Hardy prided themselves on doing work that had absolutely no
military significance.[31] However, this vision was shattered in the 1970s, when it was publicly announced that prime
numbers could be used as the basis for the creation of public key cryptography algorithms. Prime numbers are also
used for hash tables and pseudorandom number generators.
Some rotor machines were designed with a different number of pins on each rotor, with the number of pins on any
one rotor either prime, or coprime to the number of pins on any other rotor. This helped generate the full cycle of
possible rotor positions before repeating any position.
The International Standard Book Numbers work with a check digit, which exploits the fact that 11 is a prime.

Arithmetic modulo a prime p

Modular arithmetic is a modification of usual arithmetic, by doing all calculations "modulo" a fixed number n. All
calculations of modular arithmetic take place in the finite set
{0, 1, 2, ..., n − 1}.
Calculating modulo n means that sums, differences and products are calculated as usual, but then only the remainder
after division by n is considered. For example, let n = 7. Then, in modular arithmetic modulo 7, the sum 3 + 5 is 1
instead of 8, since 8 divided by 7 has remainder 1. Similarly, 6 + 1 = 0 modulo 7, 2 − 5 = 4 modulo 7 (since −3 + 7
= 4) and 3 · 4 = 5 modulo 7 (12 has remainder 5). Standard properties of addition and multiplication familiar from
the number system of the integers or rational numbers remain valid, for example
(a + b) · c = a · c + b · c (law of distributivity).
In general it is, however, not possible to divide in this setting. For example, for n = 6, the equation
3 · x = 2 (modulo 6),
a solution x of which would be an analogue of 2/3, cannot be solved, as one can see by calculating 3 · 0, ..., 3 · 5
modulo 6. The distinctive feature of prime numbers is the following: division is possible in modular arithmetic if and
only if n is a prime. For n = 7, the equation
3 · x = 2 (modulo 7)
has a unique solution, x = 3. Equivalently, n is prime if and only if all integers m satisfying 2 ≤ m ≤ n − 1 are
coprime to n, i.e., their greatest common divisor is 1. Using Euler's totient function φ, n is prime if and only if φ(n) =
n − 1.
Prime number 141

The set {0, 1, 2, ..., n − 1}, with addition and multiplication is denoted Z/nZ for all n. In the parlance of abstract
algebra, it is a ring, for any n, but a finite field if and only if n is prime. A number of theorems can be derived from
inspecting Z/pZ in an abstract way. For example Fermat's little theorem, stating that ap − a is divisible by p for any
integer a, may be proved using these notions. A consequence of this is the following: if p is a prime number other
than 2 and 5, 1/p is always a recurring decimal, whose period is p − 1 or a divisor of p − 1. The fraction 1/p expressed
likewise in base q (rather than base 10) has similar effect, provided that p is not a prime factor of q. Wilson's theorem
says that an integer p > 1 is prime if and only if the factorial (p − 1)! + 1 is divisible by p. Moreover, an integer n > 4
is composite if and only if (n − 1)! is divisible by n.

Other mathematical occurrences of primes

Many mathematical domains make great use of prime numbers. An example from the theory of finite groups are the
Sylow theorems: if G is a finite group and pn is the highest power of the prime p which divides the order of G, then
G has a subgroup of order pn. Also, any group of prime order is cyclic (Lagrange's theorem).

Public-key cryptography
Several public-key cryptography algorithms, such as RSA and the Diffie–Hellman key exchange, are based on large
prime numbers (for example 512 bit primes are frequently used for RSA and 1024 bit primes are typical for
Diffie–Hellman.). RSA relies on the fact that it is thought to be much easier (i.e., more efficient) to perform the
multiplication of two (large) numbers x and y than to calculate x and y (assumed coprime) if only the product xy is
known. The Diffie–Hellman key exchange relies on the fact that there are efficient algorithms for modular
exponentiation, while the reverse operation the discrete logarithm is thought to be a hard problem.

Prime numbers in nature

Inevitably, some of the numbers that occur in nature are prime. There are, however, relatively few examples of
numbers that appear in nature because they are prime.
One example of the use of prime numbers in nature is as an evolutionary strategy used by cicadas of the genus
Magicicada.[32] These insects spend most of their lives as grubs underground. They only pupate and then emerge
from their burrows after 13 or 17 years, at which point they fly about, breed, and then die after a few weeks at most.
The logic for this is believed to be that the prime number intervals between emergences make it very difficult for
predators to evolve that could specialize as predators on Magicicadas.[33] If Magicicadas appeared at a non-prime
number intervals, say every 12 years, then predators appearing every 2, 3, 4, 6, or 12 years would be sure to meet
them. Over a 200-year period, average predator populations during hypothetical outbreaks of 14- and 15-year cicadas
would be up to 2% higher than during outbreaks of 13- and 17-year cicadas.[34] Though small, this advantage
appears to have been enough to drive natural selection in favour of a prime-numbered life-cycle for these insects.
There is speculation that the zeros of the zeta function are connected to the energy levels of complex quantum
systems.[35]

Generalizations
The concept of prime number is so important that it has been generalized in different ways in various branches of
mathematics. Generally, "prime" indicates minimality or indecomposability, in an appropriate sense. For example,
the prime field is the smallest subfield of a field F containing both 0 and 1. It is either Q or the finite field with p
elements, whence the name. Often a second, additional meaning is intended by using the word prime, namely that
any object can be, essentially uniquely, decomposed into its prime components. For example, in knot theory, a prime
knot is a knot which is indecomposable in the sense that it cannot be written as the knot sum of two nontrivial knots.
Any knot can be uniquely expressed as a connected sum of prime knots.[36] Prime models and prime 3-manifolds are
other examples of this type.
Prime number 142

Prime elements in rings

Prime numbers give rise to two more general concepts that apply to elements of any ring R, an algebraic structure
where addition, subtraction and multiplication are defined: prime elements and irreducible elements. An element p of
R is called prime if it is not zero or a unit (i.e., does not have a multiplicative inverse) and the following property
holds: given x and y in R such that p divides the product, then p divides at least one factor. Irreducible elements are
ones which cannot be written as a product of two ring elements that are not units. In general, this is a weaker
condition, but for any unique factorization domain, such as the ring Z of integers, the set of prime elements equals
the set of irreducible elements, which for Z is :
{…, −11, −7, −5, −3, −2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, …}.
Excluding 1 as a prime is paralleled in this more general situation, by requiring that a prime element is not a unit.
The fundamental theorem of arithmetic continues to hold in unique factorization domains. A common example of
such a domain are the Gaussian integers Z[i], that is, the set of complex numbers of the form a + bi with a and b in
Z. Its prime elements are known as Gaussian primes. Not every prime (in Z) is a Gaussian prime: in the bigger ring
Z[i], 2 factors into the product of the two Gaussian primes (1 + i) and (1 − i). Rational primes (i.e. prime elements in
Z) of the form 4k + 3 are Gaussian primes, whereas rational primes of the form 4k + 1 are not. Gaussian primes can
be used in proving quadratic reciprocity, while Eisenstein primes play a similar role for cubic reciprocity.

Prime ideals
In ring theory, the notion of number is generally replaced with that of ideal. Prime ideals, which generalize prime
elements in the sense that the principal ideal generated by a prime element is a prime ideal, are an important tool and
object of study in commutative algebra, algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. The prime ideals of the
ring of integers are the ideals (0), (2), (3), (5), (7), (11), … The fundamental theorem of arithmetic generalizes to the
Lasker–Noether theorem which expresses any ideal in a Noetherian commutative ring as the intersection of primary
ideals, which are the appropriate generalizations of prime powers.[37]
Prime ideals are the points of algebro-geometric objects, via the notion of the spectrum of a ring. Arithmetic
geometry also benefits from this notion, and many concepts exist in both geometry and number theory. For example,
factorization or ramification of prime ideals when lifted to an extension field, a basic problem of algebraic number
theory, bears some resemblance with ramification in geometry.

Primes in valuation theory

In algebraic number theory, yet another generalization is used. A starting point for valuation theory is the p-adic
valuations, where p is a prime number. It tells what highest power p divides a given number n. Using that, the p-adic
norm is set up, which, in contrast to the usual absolute value, gets smaller when a number is multiplied by p. The
completion of Q (the field of rational numbers) with respect to this norm leads to Qp, the field of p-adic numbers, as
opposed to R, the reals, which are the completion with respect to the usual absolute value. To highlight the
connection to primes, the absolute value is often called the infinite prime. These are essentially all possible ways to
complete Q, by Ostrowski's theorem.
In an arbitrary field K, one considers valuations on K, certain functions from K to the real numbers R. Every such
valuation yields a topology on K, and two valuations are called equivalent if they yield the same topology. A prime
of K (sometimes called a place of K) is an equivalence class of valuations.
Arithmetic questions related to, global fields such as Q may, in certain cases, be transferred back and forth to the
completed fields (known as local fields), a concept known as local-global principle. This again underlines the
importance of primes to number theory.
Prime number 143

In the arts and literature

Prime numbers have influenced many artists and writers. The French composer Olivier Messiaen used prime
numbers to create ametrical music through "natural phenomena". In works such as La Nativité du Seigneur (1935)
and Quatre études de rythme (1949–50), he simultaneously employs motifs with lengths given by different prime
numbers to create unpredictable rhythms: the primes 41, 43, 47 and 53 appear in one of the études. According to
Messiaen this way of composing was "inspired by the movements of nature, movements of free and unequal
durations".[38]
In his science fiction novel Contact, later made into a film of the same name, the NASA scientist Carl Sagan
suggested that prime numbers could be used as a means of communicating with aliens, an idea that he had first
developed informally with American astronomer Frank Drake in 1975.[39]
Many films reflect a popular fascination with the mysteries of prime numbers and cryptography: films such as Cube,
Sneakers, The Mirror Has Two Faces and A Beautiful Mind, the latter of which is based on the biography of the
mathematician and Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash by Sylvia Nasar.[40] Prime numbers are used as a metaphor for
loneliness and isolation in the Paolo Giordano novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers, in which they are portrayed as
"outsiders" among integers.[41]

Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000040
[2] "Euclid's Elements, Book IX, Proposition 20" (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ bookIX/ propIX20. html).
Aleph0.clarku.edu. . Retrieved 2010-08-23.
[3] GIMPS Home; http:/ / www. mersenne. org/
[4] Riesel 1994, p. 36
[5] Conway & Guy 1996, pp. 129–130
[6] Derbyshire, John (2003), "The Prime Number Theorem", Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in
Mathematics, Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, p. 33, ISBN 9780309085496, OCLC 249210614
[7] Gowers 2002, p. 118
[8] " "Why is the number one not prime?" (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ notes/ faq/ one. html)". Retrieved 2007-10-02.
[9] " "Arguments for and against the primality of 1 (http:/ / primefan. tripod. com/ Prime1ProCon. html)".
[10] The Largest Known Prime by Year: A Brief History (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ notes/ by_year. html) Prime Curios!: 17014…05727
(39-digits) (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ curios/ page. php?number_id=135)
[11] Letter (http:/ / www. math. dartmouth. edu/ ~euler/ correspondence/ letters/ OO0722. pdf) in Latin from Goldbach to Euler, July 1730.
[12] Füstenberg 1955
[13] Ribenboim 2004, p. 4
[14] James Williamson (translator and commentator), The Elements of Euclid, With Dissertations, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1782, page 63.
[15] Michael Hardy and Catherine Woodgold, "Prime Simplicity", Mathematical Intelligencer, volume 31, number 4, fall 2009, pages 44–52.
[16] (Lehmer 1909).
[17] "Record 12-Million-Digit Prime Number Nets $100,000 Prize" (http:/ / www. eff. org/ press/ archives/ 2009/ 10/ 14-0). Electronic Frontier
Foundation. October 14, 2009. . Retrieved 2010-01-04.
[18] "EFF Cooperative Computing Awards" (http:/ / www. eff. org/ awards/ coop). Electronic Frontier Foundation. . Retrieved 2010-01-04.
[19] Chris K. Caldwell. "The Top Twenty: Factorial" (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=30). Primes.utm.edu. . Retrieved
2010-10-07.
[20] Chris K. Caldwell. "The Top Twenty: Primorial" (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=5). Primes.utm.edu. . Retrieved 2010-08-23.
[21] http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=1
[22] Havil 2003, p. 171
[23] See list of values (http:/ / www. wolframalpha. com/ input/ ?i=evaluate+ x^2−x+ 41+ for+ x+ from+ 0. . 40), calculated by Wolfram Alpha
[24] Hua (2009), p. 176-177 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=H1jFySMjBMEC& pg=PA177& dq="41+ takes+ on+ prime+ values")"
[25] (Ben Green & Terence Tao 2008).
[26] (http:/ / www. ieeta. pt/ ~tos/ goldbach. html)
[27] Ramaré, O. (1995). "On šnirel'man's constant" (http:/ / www. numdam. org/ item?id=ASNSP_1995_4_22_4_645_0). Annali della Scuola
Normale Superiore di Pisa. Classe di Scienze. Serie IV 22 (4): 645–706. . Retrieved 2008-08-22.
[28] Caldwell, Chris, The Top Twenty: Lucas Number (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=48) at The Prime Pages.
[29] E.g., see Guy 1981, problem A3, pp. 7–8
[30] Weisstein, Eric W., " Landau's Problems (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ LandausProblems. html)" from MathWorld.
Prime number 144

[31] Hardy 1940 "No one has yet discovered any warlike purpose to be served by the theory of numbers or relativity, and it seems unlikely that
anyone will do so for many years."
[32] Goles, E., Schulz, O. and M. Markus (2001). "Prime number selection of cycles in a predator-prey model", Complexity 6(4): 33-38
[33] Paulo R. A. Campos, Viviane M. de Oliveira, Ronaldo Giro, and Douglas S. Galvão. (2004), "Emergence of Prime Numbers as the Result of
Evolutionary Strategy" (http:/ / link. aps. org/ abstract/ PRL/ v93/ e098107), Phys. Rev. Lett. 93: 098107,
doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.098107, , retrieved 2006-11-26.
[34] "Invasion of the Brood" (http:/ / economist. com/ PrinterFriendly. cfm?Story_ID=2647052). The Economist. May 6, 2004. . Retrieved
2006-11-26.
[35] Ivars Peterson (June 28, 1999). "The Return of Zeta" (http:/ / www. maa. org/ mathland/ mathtrek_6_28_99. html). MAA Online. . Retrieved
2008-03-14.
[36] Schubert, H. "Die eindeutige Zerlegbarkeit eines Knotens in Primknoten". S.-B Heidelberger Akad. Wiss. Math.-Nat. Kl. 1949 (1949),
57–104.
[37] Eisenbud 1995, section 3.3.
[38] Hill, ed. 1995
[39] Carl Pomerance, Prime Numbers and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (http:/ / www. math. dartmouth. edu/ ~carlp/ PDF/
extraterrestrial. pdf), Retrieved on December 22, 2007
[40] The music of primes (http:/ / www. musicoftheprimes. com/ films. htm), Marcus du Sautoy's selection of films featuring prime numbers.
[41] "Introducing Paolo Giordano" (http:/ / www. wbqonline. com/ feature. do?featureid=342). Books Quarterly. .

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ISBN 978-0-387-90593-8
• Havil, Julian (2003), Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-09983-5
• Hardy, Godfrey Harold (1908), A Course of Pure Mathematics, Cambridge University Press,
ISBN 978-0-521-09227-2
• Hardy, Godfrey Harold (1940), A Mathematician's Apology, Cambridge University Press,
ISBN 978-0-521-42706-7
• Lehmer, D. H. (1909), Factor table for the first ten millions containing the smallest factor of every number not
divisible by 2, 3, 5, or 7 between the limits 0 and 10017000, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of
Washington
• Narkiewicz, Wladyslaw (2000), The development of prime number theory: from Euclid to Hardy and Littlewood,
Springer Monographs in Mathematics, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-540-66289-1
• Ribenboim, Paulo (2004), The little book of bigger primes, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag,
ISBN 978-0-387-20169-6
Prime number 145

• Riesel, Hans (1994), Prime numbers and computer methods for factorization, Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser,
ISBN 978-0-8176-3743-9
• Sabbagh, Karl (2003), The Riemann hypothesis, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, MR1979664,
ISBN 978-0-374-25007-2
• du Sautoy, Marcus (2003), The Music of Primes website The music of the primes (http://www.
musicoftheprimes.com/), HarperCollins Publishers, MR2060134, ISBN 978-0-06-621070-4
• Hua, L. K. (2009). Additive Theory of Prime Numbers (http://www.ams.org/bookstore-getitem/
item=MMONO/13.S). Translations of Mathematical Monographs. 13. AMS Bookstore.
ISBN 978-0-8218-4942-2.

Further references
• Hill, Peter Jensen, ed. (1995), The Messiaen companion, Portland, Or: Amadeus Press, ISBN 978-0-931340-95-6
• Kelly, Katherine E., ed. (2001), The Cambridge companion to Tom Stoppard, Cambridge University Press,
ISBN 978-0-521-64592-8
• Stoppard, Tom (1993), Arcadia, London: Faber and Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-16934-4

External links
• Caldwell, Chris, The Prime Pages at primes.utm.edu (http://primes.utm.edu/).
• Prime Numbers at MathWorld (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/PrimeNumbers.html)
• MacTutor history of prime numbers (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/
Prime_numbers.html)
• The prime puzzles (http://www.primepuzzles.net/)
• An English translation of Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many primes (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/
~djoyce/java/elements/bookIX/propIX20.html)
• Number Spiral with prime patterns (http://www.numberspiral.com/index.html)
• An Introduction to Analytic Number Theory, by Ilan Vardi and Cyril Banderier (http://www.maths.ex.ac.uk/
~mwatkins/zeta/vardi.html)
• EFF Cooperative Computing Awards (http://www.eff.org/awards/coop.php)
• Why a Number Is Prime (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/WhyANumberIsPrime/) by Enrique Zeleny,
Wolfram Demonstrations Project.
• Plus teacher and student package: prime numbers (http://plus.maths.org/issue49/package/index.html) from
Plus, the free online mathematics magazine produced by the Millennium Mathematics Project at the University of
Cambridge
• Prime Numbers Spirals and Visual Patterns (http://www.amcomputersystems.com/primes/index.html) by
Luis Mateos

Prime number generators and calculators

• Online Prime Number Generator and Checker (http://www.numberempire.com/primenumbers.php) - instantly
checks and finds prime numbers up to 128 digits long (does NOT require Java or JavaScript)
• Prime Number Checker (http://www.had2know.com/academics/prime-composite.html) identifies the smallest
prime factor of a number
• Fast Online primality test — Dario Alpern's personal site (http://www.alpertron.com.ar/ECM.HTM) – Makes
use of the Elliptic Curve Method (up to thousands digits numbers check!, requires Java)
• Prime Number Generator (http://publicliterature.org/tools/prime_number_generator) — Generates a given
number of primes above a given start number.
Prime number 146

• Primes (http://wims.unice.fr/wims/wims.cgi?module=tool/number/primes.en) from WIMS is an online

prime generator.
• Huge database of prime numbers (http://www.bigprimes.net/)
• All prime numbers below 10,000,000,000 (http://www.prime-numbers.org/)

Pseudoprime
A pseudoprime is a probable prime (an integer that shares a property common to all prime numbers) which is not
actually prime. Pseudoprimes can be classified according to which property they satisfy.

Fermat pseudoprimes
Fermat's little theorem states that if p is prime and a is coprime to p, then ap−1 − 1 is divisible by p. If a composite
integer x is coprime to an integer a > 1 and x divides ax−1 − 1, then x is called a Fermat pseudoprime to base a. Some
sources use variations of this definition, for example to only allow odd numbers to be pseudoprimes.[1]
An integer x that is a Fermat pseudoprime to all values of a that are coprime to x is called a Carmichael number.

Classes
• Fermat pseudoprime
• Euler pseudoprime
• Euler–Jacobi pseudoprime
• Extra strong Lucas pseudoprime
• Fibonacci pseudoprime
• Lucas pseudoprime
• Perrin pseudoprime
• Somer–Lucas pseudoprime
• Strong Frobenius pseudoprime
• Strong Lucas pseudoprime
• Strong pseudoprime

References
[1] Weisstein, Eric W., " Fermat Pseudoprime (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ FermatPseudoprime. html)" from MathWorld.
Regular paperfolding sequence 147

Regular paperfolding sequence

In mathematics the regular paperfolding sequence, also known as the dragon curve sequence, is an infinite
automatic sequence of 0s and 1s defined as the limit of the following process:
1
110
1101100
110110011100100
At each stage an alternating sequence of 1s and 0s is inserted between the terms of the previous sequence. The
sequence takes its name from the fact that it represents the sequence of left and right folds along a strip of paper that
is folded repeatedly in half in the same direction. If each fold is then opened out to create right angled corner, the
resulting shape approaches the dragon curve fractal.[1]

Starting at n = 1, the first few terms of the regular paperfolding sequence are:
1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, ... (sequence A014577 [2] in OEIS)

Properties
The value of any given term tn in the regular paperfolding sequence can be found recursively as follows. If n = m·2k
where m is odd then

Thus t12 = t3 = 0 but t12 = 1.

The paperfolding word 1101100111001001..., which is created by concatenating the terms of the regular
paperfolding sequence, is a fixed point of the morphism or string substitution rules
11 → 1101
01 → 1001
10 → 1100
00 → 1000
as follows:
11 → 1101 → 11011001 → 1101100111001001 → 11011001110010011101100011001001 ...
It can be seen from the morphism rules that the paperfolding word contains at most three consecutive 0s and at most
three consecutive 1s.
The paperfolding sequence also satisfies the symmetry relation:
Regular paperfolding sequence 148

which shows that the paperfolding word can be constructed as the limit of another iterated process as follows:
1
110
110 1 100
1101100 1 1100100
110110011100100 1 110110001100100

Generating function
The generating function of the paperfolding sequence is given by

From the construction of the paperfolding sequence it can be seen that G satisfies the functional relation

Paperfolding constant
Substituting x = ½ into the generating function gives a real number between 0 and 1 whose binary expansion is the
paperfolding word

This number is known as the paperfolding constant[3] and has the value

(sequence A143347 [4] in OEIS)

References
[1] Weisstein, Eric W., " Dragon Curve (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ DragonCurve. html)" from MathWorld.
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa014577
[3] Weisstein, Eric W., " Paper Folding Constant (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ PaperFoldingConstant. html)" from MathWorld.
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa143347

• Jean-Paul Allouche and Jeffrey Shallit Automatic Sequences Cambridge University Press 2003
Rudin–Shapiro sequence 149

Rudin–Shapiro sequence
In mathematics the Rudin–Shapiro sequence, also known as the Golay–Rudin–Shapiro sequence is an infinite
automatic sequence named after Marcel Golay, Walter Rudin and Harold S. Shapiro, who independently investigated
its properties.[1]

Definition
Each term of the Rudin-Shapiro sequence is either +1 or −1. The nth term of the sequence, bn, is defined by the rules:

where the εi are the digits in the binary expansion of n. Thus an counts the number of (possibly overlapping)
occurrences of the sub-string 11 in the binary expansion of n, and bn is +1 if an is even and −1 if an is odd.[2]
For example, a6 = 1 and b6 = −1 because the binary representation of 6 is 110, which contains one occurrence of 11;
whereas a7 = 2 and b7 = +1 because the binary representation of 7 is 111, which contains two (overlapping)
occurrences of 11.
Starting at n = 0, the first few terms of the an sequence are:
0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, ... (sequence A014081 [3] in OEIS)
and the corresponding terms bn of the Rudin–Shapiro sequence are:
+1, +1, +1, −1, +1, +1, −1, +1, +1, +1, +1, −1, −1, −1, +1, −1, ... (sequence A020985 [4] in OEIS)

Properties
The Rudin–Shapiro sequence can be generated by a four state automaton.[5]
The values of the terms an and bn in the Rudin–Shapiro sequence can be found recursively as follows. If n = m.2k
where m is odd then

Thus a108 = a13 + 1 = a3 + 1 = a1 + 2 = a0 + 2 = 2, which can be verified by observing that the binary representation
of 108, which is 1101100, contains two sub-strings 11. And so b108 = (−1)2 = +1.
The Rudin-Shapiro word +1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1 +1 +1 −1 −1 −1 +1 −1 ..., which is created by concatenating
the terms of the Rudin–Shapiro sequence, is a fixed point of the morphism or string substitution rules
+1 +1 → +1 +1 +1 −1
+1 −1 → +1 +1 −1 +1
−1 +1 → −1 −1 +1 −1
−1 −1 → −1 −1 −1 +1
as follows:
+1 +1 → +1 +1 +1 −1 → +1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1 −1 +1 → +1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1 +1 +1 −1 −1 −1 +1 −1 ...
It can be seen from the morphism rules that the Rudin–Shapiro string contains at most four consecutive +1s and at
most four consecutive −1s.
Rudin–Shapiro sequence 150

The sequence of partial sums of the Rudin–Shapiro sequence, defined by

with values
1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 5, 4, ... (sequence A020986 [6] in OEIS)
can be shown to satisfy the inequality

[1]

Notes
[1] A Case Study in Mathematical Research: The Golay–Rudin–Shapiro Sequence (http:/ / www. joma. org/ images/ upload_library/ 22/ Ford/
Brillhart-Morton854-869. pdf), John Brillhart and Patrick Morton
[2] Weisstein, Eric W., " Rudin-Shapiro Sequence (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Rudin-ShapiroSequence. html)" from MathWorld.
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa014081
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa020985
[5] Finite automata and arithmetic (http:/ / www. emis. de/ journals/ SLC/ opapers/ s30allouche. pdf), Jean-Paul Allouche
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa020986

References
• Jean-Paul Allouche and Jeffrey Shallit Automatic Sequences Cambridge University Press 2003

Semiperfect number
In number theory, a semiperfect number or pseudoperfect number is a natural number n that is equal to the sum of
all or some of its proper divisors. A semiperfect number that is equal to the sum of all its proper divisors is a perfect
number.
The first few semiperfect numbers are
6, 12, 18, 20, 24, 28, 30, 36, 40, ... (sequence A005835 [1] in OEIS);
every multiple of a semiperfect number is semiperfect, and every number of the form 2mp for a natural number m
and a prime number p such that p < 2m + 1 is also semiperfect. In particular, every number of the form 2m-1(2m-1) is
semiperfect, and indeed perfect if 2m-1 is a Mersenne prime.
The smallest odd semiperfect number is 945 (see, e.g., Friedman 1993).
A semiperfect number is necessarily either perfect or abundant; an abundant number which is not semiperfect is
called a weird number. With the exception of 2, all primary pseudoperfect numbers are semiperfect. Every practical
number that is not a power of two is semiperfect.
A semiperfect number that is not divisible by any smaller semiperfect number is a primitive semiperfect number.
Semiperfect number 151

References
• Friedman, Charles N. (1993). "Sums of divisors and Egyptian fractions" [2]. Journal of Number Theory 44:
328–339. doi:10.1006/jnth.1993.1057. MR1233293.
• Guy, Richard K. (2004). Unsolved Problems in Number Theory. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-20860-7.
OCLC 54611248. Section B2.
• Sierpiński, Wacław (1965). "Sur les nombres pseudoparfaits" (in French). Mat. Vesn., N. Ser. 2 17: 212–213.

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., "Pseudoperfect Number [3]" from MathWorld.

Semiprime
In mathematics, a semiprime (also called biprime or 2-almost prime, or pq number) is a natural number that is the
product of two (not necessarily distinct) prime numbers. The first few semiprimes are 4, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 21, 22, 25,
26, ... (sequence A001358 [1] in OEIS).
As of September 2008, the largest known semiprime is (243,112,609 − 1)2, which has over 25 million digits. This is
the square of the largest known prime. The square of any prime number is a semiprime, so the largest known
semiprime will always be the square of the largest known prime, unless the factors of the semiprime are not known.
It is conceivable that a way could be found to prove a larger number is a semiprime without knowing the two factors,
but so far only the previous has happened for smaller semiprimes.[2]

Properties
• A semiprime is either a square of a prime (A001248 [3]) or square-free (A006881 [4]).
• The value of Euler's totient function for a semiprime n = pq is particularly simple when p and q are distinct:
φ(n) = (p − 1) (q − 1) = p q − (p + q) + 1 = n − (p + q) + 1.
If otherwise p and q are the same,
φ(n) = φ(p2) = (p − 1) p = p2 − p = n − p.
• The total number of prime factors for a semiprime is by definition
.
• The concept of the Prime zeta function can be adopted to semiprimes, which defines constants like

(A117543 [5])

(A152447 [6])

(A154928 [7])
Semiprime 152

Applications
Semiprimes are highly useful in the area of cryptography and number theory, most notably in public key
cryptography, where they are used by RSA and pseudorandom number generators such as Blum Blum Shub. These
methods rely on the fact that finding two large primes and multiplying them together is computationally simple,
whereas finding the original factors appears to be difficult. In the RSA Factoring Challenge, RSA Security offered
prizes for the factoring of specific large semiprimes and several prizes were awarded. The most recent such
challenge closed in 2007.[8]
In practical cryptography, it is not sufficient to choose just any semiprime; a good number must evade a number of
well-known special-purpose algorithms that can factor numbers of certain form. The factors p and q of n should both
be very large, around the same order of magnitude as the square root of n; this makes trial division and Pollard's rho
algorithm impractical. At the same time they should not be too close together, or else the number can be quickly
factored by Fermat's factorization method. The number may also be chosen so that none of p − 1, p + 1, q − 1, or
q + 1 are smooth numbers, protecting against Pollard's p − 1 algorithm or Williams' p + 1 algorithm. However, these
checks cannot take future algorithms or secret algorithms into account, introducing the possibility that numbers in
use today may be broken by special-purpose algorithms.
In 1974 the Arecibo message was sent with a radio signal aimed at a star cluster. It consisted of 1679 binary digits
intended to be interpreted as a 23×73 bitmap image. The number 1679 = 23×73 was chosen because it is a semiprime
and therefore can only be broken down into 23 rows and 73 columns, or 73 rows and 23 columns.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001358
[2] Chris Caldwell, The Prime Glossary: semiprime (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ glossary/ page. php?sort=Semiprime) at The Prime Pages.
Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001248
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa006881
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa117543
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa152447
[7] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa154928
[8] http:/ / www. rsa. com/ rsalabs/ node. asp?id=2092

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Semiprime (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Semiprime.html)" from MathWorld.
Superperfect number 153

Superperfect number
In mathematics a superperfect number is a positive integer n that satisfies

where σ is the divisor function. Superperfect numbers are a generalization of perfect numbers.
The first few superperfect numbers are
2, 4, 16, 64, 4096, 65536, 262144 (sequence A019279 [1] in OEIS).
If n is an even superperfect number then n must be a power of 2, 2k, such that 2k+1-1 is a Mersenne prime.[2]
It is not known whether there are any odd superperfect numbers. An odd superperfect number n would have to be a
square number such that either n or σ(n) is divisible by at least three distinct primes.[2] There are no odd superperfect
numbers below 7x1024.[3]
Perfect and superperfect numbers are examples of the wider class of (m,k)-perfect numbers which satisfy

With this notation, perfect numbers are (1,2)-perfect and superperfect numbers are (2,2)-perfect. Other classes of
(m,k)-perfect numbers are:

m k (m,k)-perfect numbers OEIS

sequence

2 3 8, 21, 512 [4]

A019281

2 4 15, 1023, 29127 [5]

A019282

2 6 42, 84, 160, 336, 1344, 86016, 550095, 1376256, 5505024 [6]
A019283

2 7 24, 1536, 47360, 343976 [7]

A019284

2 8 60, 240, 960, 4092, 16368, 58254, 61440, 65472, 116508, 466032, 710400, 983040, 1864128, 3932160, 4190208, [8]
A019285
67043328, 119304192, 268173312, 1908867072

2 9 168, 10752, 331520, 691200, 1556480, 1612800, 106151936 [9]

A019286

2 10 480, 504, 13824, 32256, 32736, 1980342, 1396617984, 3258775296 [10]

A019287

2 11 4404480, 57669920, 238608384 [11]

A019288

2 12 2200380, 8801520, 14913024, 35206080, 140896000, 459818240, 775898880, 2253189120 [12]

A019289

3 any 12, 14, 24, 52, 98, 156, 294, 684, 910, 1368, 1440, 4480, 4788, 5460, 5840, ... [13]
A019292

4 any 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 26, 32, 39, 42, 60, 65, 72, 84, 96, 160, 182, ... [14]
A019293
Superperfect number 154

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019279
[2] Weisstein, Eric W., " Superperfect Number (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ SuperperfectNumber. html)" from MathWorld.
[3] Problem B9 in Richard K. Guy's Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (ISBN 0-387-94289-0)
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019281
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019282
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019283
[7] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019284
[8] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019285
[9] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019286
[10] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019287
[11] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019288
[12] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019289
[13] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019292
[14] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa019293

• Superperfect Numbers (http://www-maths.swan.ac.uk/pgrads/bb/project/node34.html), Björn Böttcher

• Superperfect Number (http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/SuperperfectNumber.html) at PlanetMath.
• G. L. Cohen and H. J. J. te Riele, Iterating the sum-of-divisors function, Experimental Mathematics, 5 (1996), pp.
93-100

Thue-Morse sequence
In mathematics, the Thue–Morse sequence, or
Prouhet–Thue–Morse sequence, is a binary sequence that begins:
0 1 10 1001 10010110 1001011001101001.... This graphic demonstrates the repeating and
Any other ordered pair of symbols may be used instead of 0 and 1; the complementary makeup of the Thue–Morse
sequence.
logical structure of the Thue–Morse sequence does not depend on the
symbols that are used to represent it.

Definition
There are several equivalent ways of defining the Thue–Morse sequence.

Direct definition
To compute the nth element tn, write the number n in binary. If the number of ones in this binary expansion is odd
then tn = 1, if even then tn = 0. For this reason John H. Conway et al. call numbers n satisfying tn = 1 odious numbers
and numbers for which tn = 0 evil numbers.

Recurrence relation
The Thue–Morse sequence is the sequence tn satisfying
Thue-Morse sequence 155

t0 = 0,

t2n = tn, and

t2n+1 = 1−tn.

for all positive integers n.

L-system
The Thue–Morse sequence is the output of the following Lindenmayer system:

variables 0 1
constants none
start 0
rules (0 → 01), (1 → 10)

Characterization using bitwise negation

The Thue–Morse sequence in the form given above, as a sequence of bits, can be defined recursively using the
operation of bitwise negation. So, the first element is 0. Then once the first 2n elements have been specified, forming
a string s, then the next 2n elements must form the bitwise negation of s. Now we have defined the first 2n+1
elements, and we recurse.
Spelling out the first few steps in detail:
• We start with 0.
• The bitwise negation of 0 is 1.
• Combining these, the first 2 elements are 01.
• The bitwise negation of 01 is 10.
• Combining these, the first 4 elements are 0110.
• The bitwise negation of 0110 is 1001.
• Combining these, the first 8 elements are 01101001.
• And so on.
So
• T0 = 0.
• T1 = 01.
• T2 = 0110.
• T3 = 01101001.
• T4 = 0110100110010110.
• T5 = 01101001100101101001011001101001.
• T6 = 0110100110010110100101100110100110010110011010010110100110010110.
• And so on.
Thue-Morse sequence 156

Infinite product
The sequence can also be defined by:

where tj is the jth element if we start at j = 0.

Some properties
Because each new block in the Thue–Morse sequence is defined by forming the
bitwise negation of the beginning, and this is repeated at the beginning of the next
block, the Thue–Morse sequence is filled with squares: consecutive strings that
are repeated. That is, there are many instances of XX, where X is some string.
However, there are no cubes: instances of XXX. There are also no overlapping
squares: instances of 0X0X0 or 1X1X1.

Notice that T2n is palindrome for any n > 1. Further, let qn be a word obtain from
T2n by counting ones between consecutive zeros. For instance, q1 = 2 and q2 =
2102012 and so on. The words Tn do not contain overlapping squares in Nested squares generated by
consequence, the words qn are palindrome squarefree words. successive iterations of
Thue–Morse.
The statement above that the Thue–Morse sequence is "filled with squares" can be
made precise: It is a recurrent sequence, meaning that given any finite string X in the sequence, there is some length
nX (often much longer than the length of X) such that X appears in every block of length n. The easiest way to make a
recurrent sequence is to form a periodic sequence, one where the sequence repeats entirely after a given number m of
steps. Then nX can be set to any multiple of m that is larger than twice the length of X. But the Morse sequence is
recurrent without being periodic, not even eventually periodic (meaning periodic after some nonperiodic initial
segment).

One can define a function f from the set of binary sequences to itself by replacing every 0 in a sequence with 01 and
every 1 with 10. Then if T is the Thue–Morse sequence, then f(T) is T again; that is, T is a fixed point of f. In fact, T
is essentially the only fixed point of f; the only other fixed point is the bitwise negation of T, which is simply the
Thue–Morse sequence on (1,0) instead of on (0,1). This property may be generalized to the concept of an automatic
sequence.

In combinatorial game theory

The set of evil numbers (numbers with ) forms a subspace of the nonnegative integers under
nim-addition (bitwise exclusive or). For the game of Kayles, the evil numbers form the sparse space—the subspace
of nim-values which occur for few (finitely many) positions in the game—and the odious numbers are the common
coset.

The Prouhet–Tarry–Escott problem

The Prouhet–Tarry–Escott problem can be defined as: given a positive integer N and a non-negative integer k,
partition the set S of integers nk with 0 ≤ n < N into two disjoint subsets S0 and S1 that have equal sums, that is:

This has a solution if N is a multiple of 2k+1, given by:

• S0 consists of the powers nk in S for which tn = 0,
• S1 consists of the powers nk in S for which tn = 1.
Thue-Morse sequence 157

For example, for N = 8 and k = 2, 02 + 32 + 52 + 62 = 12 + 22 + 42 + 72.

The condition requiring that N be a multiple of 2k+1 is not strictly necessary: there are some further cases for which a
solution exists. However, it guarantees a stronger property: if the condition is satisfied, then the set of kth powers of
any set of N numbers in arithmetic progression can be partitioned into two sets with equal sums. This follows
directly from the expansion given by the binomial theorem applied to the binomial representing the nth element of an
arithmetic progression.

Fractals and Turtle graphics

A Turtle Graphics is the curve that is generated if an automaton is programmed with a sequence. If the Thue–Morse
Sequence members are used in order to select program states:
• If t(n) = 0, move ahead by one unit,
• If t(n) = 1, rotate counterclockwise by an angle of π/3,
the resulting curve converges to the Koch snowflake, a fractal curve of infinite length containing a finite area. This
illustrates the fractal nature of the Thue–Morse Sequence.

History
The Thue–Morse sequence was first studied by Eugène Prouhet in 1851, who applied it to number theory. However,
Prouhet did not mention the sequence explicitly; this was left to Axel Thue in 1906, who used it to found the study of
combinatorics on words. The sequence was only brought to worldwide attention with the work of Marston Morse in
1921, when he applied it to differential geometry. The sequence has been discovered independently many times, not
always by professional research mathematicians; for example, Max Euwe, a chess grandmaster and mathematics
teacher, discovered it in 1929 in an application to chess: by using its cube-free property (see above), he showed how
to circumvent a rule aimed at preventing infinitely protracted games by declaring repetition of moves a draw.

External links
• The Ubiquitous Prouhet-Thue-Morse Sequence. [1] Allouche, J.-P.; Shallit, J. O. Many applications and some
history
• MathWorld: Thue-Morse Sequence [2]. Some other applications
• Thue–Morse Sequence (sequence A010060 [3] in OEIS)
• Thue–Morse Sequence over (1,2) (sequence A001285 [4] in OEIS)
• Odious numbers (sequence A000069 [5] in OEIS)
• Evil numbers (sequence A001969 [6] in OEIS)
• When Thue-Morse meets Koch [7] A paper showing an astonishing similarity between the Thue–Morse Sequence
and the Koch snowflake
• Reducing the influence of DC offset drift in analog IPs using the Thue-Morse Sequence [8] A technical
application of the Thue–Morse Sequence
• MusiNum - The Music in the Numbers [9] Freeware to generate self similar music based on the Thue–Morse
Sequence and related number sequences.
Thue-Morse sequence 158

References
[1] http:/ / www. cs. uwaterloo. ca/ ~shallit/ Papers/ ubiq. ps
[2] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Thue-MorseSequence. html
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa010060
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001285
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa000069
[6] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa001969
[7] http:/ / www2. kenyon. edu/ people/ holdenerj/ StudentResearch/ WhenThueMorsemeetsKochJan222005. pdf
[8] http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ query?url=http:/ / www. geocities. com/ jan. schat/ ThueMorse. PDF& date=2009-10-26+ 00:40:54
[9] http:/ / reglos. de/ musinum

Ulam numbers
An Ulam number is a member of an integer sequence devised by and named after Stanislaw Ulam, who introduced
it in 1964.[1] The standard Ulam sequence (the (1, 2)-Ulam sequence) starts with U1 = 1 and U2 = 2. Then for n > 2,
Un is defined to be the smallest integer that is the sum of two distinct earlier terms in exactly one way.

Examples
By the definition, 3 = 1 + 2 is an Ulam number; and 4 = 1 + 3 is an Ulam number (The sum 4 = 2 + 2 doesn't count
because the previous terms must be distinct.) The integer 5 is not an Ulam number because 5 = 1 + 4 = 2 + 3. The
first few terms are
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 36, 38, 47, 48, 53, 57, 62, 69, 72, 77, 82, 87, 97, 99 (sequence A002858
[2]
in OEIS).
The first Ulam numbers that are also prime numbers are
2, 3, 11, 13, 47, 53, 97, 131, 197, 241, 409, 431, 607, 673, 739, 751, 983, 991, 1103, 1433, 1489 (A068820
[3]
).

Infinite sequence
There are infinitely many Ulam numbers. For, after the first n numbers in the sequence have already been
determined, it is always possible to extend the sequence by one more element: Un − 1 + Un is uniquely represented as
a sum of two of the first n numbers, and there may be other smaller numbers that are also uniquely represented in
this way, so the next element can be chosen as the smallest of these uniquely representable numbers.[4]
Ulam is said to have conjectured that the numbers have zero density,[5] but they seem to have a density of
approximately 0.07396.[6]

Generalizations
The idea can be generalized as (u, v)-Ulam numbers by selecting different starting values (u, v). A sequence of
(u, v)-Ulam numbers is regular if the sequence of differences between consecutive numbers in the sequence is
eventually periodic. When v is an odd number greater than three, the (2, v)-Ulam numbers are regular. When v is
congruent to 1 (mod 4) and at least five, the (4, v)-Ulam numbers are again regular. However, the Ulam numbers
themselves do not appear to be regular.[7]
A sequence of numbers is said to be s-additive if each number in the sequence, after the initial 2s terms of the
sequence, has exactly s representations as a sum of two previous numbers. Thus, the Ulam numbers and the
(u, v)-Ulam numbers are 1-additive sequences.[8]
Ulam numbers 159

If one forms a sequence by appending the largest number with a unique representation as a sum of two earlier
numbers, instead of appending the smallest uniquely representable number, then the resulting sequence is the
sequence of Fibonacci numbers.[9]

Notes
[1] Ulam (1964a, 1964b).
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa002858
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa068820
[4] Recaman (1973) gives a similar argument, phrased as a proof by contradiction. He states that, if there were finitely many Ulam numbers, then
the sum of the last two would also be an Ulam number, a contradiction. However, although the sum of the last two numbers would in this case
have a unique representation as a sum of two Ulam numbers, it would not necessarily be the smallest number with a unique representation.
[5] The statement that Ulam made this conjecture is in OEIS A002858 (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis:a002858), but Ulam does not
address the density of this sequence in Ulam (1964a), and in Ulam (1964b) he poses the question of determining its density without
conjecturing a value for it. Recaman (1973) repeats the question from Ulam (1964b) of the density of this sequence, again without
conjecturing a value for it.
[6] OEIS A002858 (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis:a002858)
[7] Queneau (1972) first observed the regularity of the sequences for u = 2 and v = 7 and v = 9. Finch (1992) conjectured the extension of this
result to all odd v greater than three, and this conjecture was proven by Schmerl & Spiegel (1994). The regularity of the (4, v)-Ulam numbers
was proven by Cassaigne & Finch (1995).
[8] Queneau (1972).
[9] Finch (1992).

References
• Cassaigne, Julien; Finch, Steven R. (1995), "A class of 1-additive sequences and quadratic recurrences" (http://
www.emis.ams.org/journals/EM/restricted/4/4.1/finch.ps), Experimental Mathematics 4 (1): 49–60.
• Finch, Steven R. (1992), "On the regularity of certain 1-additive sequences", Journal of Combinatorial Theory,
Series A 60 (1): 123–130, doi:10.1016/0097-3165(92)90042-S.
• Guy, Richard (2004), Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (3rd ed.), Springer-Verlag, pp. 166–167,
ISBN 0-387-20860-7.
• Queneau, Raymond (1972), "Sur les suites s-additives" (in French), Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series A 12
(1): 31–71, doi:10.1016/0097-3165(72)90083-0.
• Recaman, Bernardo (1973), "Questions on a sequence of Ulam" (http://www.jstor.org/stable/2319404),
American Mathematical Monthly 80 (8): 919–920.
• Schmerl, James; Spiegel, Eugene (1994), "The regularity of some 1-additive sequences", Journal of
Combinatorial Theory, Series A 66 (1): 172–175, doi:10.1016/0097-3165(94)90058-2.
• Ulam, Stanislaw (1964a), "Combinatorial analysis in infinite sets and some physical theories" (http://www.jstor.
org/stable/2027963), SIAM Review: 343–355.
• Ulam, Stanislaw (1964b), Problems in Modern Mathematics, Wiley-Interscience, p. xi.

External links
• Ulam Sequence from MathWorld (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/UlamSequence.html)
Weird number 160

Weird number
In number theory, a weird number is a natural number that is abundant but not semiperfect.[1] [2] In other words, the
sum of the proper divisors (divisors including 1 but not itself) of the number is greater than the number, but no
subset of those divisors sums to the number itself.
The smallest weird number is 70. Its proper divisors are 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 35; these sum to 74, but no subset of
these sums to 70. The number 12, for example, is abundant but not weird, because the proper divisors of 12 are 1, 2,
3, 4, and 6, which sum to 16; but 2+4+6 = 12.
The first few weird numbers are 70, 836, 4030, 5830, 7192, 7912, 9272, 10430, ... (sequence A006037 [3] in OEIS).
It has been shown that an infinite number of weird numbers exist; in fact, the sequence of weird numbers has
positive asymptotic density.[4]
It is not known if any odd weird numbers exist; if any do, they must be greater than 232 ≈ 4×109.[5]
Stanley Kravitz has shown that if k is a positive integer, Q is a prime, and

is prime, then

is a weird number.[6] With this formula, he was able to find a large weird number
.

References
[1] Benkoski, Stan (Aug.-September 1972). "E2308 (in Problems and Solutions)" (http:/ / jstor. org/ stable/ 2316276). The American
Mathematical Monthly 79 (7): 774. doi:10.2307/2316276. .
[2] Richard K. Guy (2004). Unsolved Problems in Number Theory. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-20860-7. OCLC 54611248. Section B2.
[3] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa006037
[4] Benkoski, Stan; Paul Erdős (April 1974). "On Weird and Pseudoperfect Numbers" (http:/ / jstor. org/ stable/ 2005938). Mathematics of
Computation 28 (126): 617–623. doi:10.2307/2005938. .
[5] CN Friedman, "Sums of Divisors and Egyptian Fractions", Journal of Number Theory (1993). The result is attributed to "M. Mossinghoff at
University of Texas - Austin".
[6] Kravitz, Stanley (1976). "A search for large weird numbers". Journal of Recreational Mathematics (Baywood Publishing) 9 (2): 82–85.

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Weird number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/WeirdNumber.html)" from MathWorld.
Recursion theory 161

Recursion theory
Computability theory, also called recursion theory, is a branch of mathematical logic that originated in the 1930s
with the study of computable functions and Turing degrees. The field has grown to include the study of generalized
computability and definability. In these areas, recursion theory overlaps with proof theory and effective descriptive
set theory.
The basic questions addressed by recursion theory are "What does it mean for a function from the natural numbers to
themselves to be computable?" and "How can noncomputable functions be classified into a hierarchy based on their
level of noncomputability?". The answers to these questions have led to a rich theory that is still being actively
researched.
The field is also closely related to computer science. Recursion theorists in mathematical logic often study the theory
of relative computability, reducibility notions and degree structures described in this article. This contrasts with the
theory of subrecursive hierarchies, formal methods and formal languages that is common in the study of
computability theory in computer science. There is considerable overlap in knowledge and methods between these
two research communities, however, and no firm line can be drawn between them.

Computable and uncomputable sets

Recursion theory originated with work of Kurt Gödel, Alonzo Church, Alan Turing, Stephen Kleene and Emil Post
in the 1930s.[1]
The fundamental results the researchers obtained established Turing computability as the correct formalization of the
informal idea of effective calculation. These results led Stephen Kleene (1952) to coin the two names "Church's
thesis" (Kleene 1952:300) and "Turing's Thesis" (p. 376). Nowadays these are often considered as a single
hypothesis, the Church–Turing thesis, which states that any function that is computable by an algorithm is a
computable function. Although initially skeptical, by 1946 Gödel argued in favor of this thesis.
"Tarski has stressed in his lecture (and I think justly) the great importance of the concept of general
recursiveness (or Turing's computability). It seems to me that this importance is largely due to the fact that
with this concept one has for the first time succeeded in giving an absolute notion to an interesting
epistemological notion, i.e., one not depending on the formalism chosen."(Gödel 1946 in Davis 1965: 84)
With a definition of effective calculation came the first proofs that there are problems in mathematics that cannot be
effectively decided. Church (1936a, 1936b) and Turing (1936), inspired by techniques used by Gödel (1931) to
prove his incompleteness theorems, independently demonstrated that the Entscheidungsproblem is not effectively
decidable. This result showed that there is no algorithmic procedure that can correctly decide whether arbitrary
mathematical propositions are true or false.
Many problems of mathematics have been shown to be undecidable after these initial examples were established. In
1947, Markov and Post published independent papers showing that the word problem for semigroups cannot be
effectively decided. Extending this result, Pyotr Novikov and William Boone showed independently in the 1950s
that the word problem for groups is not effectively solvable: there is no effective procedure that, given a word in a
finitely presented group, will decide whether the element represented by the word is the identity element of the
group. In 1970, Yuri Matiyasevich proved Matiyasevich's theorem, which implies that Hilbert's tenth problem has no
effective solution; this problem asked whether there is an effective procedure to decide whether a Diophantine
equation over the integers has a solution in the integers. The list of undecidable problems gives additional examples
of problems with no computable solution.
The study of which mathematical constructions can be effectively performed is sometimes called recursive
mathematics; the Handbook of Recursive Mathematics (Ershov et al. 1998) covers many of the known results in this
field.
Recursion theory 162

Turing computability
The main form of computability studied in recursion theory was introduced by Turing (1936). A set of natural
numbers is said to be a computable set (also called a decidable, recursive, or Turing computable set) if there is a
Turing machine that, given a number n, halts with output 1 if n is in the set and halts with output 0 if n is not in the
set. A function f from the natural numbers to themselves is a recursive or (Turing) computable function if there is
a Turing machine that, on input n, halts and returns output f(n). The use of Turing machines here is not necessary;
there are many other models of computation that have the same computing power as Turing machines; for example
the μ-recursive functions obtained from primitive recursion and the μ operator.
The terminology for recursive functions and sets is not completely standardized. The definition in terms of
μ-recursive functions as well as a different definition of rekursiv functions by Gödel led to the traditional name
recursive for sets and functions computable by a Turing machine. The word decidable stems from the German word
Entscheidungsproblem which was used in the original papers of Turing and others. In contemporary use, the term
"computable function" has various definitions: according to Cutland (1980), it is a partial recursive function (which
can be undefined for some inputs), while according to Soare (1987) it is a total recursive (equivalently, general
recursive) function. This article follows the second of these conventions. Soare (1996) gives additional comments
about the terminology.
Not every set of natural numbers is computable. The halting problem, which is the set of (descriptions of) Turing
machines that halt on input 0, is a well known example of a noncomputable set. The existence of many
noncomputable sets follows from the facts that there are only countably many Turing machines, and thus only
countably many computable sets, but there are uncountably many sets of natural numbers.
Although the Halting problem is not computable, it is possible to simulate program execution and produce an infinite
list of the programs that do halt. Thus the halting problem is an example of a recursively enumerable set, which is a
set that can be enumerated by a Turing machine (other terms for recursively enumerable include computably
enumerable and semidecidable). Equivalently, a set is recursively enumerable if and only if it is the range of some
computable function. The recursively enumerable sets, although not decidable in general, have been studied in detail
in recursion theory.

Areas of research in recursion theory

Beginning with the theory of recursive sets and functions described above, the field of recursion theory has grown to
include the study of many closely related topics. These are not independent areas of research: each of these areas
draws ideas and results from the others, and most recursion theorists are familiar with the majority of them.

Relative computability and the Turing degrees

Recursion theory in mathematical logic has traditionally focused on relative computability, a generalization of
Turing computability defined using oracle Turing machines, introduced by Turing (1939). An oracle Turing machine
is a hypothetical device which, in addition to performing the actions of a regular Turing machine, is able to ask
questions of an oracle, which is a particular set of natural numbers. The oracle machine may only ask questions of
the form "Is n in the oracle set?". Each question will be immediately answered correctly, even if the oracle set is not
computable. Thus an oracle machine with a noncomputable oracle will be able to compute sets that are not
computable without an oracle.
Informally, a set of natural numbers A is Turing reducible to a set B if there is an oracle machine that correctly tells
whether numbers are in A when run with B as the oracle set (in this case, the set A is also said to be (relatively)
computable from B and recursive in B). If a set A is Turing reducible to a set B and B is Turing reducible to A then
the sets are said to have the same Turing degree (also called degree of unsolvability). The Turing degree of a set
gives a precise measure of how uncomputable the set is.
Recursion theory 163

The natural examples of sets that are not computable, including many different sets that encode variants of the
halting problem, have two properties in common:
1. They are recursively enumerable, and
2. Each can be translated into any other via a many-one reduction. That is, given such sets A and B, there is a total
computable function f such that A = {x : f(x) ∈ B}. These sets are said to be many-one equivalent (or
m-equivalent).
Many-one reductions are "stronger" than Turing reductions: if a set A is many-one reducible to a set B, then A is
Turing reducible to B, but the converse does not always hold. Although the natural examples of noncomputable sets
are all many-one equivalent, it is possible to construct recursively enumerable sets A and B such that A is Turing
reducible to B but not many-one reducible to B. It can be shown that every recursively enumerable set is many-one
reducible to the halting problem, and thus the halting problem is the most complicated recursively enumerable set
with respect to many-one reducibility and with respect to Turing reducibility. Post (1944) asked whether every
recursively enumerable set is either computable or Turing equivalent to the halting problem, that is, whether there is
no recursively enumerable set with a Turing degree intermediate between those two.
As intermediate results, Post defined natural types of recursively enumerable sets like the simple, hypersimple and
hyperhypersimple sets. Post showed that these sets are strictly between the computable sets and the halting problem
with respect to many-one reducibility. Post also showed that some of them are strictly intermediate under other
reducibility notions stronger than Turing reducibility. But Post left open the main problem of the existence of
recursively enumerable sets of intermediate Turing degree; this problem became known as Post's problem. After ten
years, Kleene and Post showed in 1954 that there are intermediate Turing degrees between those of the computable
sets and the halting problem, but they failed to show that any of these degrees contains a recursively enumerable set.
Very soon after this, Friedberg and Muchnik independently solved Post's problem by establishing the existence of
recursively enumerable sets of intermediate degree. This groundbreaking result opened a wide study of the Turing
degrees of the recursively enumerable sets which turned out to possess a very complicated and non-trivial structure.
There are uncountably many sets that are not recursively enumerable, and the investigation of the Turing degrees of
all sets is as central in recursion theory as the investigation of the recursively enumerable Turing degrees. Many
degrees with special properties were constructed: hyperimmune-free degrees where every function computable
relative to that degree is majorized by a (unrelativized) computable function; high degrees relative to which one can
compute a function f which dominates every computable function g in the sense that there is a constant c depending
on g such that g(x) < f(x) for all x > c; random degrees containing algorithmically random sets; 1-generic degrees
of 1-generic sets; and the degrees below the halting problem of limit-recursive sets.
The study of arbitrary (not necessarily recursively enumerable) Turing degrees involves the study of the Turing
jump. Given a set A, the Turing jump of A is a set of natural numbers encoding a solution to the halting problem for
oracle Turing machines running with oracle A. The Turing jump of any set is always of higher Turing degree than
the original set, and a theorem of Friedburg shows that any set that computes the Halting problem can be obtained as
the Turing jump of another set. Post's theorem establishes a close relationship between the Turing jump operation
and the arithmetical hierarchy, which is a classification of certain subsets of the natural numbers based on their
definability in arithmetic.
Much recent research on Turing degrees has focused on the overall structure of the set of Turing degrees and the set
of Turing degrees containing recursively enumerable sets. A deep theorem of Shore and Slaman (1999) states that
the function mapping a degree x to the degree of its Turing jump is definable in the partial order of the Turing
degrees. A recent survey by Ambos-Spies and Fejer (2006) gives an overview of this research and its historical
progression.
Recursion theory 164

Other reducibilities
An ongoing area of research in recursion theory studies reducibility relations other than Turing reducibility. Post
(1944) introduced several strong reducibilities, so named because they imply truth-table reducibility. A Turing
machine implementing a strong reducibility will compute a total function regardless of which oracle it is presented
with. Weak reducibilities are those where a reduction process may not terminate for all oracles; Turing reducibility
is one example.
The strong reducibilities include:
• One-one reducibility: A is one-one reducible (or 1-reducible) to B if there is a total computable injective
function f such that each n is in A if and only if f(n) is in B.
• Many-one reducibility: This is essentially one-one reducibility without the constraint that f be injective. A is
many-one reducible (or m-reducible) to B if there is a total computable function f such that each n is in A if and
only if f(n) is in B.
• Truth-table reducibility: A is truth-table reducible to B if A is Turing reducible to B via an oracle Turing machine
that computes a total function regardless of the oracle it is given. Because of compactness of Cantor space, this is
equivalent to saying that the reduction presents a single list of questions (depending only on the input) to the
oracle simultaneously, and then having seen their answers is able to produce an output without asking additional
questions regardless of the oracle's answer to the initial queries. Many variants of truth-table reducibility have
also been studied.
Further reducibilities (positive, disjunctive, conjunctive, linear and their weak and bounded versions) are discussed
in the article Reduction (recursion theory).
The major research on strong reducibilities has been to compare their theories, both for the class of all recursively
enumerable sets as well as for the class of all subsets of the natural numbers. Furthermore, the relations between the
reducibilities has been studied. For example, it is known that every Turing degree is either a truth-table degree or is
the union of infinitely many truth-table degrees.
Reducibilities weaker than Turing reducibility (that is, reducibilities that are implied by Turing reducibility) have
also been studied. The most well known are arithmetical reducibility and hyperarithmetical reducibility. These
reducibilities are closely connected to definability over the standard model of arithmetic.

Rice's theorem and the arithmetical hierarchy

Rice showed that for every nontrivial class C (which contains some but not all r.e. sets) the index set E = {e: the eth
r.e. set We is in C} has the property that either the halting problem or its complement is many-one reducible to E, that
is, can be mapped using a many-one reduction to E (see Rice's theorem for more detail). But, many of these index
sets are even more complicated than the halting problem. These type of sets can be classified using the arithmetical
hierarchy. For example, the index set FIN of class of all finite sets is on the level Σ2, the index set REC of the class
of all recursive sets is on the level Σ3, the index set COFIN of all cofinite sets is also on the level Σ3 and the index set
COMP of the class of all Turing-complete sets Σ4. These hierarchy levels are defined inductively, Σn+1 contains just
all sets which are recursively enumerable relative to Σn; Σ1 contains the recursively enumerable sets. The index sets
given here are even complete for their levels, that is, all the sets in these levels can be many-one reduced to the given
index sets.
Recursion theory 165

Reverse mathematics
The program of reverse mathematics asks which set-existence axioms are necessary to prove particular theorems of
mathematics in subsystems of second-order arithmetic. This study was initiated by Harvey Friedman and was studied
in detail by Stephen Simpson and others; Simpson (1999) gives a detailed discussion of the program. The
set-existence axioms in question correspond informally to axioms saying that the powerset of the natural numbers is
closed under various reducibility notions. The weakest such axiom studied in reverse mathematics is recursive
comprehension, which states that the powerset of the naturals is closed under Turing reducibility.

Numberings
A numbering is an enumeration of functions; it has two parameters, e and x and outputs the value of the e-th function
in the numbering on the input x. Numberings can be partial-recursive although some of its members are total
recursive, that is, computable functions. Acceptable or Gödel numberings are those into which all others can be
translated. A Friedberg numbering (named after its discoverer) is a one-one numbering of all partial-recursive
functions; it is necessarily not an acceptable numbering. Later research dealt also with numberings of other classes
like classes of recursively enumerable sets. Goncharov discovered for example a class of recursively enumerable sets
for which the numberings fall into exactly two classes with respect to recursive isomorphisms.

The priority method

For further explanation, see the section Post's problem and the priority method in the article Turing degree.
Post's problem was solved with a method called the priority method; a proof using this method is called a priority
argument. This method is primarily used to construct recursively enumerable sets with particular properties. To use
this method, the desired properties of the set to be constructed are broken up into an infinite list of goals, known as
requirements, so that satisfying all the requirements will cause the set constructed to have the desired properties.
Each requirement is assigned to a natural number representing the priority of the requirement; so 0 is assigned to the
most important priority, 1 to the second most important, and so on. The set is then constructed in stages, each stage
attempting to satisfy one of more of the requirements by either adding numbers to the set or banning numbers from
the set so that the final set will satisfy the requirement. It may happen that satisfying one requirement will cause
another to become unsatisfied; the priority order is used to decide what to do in such an event.
Priority arguments have been employed to solve many problems in recursion theory, and have been classified into a
hierarchy based on their complexity (Soare 1987). Because complex priority arguments can be technical and difficult
to follow, it has traditionally been considered desirable to prove results without priority arguments, or to see if
results proved with priority arguments can also be proved without them. For example, Kummer published a paper on
a proof for the existence of Friedberg numberings without using the priority method.

The lattice of recursively enumerable sets

When Post defined the notion of a simple set as an r.e. set with an infinite complement not containing any infinite
r.e. set, he started to study the structure of the recursively enumerable sets under inclusion. This lattice became a
well-studied structure. Recursive sets can be defined in this structure by the basic result that a set is recursive if and
only if the set and its complement are both recursively enumerable. Infinite r.e. sets have always infinite recursive
subsets; but on the other hand, simple sets exist but do not have a coinfinite recursive superset. Post (1944)
introduced already hypersimple and hyperhypersimple sets; later maximal sets were constructed which are r.e. sets
such that every r.e. superset is either a finite variant of the given maximal set or is co-finite. Post's original
motivation in the study of this lattice was to find a structural notion such that every set which satisfies this property
is neither in the Turing degree of the recursive sets nor in the Turing degree of the halting problem. Post did not find
such a property and the solution to his problem applied priority methods instead; Harrington and Soare (1991) found
eventually such a property.
Recursion theory 166

Automorphism problems
Another important question is the existence of automorphisms in recursion-theoretic structures. One of these
structures is that one of recursively enumerable sets under inclusion modulo finite difference; in this structure, A is
below B if and only if the set difference B − A is finite. Maximal sets (as defined in the previous paragraph) have the
property that they cannot be automorphic to non-maximal sets, that is, if there is an automorphism of the recursive
enumerable sets under the structure just mentioned, then every maximal set is mapped to another maximal set. Soare
(1974) showed that also the converse holds, that is, every two maximal sets are automorphic. So the maximal sets
form an orbit, that is, every automorphism preserves maximality and any two maximal sets are transformed into each
other by some automorphism. Harrington gave a further example of an automorphic property: that of the creative
sets, the sets which are many-one equivalent to the halting problem.
Besides the lattice of recursively enumerable sets, automorphisms are also studied for the structure of the Turing
degrees of all sets as well as for the structure of the Turing degrees of r.e. sets. In both cases, Cooper claims to have
constructed nontrivial automorphisms which map some degrees to other degrees; this construction has, however, not
been verified and some colleagues believe that the construction contains errors and that the question of whether there
is a nontrivial automorphism of the Turing degrees is still one of the main unsolved questions in this area (Slaman
and Woodin 1986, Ambos-Spies and Fejer 2006).

Kolmogorov complexity
The field of Kolmogorov complexity and algorithmic randomness was developed during the 1960s and 1970s by
Chaitin, Kolmogorov, Levin, Martin-Löf and Solomonoff (the names are given here in alphabetical order; much of
the research was independent, and the unity of the concept of randomness was not understood at the time). The main
idea is to consider a universal Turing machine U and to measure the complexity of a number (or string) x as the
length of the shortest input p such that U(p) outputs x. This approach revolutionized earlier ways to determine when
an infinite sequence (equivalently, characteristic function of a subset of the natural numbers) is random or not by
invoking a notion of randomness for finite objects. Kolmogorov complexity became not only a subject of
independent study but is also applied to other subjects as a tool for obtaining proofs. There are still many open
problems in this area. For that reason, a recent research conference in this area was held in January 2007[2] and a list
of open problems[3] is maintained by Joseph Miller and Andre Nies.

Frequency computation
This branch of recursion theory analyzed the following question: For fixed m and n with 0 < m < n, for which
functions A is it possible to compute for any different n inputs x1, x2, ..., xn a tuple of n numbers y1,y2,...,yn such that
at least m of the equations A(xk) = yk are true. Such sets are known as (m, n)-recursive sets. The first major result in
this branch of Recursion Theory is Trakhtenbrot's result that a set is computable if it is (m, n)-recursive for some m, n
with 2m > n. On the other hand, Jockusch's semirecursive sets (which were already known informally before
Jockusch introduced them 1968) are examples of a set which is (m, n)-recursive if and only if 2m < n + 1. There are
uncountably many of these sets and also some recursively enumerable but noncomputable sets of this type. Later,
Degtev established a hierarchy of recursively enumerable sets that are (1, n + 1)-recursive but not (1, n)-recursive.
After a long phase of research by Russian scientists, this subject became repopularized in the west by Beigel's thesis
on bounded queries, which linked frequency computation to the above mentioned bounded reducibilities and other
related notions. One of the major results was Kummer's Cardinality Theory which states that a set A is computable if
and only if there is an n such that some algorithm enumerates for each tuple of n different numbers up to n many
possible choices of the cardinality of this set of n numbers intersected with A; these choices must contain the true
cardinality but leave out at least one false one.
Recursion theory 167

Inductive inference
This is the recursion-theoretic branch of learning theory. It is based on Gold's model of learning in the limit from
1967 and has developed since then more and more models of learning. The general scenario is the following: Given
a class S of computable functions, is there a learner (that is, recursive functional) which outputs for any input of the
form (f(0),f(1),...,f(n)) a hypothesis. A learner M learns a function f if almost all hypotheses are the same index e of f
with respect to a previously agreed on acceptable numbering of all computable functions; M learns S if M learns
every f in S. Basic results are that all recursively enumerable classes of functions are learnable while the class REC
of all computable functions is not learnable. Many related models have been considered and also the learning of
classes of recursively enumerable sets from positive data is a topic studied from Gold's pioneering paper in 1967
onwards.

Generalizations of Turing computability

Recursion theory includes the study of generalized notions of this field such as arithmetic reducibility,
hyperarithmetical reducibility and α-recursion theory, as described by Sacks (1990). These generalized notions
include reducibilities that cannot be executed by Turing machines but are nevertheless natural generalizations of
Turing reducibility. These studies include approaches to investigate the analytical hierarchy which differs from the
arithmetical hierarchy by permitting quantification over sets of natural numbers in addition to quantification over
individual numbers. These areas are linked to the theories of well-orderings and trees; for example the set of all
indices of recursive (nonbinary) trees without infinite branches is complete for level of the analytical hierarchy.
Both Turing reducibility and hyperarithmetical reducibility are important in the field of effective descriptive set
theory. The even more general notion of degrees of constructibility is studied in set theory.

Continuous computability theory

Computability theory for digital computation is well developed. Computability theory is less well developed for
analog computation that occurs in analog computers, analog signal processing, analog electronics, neural networks
and continuous-time control theory, modelled by differential equations and continuous dynamical systems.[4] [5]

Relationships between definability, proof and computability

There are close relationships between the Turing degree of a set of natural numbers and the difficulty (in terms of the
arithmetical hierarchy) of defining that set using a first-order formula. One such relationship is made precise by
Post's theorem. A weaker relationship was demonstrated by Kurt Gödel in the proofs of his completeness theorem
and incompleteness theorems. Gödel's proofs show that the set of logical consequences of an effective first-order
theory is a recursively enumerable set, and that if the theory is strong enough this set will be uncomputable.
Similarly, Tarski's indefinability theorem can be interpreted both in terms of definability and in terms of
computability.
Recursion theory is also linked to second order arithmetic, a formal theory of natural numbers and sets of natural
numbers. The fact that certain sets are computable or relatively computable often implies that these sets can be
defined in weak subsystems of second order arithmetic. The program of reverse mathematics uses these subsystems
to measure the noncomputability inherent in well known mathematical theorems. Simpson (1999) discusses many
aspects of second-order arithmetic and reverse mathematics.
The field of proof theory includes the study of second-order arithmetic and Peano arithmetic, as well as formal
theories of the natural numbers weaker than Peano arithmetic. One method of classifying the strength of these weak
systems is by characterizing which computable functions the system can prove to be total (see Fairtlough and Wainer
(1998)). For example, in primitive recursive arithmetic any computable function that is provably total is actually
primitive recursive, while Peano arithmetic proves that functions like the Ackerman function, which are not
Recursion theory 168

primitive recursive, are total. Not every total computable function is provably total in Peano arithmetic, however; an
example of such a function is provided by Goodstein's theorem.

Name of the subject

The field of mathematical logic dealing with computability and its generalizations has been called "recursion theory"
since its early days. Robert I. Soare, a prominent researcher in the field, has proposed (Soare 1996) that the field
should be called "computability theory" instead. He argues that Turing's terminology using the word "computable" is
more natural and more widely understood than the terminology using the word "recursive" introduced by Kleene.
Many contemporary researchers have begun to use this alternate terminology.[6] These researchers also use
terminology such as partial computable function and computably enumerable (c.e.) set instead of partial recursive
function and recursively enumerable (r.e.) set. Not all researchers have been convinced, however, as explained by
Fortnow[7] and Simpson.[8] Some commentators argue that both the names recursion theory and computability
theory fail to convey the fact that most of the objects studied in recursion theory are not computable.[9]
Rogers (1967) has suggested that a key property of recursion theory is that its results and structures should be
invariant under computable bijections on the natural numbers (this suggestion draws on the ideas of the Erlangen
program in geometry). The idea is that a computable bijection merely renames numbers in a set, rather than
indicating any structure in the set, much as a rotation of the Euclidean plane does not change any geometric aspect of
lines drawn on it. Since any two infinite computable sets are linked by a computable bijection, this proposal
identifies all the infinite computable sets (the finite computable sets are viewed as trivial). According to Rogers, the
sets of interest in recursion theory are the noncomputable sets, partitioned into equivalence classes by computable
bijections of the natural numbers.

Professional organizations
The main professional organization for recursion theory is the Association for Symbolic Logic, which holds several
research conferences each year. The interdisciplinary research Association Computability in Europe (CiE) also
organizes a series of annual conferences. CiE 2012 will be the Turing Centenary Conference, held in Cambridge as
part of the Alan Turing Year.

Notes
[1] Many of these foundational papers are collected in The Undecidable (1965) edited by Martin Davis.
[2] Conference on Logic, Computability and Randomness (http:/ / www-2. dc. uba. ar/ logic2007/ ), January 10–13, 2007.
[3] The homepage (http:/ / www. cs. auckland. ac. nz/ ~nies/ ) of Andre Nies has a list of open problems in Kolmogorov complexity
[4] A survey of continuous-time computation theory (http:/ / citeseerx. ist. psu. edu/ viewdoc/ download?doi=10. 1. 1. 53. 1991& rep=rep1&
type=pdf), P Orponen - Advances in algorithms, languages, and complexity, 1997
[5] Recursion theory on the reals and continuous-time computation (http:/ / citeseerx. ist. psu. edu/ viewdoc/ download?doi=10. 1. 1. 6. 5519&
rep=rep1& type=pdf), C Moore - Theoretical Computer Science, 1996
[6] Mathscinet searches for the titles like "computably enumerable" and "c.e." show that many papers have been published with this terminology
as well as with the other one.
[7] Lance Fortnow, " Is it Recursive, Computable or Decidable? (http:/ / weblog. fortnow. com/ 2004/ 02/ is-it-recursive-computable-or. html),"
2004-2-15, accessed 2006-1-9.
[8] Stephen G. Simpson, " What is computability theory? (http:/ / www. cs. nyu. edu/ pipermail/ fom/ 1998-August/ 001993. html)," FOM email
list, 1998-8-24, accessed 2006-1-9.
[9] Harvey Friedman, " Renaming recursion theory (http:/ / www. cs. nyu. edu/ pipermail/ fom/ 1998-August/ 002017. html)," FOM email list,
1998-8-28, accessed 2006-1-9.
Recursion theory 169

References
Undergraduate level texts
• S. B. Cooper, 2004. Computability Theory, Chapman & Hall/CRC. ISBN 1-58-488237-9
• N. Cutland, 1980. Computability, An introduction to recursive function theory, Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-29465-7
• Y. Matiyasevich, 1993. Hilbert's Tenth Problem, MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-13295-8

Advanced texts
• S. Jain, D. Osherson, J. Royer and A. Sharma, 1999. Systems that learn, an introduction to learning theory,
second edition, Bradford Book. ISBN 0-262-10077-0
• S. Kleene, 1952. Introduction to Metamathematics, North-Holland (11th printing; 6th printing added comments).
ISBN-0-7204-2103-9
• M. Lerman, 1983. Degrees of unsolvability, Perspectives in Mathematical Logic, Springer-Verlag. ISBN
3-540-12155-2.
• Andre Nies, 2009. Computability and Randomness, Oxford University Press, 447 pages. ISBN
978-0-19-923076-1.
• P. Odifreddi, 1989. Classical Recursion Theory, North-Holland. ISBN 0-444-87295-7
• P. Odifreddi, 1999. Classical Recursion Theory, Volume II, Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-50205-X
• H. Rogers, Jr., 1967. The Theory of Recursive Functions and Effective Computability, second edition 1987, MIT
Press. ISBN 0-262-68052-1 (paperback), ISBN 0-07-053522-1
• G Sacks, 1990. Higher Recursion Theory, Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-19305-7
• S. G. Simpson, 1999. Subsystems of Second Order Arithmetic, Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-64882-8
• R. I. Soare, 1987. Recursively Enumerable Sets and Degrees, Perspectives in Mathematical Logic,
Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-15299-7.

Survey papers and collections

• K. Ambos-Spies and P. Fejer, 2006. " Degrees of Unsolvability (http://www.cs.umb.edu/~fejer/articles/
History_of_Degrees.pdf)." Unpublished preprint.
• H. Enderton, 1977. "Elements of Recursion Theory." Handbook of Mathematical Logic, edited by J. Barwise,
North-Holland (1977), pp. 527–566. ISBN 0-7204-2285-X
• Y. L. Ershov, S. S. Goncharov, A. Nerode, and J. B. Remmel, 1998. Handbook of Recursive Mathematics,
North-Holland (1998). ISBN 0-7204-2285-X
• M. Fairtlough and S. Wainer, 1998. "Hierarchies of Provably Recursive Functions". In Handbook of Proof
Theory, edited by S. Buss, Elsevier (1998).
• R. I. Soare, 1996. Computability and recursion, Bulletin of Symbolic Logic v. 2 pp. 284–321.

Research papers and collections

• Burgin, M. and Klinger, A. "Experience, Generations, and Limits in Machine Learning." Theoretical Computer
Science v. 317, No. 1/3, 2004, pp. 71–91
• A. Church, 1936a. "An unsolvable problem of elementary number theory." American Journal of Mathematics v.
58, pp. 345–363. Reprinted in "The Undecidable", M. Davis ed., 1965.
• A. Church, 1936b. "A note on the Entscheidungsproblem." Journal of Symbolic Logic v. 1, n. 1, and v. 3, n. 3.
Reprinted in "The Undecidable", M. Davis ed., 1965.
• M. Davis, ed., 1965. The Undecidable—Basic Papers on Undecidable Propositions, Unsolvable Problems and
Computable Functions, Raven, New York. Reprint, Dover, 2004. ISBN 0-486-43228-9
Recursion theory 170

• R. M. Friedberg, 1958. "Three theorems on recursive enumeration: I. Decomposition, II. Maximal Set, III.
Enumeration without repetition." The Journal of Symbolic Logic, v. 23, pp. 309–316.
• E. M. Gold, 1967. "Language identification in the limit". Information and Control, volume 10, pages 447–474.
• L. Harrington and R. I. Soare, 1991. "Post's Program and incomplete recursively enumerable sets", Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, volume 88, pages 10242—10246.
• C. Jockusch jr, "Semirecursive sets and positive reducibility", Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 137 (1968) 420-436
• S. C. Kleene and E. L. Post, 1954. "The upper semi-lattice of degrees of recursive unsolvability." Annals of
Mathematics v. 2 n. 59, 379–407.
• J. Myhill, 1956. "The lattice of recursively enumerable sets." The Journal of Symbolic Logic, v. 21, pp. 215–220.
• E. Post, 1944, "Recursively enumerable sets of positive integers and their decision problems", Bulletin of the
American Mathematical Society, volume 50, pages 284–316.
• E. Post, 1947. "Recursive unsolvability of a problem of Thue." Journal of Symbolic Logic v. 12, pp. 1–11.
Reprinted in "The Undecidable", M. Davis ed., 1965.
• Shore, Richard A.; Slaman, Theodore A. (1999), " Defining the Turing jump (http://www.math.cornell.edu/
~shore/papers/pdf/jumpmrl.pdf)", Mathematical Research Letters 6: 711–722, MR1739227, ISSN 1073-2780
• T. Slaman and W. H. Woodin, 1986. " Definability in the Turing degrees (http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cache/
papers/cs/11492/http:zSzzSzwww.math.berkeley.eduzSz~slamanzSzpaperszSzslaman-woodin.pdf/
slaman86definability.pdf)." Illinois J. Math. v. 30 n. 2, pp. 320–334.
• R. I. Soare, 1974. "Automorphisms of the lattice of recursively enumerable sets, Part I: Maximal sets." Annals of
Mathematics, v. 100, pp. 80–120.
• A. Turing, 1937. "On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem." Proceedings of the
London Mathematics Society, ser. 2 v. 42, pp. 230–265. Corrections ibid. v. 43 (1937) pp. 544–546. Reprinted in
"The Undecidable", M. Davis ed., 1965. PDF from comlab.ox.ac.uk (http://web.comlab.ox.ac.uk/oucl/
research/areas/ieg/e-library/sources/tp2-ie.pdf)
• A. Turing, 1939. "Systems of logic based on ordinals." Proceedings of the London Mathematics Society, ser. 2 v.
45, pp. 161–228. Reprinted in "The Undecidable", M. Davis ed., 1965.

External links
• Association for Symbolic Logic homepage (http://www.aslonline.org/index.htm)
• Computability in Europe homepage (http://www.maths.leeds.ac.uk/cie/)
• Webpage on Recursion Theory Course at Graduate Level with approximately 100 pages of lecture notes (http://
www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~fstephan/recursiontheory.html)
• German language lecture notes on inductive inference (http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~fstephan/learning.ps)
Definable set 171

Definable set
In mathematical logic, a definable set is an n-ary relation on the domain of a structure whose elements are precisely
those elements satisfying some formula in the language of that structure. A set can be defined with or without
parameters, which are elements of the domain that can be referenced in the formula defining the relation.

Definition
Let be a first-order language, an -structure with domain , X a fixed subset of , and m a natural
number. Then:
• A set is definable in with parameters from if and only if there exists a formula
and elements such that for all ,
if and only if
The bracket notation here indicates the semantic evaluation of the free variables in the formula.
• A set is definable in without parameters if it is definable in with parameters from the empty set
(that is, with no parameters in the defining formula).
• A function is definable in (with parameters) if its graph is definable (with those parameters) in .
• An element a is definable in (with parameters) if the singleton set {a} is definable in (with those
parameters).

Examples

The natural numbers with only the order relation

Let be the structure consisting of the natural numbers with the usual ordering. Then every natural is
definable in without parameters. The number is defined by the formula stating that there exist no
elements less than x:

and a natural is defined by the formula stating there exist exactly elements less than x:

In contrast, one cannot define any specific integer without parameters in the structure consisting of
the integers with the usual ordering (see the section on automorphisms below).

The natural numbers with their arithmetical operations

Let be the first-order structure consisting of the natural numbers and their usual arithmetic
operations and order relation. The sets definable in this structure are known as the arithmetical sets, and are
classified in the arithmetical hierarchy. If the structure is considered in second-order logic instead of first-order logic,
the definable sets of natural numbers in the resulting structure are classified in the analytical hierarchy. These
hierarchies reveal many relationships between definability in this structure and computability theory, and are also of
interest in descriptive set theory.
Definable set 172

The field of real numbers

Let be the structure consisting of the field of real numbers. Although the usual ordering
relation is not directly included in the structure, there is a formula that defines the set of nonnegative reals, since
these are the only reals that possess square roots:

Thus any is nonnegative if and only if . In conjunction with a formula that defines the additive
inverse of a real number in , one can use to define the usual ordering in : for , set if
and only if is nonnegative. The enlarged structure s is called a definitional
extension of the original structure. It has the same expressive power as the original structure, in the sense that a set is
definable over the enlarged structure from a set of parameters if and only if it is definable over the original structure
from that same set of parameters.
The theory of has quantifier elimination. Thus the definable sets are Boolean combinations of solutions to
polynomial equalities and inequalities; these are called semi-algebraic sets. Generalizing this property of the real line
leads to the study of o-minimality.

Invariance under automorphisms

An important result about definable sets is that they are preserved under automorphisms.
Let be an -structure with domain , , and definable in with parameters
from . Let be an automorphism of which is the identity on . Then for all
,
if and only if
This result can sometimes be used to classify the definable subsets of a given structure. For example, in the case of
above, any translation of is an automorphism preserving the empty set of parameters, and thus it
is impossible to define any particular integer in this structure without parameters in . In fact, since any two
integers are carried to each other by a translation and its inverse, the only sets of integers definable in without
parameters are the empty set and itself.

Additional results
The Tarski–Vaught test is used to characterize the elementary substructures of a given structure.

References
• Hinman, Peter. Fundamentals of Mathematical Logic, A. K. Peters, 2005.
• Marker, David. Model Theory: An Introduction, Springer, 2002.
• Rudin, Walter. Principles of Mathematical Analysis, 3rd. ed. McGraw-Hill, 1976.
• Slaman, Theodore A. and W. Hugh Woodin. Mathematical Logic: The Berkeley Undergraduate Course. Spring
2006.
Countable 173

Countable
In mathematics, a countable set is a set with the same cardinality (number of elements) as some subset of the set of
natural numbers. A set that is not countable is called uncountable. The term was originated by Georg Cantor. The
elements of a countable set can be counted one at a time—although the counting may never finish, every element of
the set will eventually be associated with a natural number.
Some authors use countable set to mean a set with the same cardinality as the set of natural numbers.[1] The
difference between the two definitions is that under the former, finite sets are also considered to be countable, while
under the latter definition, they are not considered to be countable. To resolve this ambiguity, the term at most
countable is sometimes used for the former notion, and countably infinite for the latter. The term denumerable is
also used to mean countably infinite.[2]

Definition
A set S is called countable if there exists an injective function f from S to the natural numbers
[3]

If f is also surjective and therefore bijective, then S is called countably infinite.

As noted above, this terminology is not universal: some authors define countable not to include finite sets, i.e. they
define countable to mean what is here called "countably infinite".
For alternative (equivalent) formulations of the definition in terms of a bijective function or a surjective function, see
the section Formal definition and properties below.

Introduction
A set is a collection of elements, and may be described in many ways. One way is simply to list all of its elements;
for example, the set consisting of the integers 3, 4, and 5 may be denoted . This is only effective for
small sets, however; for larger sets, this would be time-consuming and error-prone. Instead of listing every single
element, sometimes an ellipsis ("...") is used, if the writer believes that the reader can easily guess what is missing;
for example, presumably denotes the set of integers from 1 to 100. Even in this case, however,
it is still possible to list all the elements, because the set is finite; it has a specific number of elements.
Some sets are infinite; these sets have more than n elements for any integer n. For example, the set of natural
numbers, denotable by , has infinitely many elements, and we cannot use any normal
number to give its size. Nonetheless, it turns out that infinite sets do have a well-defined notion of size (or more
properly, of cardinality, which is the technical term for the number of elements in a set), and not all infinite sets have
the same cardinality.
To understand what this means, we must first examine what it does not mean. For example, there are infinitely many
odd integers, infinitely many even integers, and (hence) infinitely many integers overall. However, it turns out that
the number of odd integers, which is the same as the number of even integers, is also the same as the number of
integers overall. This is because we arrange things such that for every integer, there is a distinct odd integer: ...
−2 → −3, −1 → −1, 0 → 1, 1 → 3, 2 → 5, ...; or, more generally, n → 2n + 1. What we have done here is arranged
the integers and the odd integers into a one-to-one correspondence (or bijection), which is a function that maps
between two sets such that each element of each set corresponds to a single element in the other set.
However, not all infinite sets have the same cardinality. For example, Georg Cantor (who introduced this branch of
mathematics) demonstrated that the real numbers cannot be put into one-to-one correspondence with the natural
numbers (non-negative integers), and therefore that the set of real numbers has a greater cardinality than the set of
natural numbers.
Countable 174

A set is countable if: (1) it is finite, or (2) it has the same cardinality (size) as the set of natural numbers.
Equivalently, a set is countable if it has the same cardinality as some subset of the set of natural numbers. Otherwise,
it is uncountable.

Formal definition and properties

By definition a set S is countable if there exists an injective function

from S to the natural numbers

It might seem natural to divide the sets into different classes: put all the sets containing one element together; all the
sets containing two elements together; ...; finally, put together all infinite sets and consider them as having the same
size. This view is not tenable, however, under the natural definition of size.
To elaborate this we need the concept of a bijection. Although a "bijection" seems a more advanced concept than a
number, the usual development of mathematics in terms of set theory defines functions before numbers, as they are
based on much simpler sets. This is where the concept of a bijection comes in: define the correspondence
a ↔ 1, b ↔ 2, c ↔ 3
Since every element of { a, b, c } is paired with precisely one element of { 1, 2, 3 }, and vice versa, this defines a
bijection.
We now generalize this situation and define two sets to be of the same size if (and only if) there is a bijection
between them. For all finite sets this gives us the usual definition of "the same size". What does it tell us about the
size of infinite sets?
Consider the sets A = { 1, 2, 3, ... }, the set of positive integers and B = { 2, 4, 6, ... }, the set of even positive
integers. We claim that, under our definition, these sets have the same size, and that therefore B is countably infinite.
Recall that to prove this we need to exhibit a bijection between them. But this is easy, using n ↔ 2n, so that
1 ↔ 2, 2 ↔ 4, 3 ↔ 6, 4 ↔ 8, ....
As in the earlier example, every element of A has been paired off with precisely one element of B, and vice versa.
Hence they have the same size. This gives an example of a set which is of the same size as one of its proper subsets,
a situation which is impossible for finite sets.
Likewise, the set of all ordered pairs of natural numbers is countably infinite, as can be seen by following a path like
the one in the picture:
Countable 175

The resulting mapping is like this:

0 ↔ (0,0), 1 ↔ (1,0), 2 ↔ (0,1), 3 ↔
(2,0), 4 ↔ (1,1), 5 ↔ (0,2), 6 ↔ (3,0)
....
It is evident that this mapping will cover all
such ordered pairs.
Interestingly: if you treat each pair as being
the numerator and denominator of a vulgar
fraction, then for every positive fraction, we
can come up with a distinct number
corresponding to it. This representation
includes also the natural numbers, since
every natural number is also a fraction N/1.
So we can conclude that there are exactly as
many positive rational numbers as there are
positive integers. This is true also for all
rational numbers, as can be seen below (a
more complex presentation is needed to deal
The Cantor pairing function assigns one natural number to each pair of natural
with negative numbers).
numbers

Theorem: The Cartesian product of finitely

many countable sets is countable.
This form of triangular mapping recursively generalizes to vectors of finitely many natural numbers by repeatedly
mapping the first two elements to a natural number. For example, (0,2,3) maps to (5,3) which maps to 39.
Sometimes more than one mapping is useful. This is where you map the set which you want to show countably
infinite, onto another set; and then map this other set to the natural numbers. For example, the positive rational
numbers can easily be mapped to (a subset of) the pairs of natural numbers because p/q maps to (p, q).
What about infinite subsets of countably infinite sets? Do these have fewer elements than N?
Theorem: Every subset of a countable set is countable. In particular, every infinite subset of a countably infinite set
is countably infinite.
For example, the set of prime numbers is countable, by mapping the n-th prime number to n:
• 2 maps to 1
• 3 maps to 2
• 5 maps to 3
• 7 maps to 4
• 11 maps to 5
• 13 maps to 6
• 17 maps to 7
• 19 maps to 8
• 23 maps to 9
• etc.
What about sets being "larger than" N? An obvious place to look would be Q, the set of all rational numbers, which
intuitively may seem much bigger than N. But looks can be deceiving, for we assert:
Theorem: Q (the set of all rational numbers) is countable.
Countable 176

Q can be defined as the set of all fractions a/b where a and b are integers and b > 0. This can be mapped onto the
subset of ordered triples of natural numbers (a, b, c) such that a ≥ 0, b > 0, a and b are coprime, and c ∈ {0, 1} such
that c = 0 if a/b ≥ 0 and c = 1 otherwise.
• 0 maps to (0,1,0)
• 1 maps to (1,1,0)
• −1 maps to (1,1,1)
• 1/2 maps to (1,2,0)
• −1/2 maps to (1,2,1)
• 2 maps to (2,1,0)
• −2 maps to (2,1,1)
• 1/3 maps to (1,3,0)
• −1/3 maps to (1,3,1)
• 3 maps to (3,1,0)
• −3 maps to (3,1,1)
• 1/4 maps to (1,4,0)
• −1/4 maps to (1,4,1)
• 2/3 maps to (2,3,0)
• −2/3 maps to (2,3,1)
• 3/2 maps to (3,2,0)
• −3/2 maps to (3,2,1)
• 4 maps to (4,1,0)
• −4 maps to (4,1,1)
• ...
By a similar development, the set of algebraic numbers is countable, and so is the set of definable numbers.
Theorem: (Assuming the axiom of countable choice) The union of countably many countable sets is countable.
For example, given countable sets a, b, c ...
Using a variant of the triangular enumeration we saw above:
• a0 maps to 0
• a1 maps to 1
• b0 maps to 2
• a2 maps to 3
• b1 maps to 4
• c0 maps to 5
• a3 maps to 6
• b2 maps to 7
• c1 maps to 8
• d0 maps to 9
• a4 maps to 10
• ...
Note that this only works if the sets a, b, c,... are disjoint. If not, then the union is even smaller and is therefore also
countable by a previous theorem.
Also note that the axiom of countable choice is needed in order to index all of the sets a, b, c,...
Theorem: The set of all finite-length sequences of natural numbers is countable.
Countable 177

This set is the union of the length-1 sequences, the length-2 sequences, the length-3 sequences, each of which is a
countable set (finite Cartesian product). So we are talking about a countable union of countable sets, which is
countable by the previous theorem.
Theorem: The set of all finite subsets of the natural numbers is countable.
If you have a finite subset, you can order the elements into a finite sequence. There are only countably many finite
sequences, so also there are only countably many finite subsets.
The following theorem gives equivalent formulations in terms of a bijective function or a surjective function. A
proof of this result can be found in Lang's text.[2]
Theorem: Let S be a set. The following statements are equivalent:
1. S is countable, i.e. there exists an injective function
.
2. Either S is empty or there exists a surjective function
.
3. Either S is finite or there exists a bijection
.
Several standard properties follow easily from this theorem. We present them here tersely. For a gentler presentation
see the sections above. Observe that in the theorem can be replaced with any countably infinite set. In particular
we have the following Corollary.
Corollary: Let S and T be sets.
1. If the function
is injective and T is countable then S is countable.
2. If the function
is surjective and S is countable then T is countable.
Proof: For (1) observe that if T is countable there is an injective function Then if is
injective the composition is injective, so S is countable.
For (2) observe that if S is countable there is a surjective function Then if is surjective
the composition is surjective, so T is countable.
Proposition: Any subset of a countable set is countable.
Proof: The restriction of an injective function to a subset of its domain is still injective.
Proposition: The Cartesian product of two countable sets A and B is countable.
Proof: Note that is countable as a consequence of the definition because the function
given by is injective. It then follows from the Basic Theorem and the Corollary that the
Cartesian product of any two countable sets is countable. This follows because if A and B are countable there are
surjections and . So

is a surjection from the countable set to the set and the Corollary implies is countable.
This result generalizes to the Cartesian product of any finite collection of countable sets and the proof follows by
induction on the number of sets in the collection.
Proposition: The integers are countable and the rational numbers are countable.
Proof: The integers are countable because the function given by if n is non-negative
and if n is negative is an injective function. The rational numbers are countable because the
function given by is a surjection from the countable set to
the rationals .
Countable 178

Proposition: If is a countable set for each then is countable.

Proof: This is a consequence of the fact that for each n there is a surjective function and hence the
function

given by is a surjection. Since is countable the Corollary implies is

countable. We are using the axiom of countable choice in this proof in order to pick for each a surjection
from the non-empty collection of surjections from to .
Cantor's Theorem asserts that if is a set and is its power set, i.e. the set of all subsets of , then there
is no surjective function from to . A proof is given in the article Cantor's Theorem. As an immediate
consequence of this and the Basic Theorem above we have:
Proposition: The set is not countable; i.e. it is uncountable.
For an elaboration of this result see Cantor's diagonal argument.
The set of real numbers is uncountable (see Cantor's first uncountability proof), and so is the set of all infinite
sequences of natural numbers. A topological proof for the uncountability of the real numbers is described at finite
intersection property.

Minimal model of set theory is countable

If there is a set which is a standard model (see inner model) of ZFC set theory, then there is a minimal standard
model (see Constructible universe). The Löwenheim-Skolem theorem can be used to show that this minimal model is
countable. The fact that the notion of "uncountability" makes sense even in this model, and in particular that this
model M contains elements which are
• subsets of M, hence countable,
• but uncountable from the point of view of M,
was seen as paradoxical in the early days of set theory, see Skolem's paradox.
The minimal standard model includes all the algebraic numbers and all effectively computable transcendental
numbers, as well as many other kinds of numbers.

Total orders
Countable sets can be totally ordered in various ways, e.g.:
• Well orders (see also ordinal number):
• The usual order of natural numbers
• The integers in the order 0, 1, 2, 3, .., −1, −2, −3, ..
• Other:
• The usual order of integers
• The usual order of rational numbers
Countable 179

Notes
[1] For an example of this usage see (Rudin 1976, Chapter 2)
[2] See (Lang 1993, §2 of Chapter I).
[3] Since there is an obvious bijection between and it makes no difference whether one considers 0 to be a
natural number of not. In any case, this article follows ISO 31-11 and the standard convention in mathematical logic, which make 0 a natural
number.

References
• Lang, Serge (1993), Real and Functional Analysis, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 0387940014
• Rudin, Walter (1976), Principles of Mathematical Analysis, New York: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 007054235X

Uncountable
In mathematics, an uncountable set is an infinite set that contains too many elements to be countable. The
uncountability of a set is closely related to its cardinal number: a set is uncountable if its cardinal number is larger
than that of the set of all natural numbers.

Characterizations
There are many equivalent characterizations of uncountability. A set X is uncountable if and only if any of the
following conditions holds:
• There is no injective function from X to the set of natural numbers.
• X is nonempty and any ω-sequence of elements of X fails to include at least one element of X. That is, X is
nonempty and there is no surjective function from the natural numbers to X.
• The cardinality of X is neither finite nor equal to (aleph-null, the cardinality of the natural numbers).
• The set X has cardinality strictly greater than .
The first three of these characterizations can be proven equivalent in Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory without the axiom
of choice, but the equivalence of the third and fourth cannot be proved without additional choice principles.

Properties
• If an uncountable set X is a subset of set Y, then Y is uncountable.

Examples
The best known example of an uncountable set is the set R of all real numbers; Cantor's diagonal argument shows
that this set is uncountable. The diagonalization proof technique can also be used to show that several other sets are
uncountable, such as the set of all infinite sequences of natural numbers and the set of all subsets of the set of natural
numbers. The cardinality of R is often called the cardinality of the continuum and denoted by c, or , or
(beth-one).
The Cantor set is an uncountable subset of R. The Cantor set is a fractal and has Hausdorff dimension greater than
zero but less than one (R has dimension one). This is an example of the following fact: any subset of R of Hausdorff
dimension strictly greater than zero must be uncountable.
Another example of an uncountable set is the set of all functions from R to R. This set is even "more uncountable"
than R in the sense that the cardinality of this set is (beth-two), which is larger than .
A more abstract example of an uncountable set is the set of all countable ordinal numbers, denoted by Ω (omega) or
ω1. The cardinality of Ω is denoted (aleph-one). It can be shown, using the axiom of choice, that is the
Uncountable 180

smallest uncountable cardinal number. Thus either , the cardinality of the reals, is equal to or it is strictly larger.
Georg Cantor was the first to propose the question of whether is equal to . In 1900, David Hilbert posed this question
as the first of his 23 problems. The statement that is now called the continuum hypothesis and is known to be
independent of the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms for set theory (including the axiom of choice).

Without the axiom of choice

Without the axiom of choice, there might exist cardinalities incomparable to (namely, the cardinalities of
Dedekind-finite infinite sets). Sets of these cardinalities satisfy the first three characterizations above but not the
fourth characterization. Because these sets are not larger than the natural numbers in the sense of cardinality, some
may not want to call them uncountable.
If the axiom of choice holds, the following conditions on a cardinal are equivalent:
•
• and
• , where and is least initial ordinal greater than
However, these may all be different if the axiom of choice fails. So it is not obvious which one is the appropriate
generalization of "uncountability" when the axiom fails. It may be best to avoid using the word in this case and
specify which of these one means.

References
• Halmos, Paul, Naive set theory. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1960. Reprinted by Springer-Verlag,
New York, 1974. ISBN 0-387-90092-6 (Springer-Verlag edition).
• Jech, Thomas, 2003. Set Theory: The Third Millennium Edition, Revised and Expanded. Springer. ISBN
3-540-44085-2.

External links
• Proof that R is uncountable [1]

References
[1] http:/ / www. apronus. com/ math/ uncountable. htm
Cardinality 181

Cardinality
In mathematics, the cardinality of a set is a measure of the "number of elements of the set". For example, the set A =
{2, 4, 6} contains 3 elements, and therefore A has a cardinality of 3. There are two approaches to cardinality – one
which compares sets directly using bijections and injections, and another which uses cardinal numbers.[1]
The cardinality of a set A is usually denoted | A |, with a vertical bar on each side; this is the same notation as
absolute value and the meaning depends on context. Alternately, the cardinality of a set A may be denoted by or
# A.

Comparing sets
Case 1: | A | = | B |
Two sets A and B have the same cardinality if there exists a bijection, that is, an injective and surjective
function, from A to B.
For example, the set E = {0, 2, 4, 6, ...} of non-negative even numbers has the same cardinality as the set N =
{0, 1, 2, 3, ...} of natural numbers, since the function f(n) = 2n is a bijection from N to E.

Case 2: | A | ≥ | B |
A has cardinality greater than or equal to the cardinality of B if there exists an injective function from B into A.

Case 3: | A | > | B |
A has cardinality strictly greater than the cardinality of B if there is an injective function, but no bijective
function, from B to A.
For example, the set R of all real numbers has cardinality strictly greater than the cardinality of the set N of all
natural numbers, because the inclusion map i : N → R is injective, but it can be shown that there does not exist
a bijective function from N to R (see Cantor's diagonal argument or Cantor's first uncountability proof).

Cardinal numbers
Above, "cardinality" was defined functionally. That is, the "cardinality" of a set was not defined as a specific object
itself. However, such an object can be defined as follows.
The relation of having the same cardinality is called equinumerosity, and this is an equivalence relation on the class
of all sets. The equivalence class of a set A under this relation then consists of all those sets which have the same
cardinality as A. There are two ways to define the "cardinality of a set":
1. The cardinality of a set A is defined as its equivalence class under equinumerosity.
2. A representative set is designated for each equivalence class. The most common choice is the initial ordinal in
that class. This is usually taken as the definition of cardinal number in axiomatic set theory.
The cardinalities of the infinite sets are denoted

For each ordinal α, ℵα + 1 is the least cardinal number greater than ℵα.
The cardinality of the natural numbers is denoted aleph-null (ℵ0), while the cardinality of the real numbers is
denoted by c, and is also referred to as the cardinality of the continuum. We can show that c = 2ℵ0; this also being
the cardinality of the set of all subsets of the natural numbers. The continuum hypothesis says that ℵ1 = 2ℵ0, i.e. 2ℵ0
is the smallest cardinal number bigger than ℵ0, i.e. there is no set whose cardinality is strictly between that of the
integers and that of the real numbers. The continuum hypothesis still remains unresolved in an "absolute" sense[2] .
Cardinality 182

See below for more details on the cardinality of the continuum.

Finite, countable and uncountable sets

If the axiom of choice holds, the law of trichotomy holds for cardinality. Thus we can make the following
definitions:
• Any set X with cardinality less than that of the natural numbers, or | X | < | N |, is said to be a finite set.
• Any set X that has the same cardinality as the set of the natural numbers, or | X | = | N | = ℵ0, is said to be a
countably infinite set.
• Any set X with cardinality greater than that of the natural numbers, or | X | > | N |, for example | R | = c > | N |, is
said to be uncountable.

Infinite sets
Our intuition gained from finite sets breaks down when dealing with infinite sets. In the late nineteenth century
Georg Cantor, Gottlob Frege, Richard Dedekind and others rejected the view of Galileo (which derived from Euclid)
that the whole cannot be the same size as the part. One example of this is Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel.
The reason for this is that the various characterizations of what it means for set A to be larger than set B, or to be the
same size as set B, which are all equivalent for finite sets, are no longer equivalent for infinite sets. Different
characterizations can yield different results. For example, in the popular characterization of size chosen by Cantor,
sometimes an infinite set A is larger (in that sense) than an infinite set B; while other characterizations may yield that
an infinite set A is always the same size as an infinite set B.
For finite sets, counting is just forming a bijection (i.e., a one-to-one correspondence) between the set being counted
and an initial segment of the positive integers. Thus there is no notion equivalent to counting for infinite sets. While
counting gives a unique result when applied to a finite set, an infinite set may be placed into a one-to-one
correspondence with many different ordinal numbers depending on how one chooses to "count" (order) it.
Additionally, different characterizations of size, when extended to infinite sets, will break different "rules" which
held for finite sets. Which rules are broken varies from characterization to characterization. For example, Cantor's
characterization, while preserving the rule that sometimes one set is larger than another, breaks the rule that deleting
an element makes the set smaller. Another characterization may preserve the rule that deleting an element makes the
set smaller, but break another rule. Furthermore, some characterization may not "directly" break a rule, but it may
not "directly" uphold it either, in the sense that whichever is the case depends upon a controversial axiom such as the
axiom of choice or the continuum hypothesis. Thus there are three possibilities. Each characterization will break
some rules, uphold some others, and may be indecisive about some others.
If one extends to multisets, further rules are broken (assuming Cantor's approach), which hold for finite multisets. If
we have two multisets A and B, A not being larger than B and B not being larger than A does not necessarily imply
A has the same size as B. This rule holds for multisets that are finite. Needless to say, the law of trichotomy is
explicitly broken in this case, as opposed to the situation with sets, where it is equivalent to the axiom of choice.
Dedekind simply defined an infinite set as one having the same size (in Cantor's sense) as at least one of its proper
parts; this notion of infinity is called Dedekind infinite. This definition only works in the presence of some form of
the axiom of choice, however, so will not be considered to work by some mathematicians.
Cantor introduced the above-mentioned cardinal numbers, and showed that (in Cantor's sense) some infinite sets are
greater than others. The smallest infinite cardinality is that of the natural numbers (ℵ0).
Cardinality 183

Cardinality of the continuum

One of Cantor's most important results was that the cardinality of the continuum ( ) is greater than that of the
natural numbers (ℵ0); that is, there are more real numbers R than whole numbers N. Namely, Cantor showed that

(see Cantor's diagonal argument).

The continuum hypothesis states that there is no cardinal number between the cardinality of the reals and the
cardinality of the natural numbers, that is,

(see Beth one).

However, this hypothesis can neither be proved nor disproved within the widely accepted ZFC axiomatic set theory,
if ZFC is consistent.
Cardinal arithmetic can be used to show not only that the number of points in a real number line is equal to the
number of points in any segment of that line, but that this is equal to the number of points on a plane and, indeed, in
any finite-dimensional space. These results are highly counterintuitive, because they imply that there exist proper
subsets and proper supersets of an infinite set S that have the same size as S, although S contains elements that do not
belong to its subsets, and the supersets of S contain elements that are not included in it.
The first of these results is apparent by considering, for instance, the tangent function, which provides a one-to-one
correspondence between the interval (−½π, ½π) and R (see also Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel).
The second result was first demonstrated by Cantor in 1878, but it became more apparent in 1890, when Giuseppe
Peano introduced the space-filling curves, curved lines that twist and turn enough to fill the whole of any square, or
cube, or hypercube, or finite-dimensional space. These curves are not a direct proof that a line has the same number
of points as a finite-dimensional space, but they can be easily used to obtain such a proof.
Cantor also showed that sets with cardinality strictly greater than exist (see his generalized diagonal argument and
theorem). They include, for instance:
• the set of all subsets of R, i.e., the power set of R, written P(R) or 2R
• the set RR of all functions from R to R
Both have cardinality

(see Beth two).

The cardinal equalities and can be demonstrated using cardinal arithmetic:
Cardinality 184

Examples and properties

• If X = {a, b, c} and Y = {apples, oranges, peaches}, then | X | = | Y | because {(a, apples), (b, oranges), (c,
peaches)} is a bijection between the sets X and Y. The cardinality of each of X and Y is 3.
• If | X | < | Y |, then there exists Z such that | X | = | Z | and Z ⊆ Y.
• Sets with cardinality of the continuum

References
[1] Weisstein, Eric W. "Cardinal Number." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ CardinalNumber.
html
[2] Penrose, R (2005), The Road to Reality: A Complete guide to the Laws of the Universe, Vintage Books, ISBN 0-099-44068-7

Beth one
In mathematics, the cardinality of the continuum, sometimes also called the power of the continuum, is the size
(cardinality) of the set of real numbers (sometimes called the continuum). The cardinality of is denoted by
or by the symbol (a lowercase Fraktur letter C). As a cardinal number, is equal to Beth one ( ). If
the continuum hypothesis holds, then is also equal to Aleph one ( ).
Georg Cantor showed that the cardinality of the continuum is larger than that of the set of natural numbers ,
denoted by (aleph-nought), as has the same cardinality as the power set of . In other words, although
and are both infinite sets, the real numbers are in some sense "more numerous" than the natural numbers.

Intuitive argument
Every real number has an infinite decimal expansion. For example,
1/2 = 0.50000...
1/3 = 0.33333...
= 3.14159....
Note that this is true even when the expansion repeats as in the first two examples. In any given case, the number of
digits is countable since they can be put into a one-to-one correspondence with the set of natural numbers . This
fact makes it sensible to talk about (for example) the first, the one-hundredth, or the millionth digit of . Since the
natural numbers have cardinality each real number has digits in its expansion. This is true no matter what
mathematical base we are using, so for simplicity, let us consider a binary real number. Each position in its binary
expansion may hold either a 0 or a 1, so the number of all possible ways to fill those positions must be
Therefore, the number of real numbers is

Properties

Uncountability
Georg Cantor introduced the concept of cardinality to compare the sizes of infinite sets. He famously showed that the
set of real numbers is uncountably infinite; i.e. is strictly greater than the cardinality of the natural numbers, :

In other words, there are strictly more real numbers than there are integers. Cantor proved this statement in several
different ways. See Cantor's first uncountability proof and Cantor's diagonal argument.
Beth one 185

Cardinal equalities
A variation on Cantor's diagonal argument can be used to prove Cantor's theorem which states that the cardinality of
any set is strictly less than that of its power set, i.e. |A| < 2|A|, and so the power set P(N) of the natural numbers N is
uncountable. In fact, it can be shown that the cardinality of P(N) is equal to :
1. Define a map f : R → P(Q) from the reals to the power set of the rationals by sending each real number x to the
set of all rationals less than or equal to x (with the reals viewed as Dedekind cuts, this is
nothing other than the inclusion map in the set of sets of rationals). This map is injective since the rationals are
dense in R. Since the rationals are countable we have that .
2. Let {0,2}N be the set of infinite sequences with values in set {0,2}. This set clearly has cardinality (the
natural bijection between the set of binary sequences and P(N) is given by the indicator function). Now associate
to each such sequence (ai) the unique real number in the interval [0,1] with the ternary-expansion given by the
digits (ai), i.e. the i-th digit after the decimal point is ai. The image of this map is called the Cantor set. It is not
hard to see that this map is injective, for by avoiding points with the digit 1 in their ternary expansion we avoid
conflicts created by the fact that the ternary-expansion of a real number is not unique. We then have that
.
By the Cantor–Bernstein–Schroeder theorem we conclude that

(A different proof of is given in Cantor's diagonal argument. This proof constructs a bijection from {0,1}N
to R.)
The cardinal equality can be demonstrated using cardinal arithmetic:

This argument is a condensed version of the notion of interleaving two binary sequences: let 0.a0a1a2… be the
binary expansion of x and let 0.b0b1b2… be the binary expansion of y. Then z = 0.a0b0a1b1a2b2…, the interleaving
of the binary expansions, is a well-defined function when x and y have unique binary expansions. Only countably
many reals have non-unique binary expansions.
By using the rules of cardinal arithmetic one can also show that

where n is any finite cardinal ≥ 2, and

where is the cardinality of the power set of R, and .

Beth numbers
The sequence of beth numbers is defined by setting and . So is the second beth number,
beth-one:

The third beth number, beth-two, is the cardinality of the power set of R (i.e. the set of all subsets of the real line):
Beth one 186

The continuum hypothesis

The famous continuum hypothesis asserts that is also the second aleph number . In other words, the continuum
hypothesis states that there is no set whose cardinality lies strictly between and

However, this statement is now known to be independent of the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the
axiom of choice (ZFC). That is, both the hypothesis and its negation are consistent with these axioms. In fact, for
every nonzero natural number n, the equality = is independent of ZFC. (The case is the continuum
hypothesis.) The same is true for most other alephs, although in some cases equality can be ruled out by König's
theorem on the grounds of cofinality, e.g., In particular, could be either or , where is the
first uncountable ordinal, so it could be either a successor cardinal or a limit cardinal, and either a regular cardinal or
a singular cardinal.

Sets with cardinality of the continuum

A great many sets studied in mathematics have cardinality equal to . Some common examples are the following:
• the real numbers
• any (nondegenerate) closed or open interval in (such as the unit interval [0,1])
• the irrational numbers
• the transcendental numbers
• the Cantor set
• Euclidean space
• the complex numbers
• the power set of the natural numbers (the set of all subsets of the natural numbers)
• the set of sequences of integers (i.e. all functions , often denoted )
• the set of sequences of real numbers,
• the set of all continuous functions from to
• the Euclidean topology on (i.e. the set of all open sets in )
• the Borel σ-algebra on (i.e. the set of all Borel sets in ).

Sets with cardinality greater than the continuum

Sets with cardinality greater than include:
• the set of all subsets of (i.e., power set )
• the set 2R of indicator functions defined on subsets of the reals (the set is isomorphic to  – the
indicator function chooses elements of each subset to include)
• the set of all functions from to
• the Lebesgue σ-algebra of , i.e., the set of all Lebesgue measurable sets in .
• the Stone–Čech compactifications of , and .
They all have cardinality (Beth two).
Beth one 187

References
• Paul Halmos, Naive set theory. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1960. Reprinted by Springer-Verlag,
New York, 1974. ISBN 0-387-90092-6 (Springer-Verlag edition).
• Jech, Thomas, 2003. Set Theory: The Third Millennium Edition, Revised and Expanded. Springer. ISBN
3-540-44085-2.
• Kunen, Kenneth, 1980. Set Theory: An Introduction to Independence Proofs. Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-86839-9.

This article incorporates material from cardinality of the continuum on PlanetMath, which is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Complete sequence
In mathematics, an integer sequence is called a complete sequence if every positive integer can be expressed as a
sum of values in the sequence, using each value at most once.
For example, the sequence of powers of two {1, 2, 4, 8, ...}, based on the binary numeral system, is a complete
sequence; given any natural number, we can choose the values corresponding to the 1 bits in its binary representation
and sum them to obtain that number (e.g. 37 = 1001012 = 1 + 4 + 32). This sequence is minimal, since no value can
be removed from it without making some natural numbers impossible to represent. Simple examples of sequences
that are not complete include:
• The even numbers; since adding even numbers produces only even numbers, no odd number can be formed.
• Powers of three; no integer having a digit "2" in its ternary representation (2, 5, 6...) can be formed.
Without loss of generality, assume the sequence an is in nondecreasing order, and define the partial sums of an as:

Then the conditions

are both necessary and sufficient for an to be a complete sequence.[1]

Other complete sequences include:
• The sequence of the number 1 followed by the prime numbers; this follows from Bertrand's postulate.[1]
• The Fibonacci numbers, as well as the Fibonacci numbers with any one number removed.[1] This follows from the
identity that the sum of the first n Fibonacci numbers is the (n + 2)nd Fibonacci number minus 1 (see
Fibonacci_numbers#Second_identity).

Applications
Just as the powers of two form a complete sequence due to the binary numeral system, in fact any complete sequence
can be used to encode integers as bit strings. The rightmost bit position is assigned to the first, smallest member of
the sequence; the next rightmost to the next member; and so on. Bits set to 1 are included in the sum. These
representations may not be unique.
For example, in the Fibonacci arithmetic system, based on the Fibonacci sequence, the number 17 can be encoded
in six different ways:
110111 (F6 + F5 + F3 + F2 + F1 = 8 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 17, maximal form)
111001 (F6 + F5 + F4 + F1 = 8 + 5 + 3 + 1 = 17)
Complete sequence 188

111010 (F6 + F5 + F4 + F2 = 8 + 5 + 3 + 1 = 17)

1000111 (F7 + F3 + F2 + F1 = 13 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 17)
1001001 (F7 + F4 + F1 = 13 + 3 + 1 = 17)
1001010 (F7 + F4 + F2 = 13 + 3 + 1 = 17, minimal form)
In this numeral system, any substring "100" can be replaced by "011" and vice versa due to the definition of the
Fibonacci numbers.[2]

References
• Weisstein, Eric W., "Complete Sequence [3]" from MathWorld.
[1] Honsberger, R. Mathematical Gems III. Washington, DC: Math. Assoc. Amer., 1985, pp.123-128.
[2] Alexey Stakhov. "The main operations of the Fibonacci arithmetic" (http:/ / www. goldenmuseum. com/ 1202FibCdeTransf_engl. html).
Museum of Harmony and Golden Section. . Retrieved 27 July 2010.
[3] http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ CompleteSequence. html
Article Sources and Contributors 189

Article Sources and Contributors

Integer sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413617069  Contributors: 137.148.216.xxx, Almit39, Alphax, Autarch, AxelBoldt, Billymac00, Bongwarrior, Bubba73,
CBM, CRGreathouse, Clark Kimberling, Conversion script, D6, DFRussia, Dcoetzee, Dysprosia, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Graham87, Henrygb, Herbee, Julzes, Lambiam, Linas, Mav, Michael Hardy,
Mike4ty4, Poslfit, Robo37, Snoyes, TakuyaMurata, Template namespace initialisation script, Tobias Bergemann, XJamRastafire, Xandi, 17 anonymous edits

Sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413269479  Contributors: 207.148.162.xxx, ABF, Alexf, Alpha Quadrant, Atif.t2, Avjoska, AxelBoldt, Ayda D, BRUTE,
Belovedfreak, BenFrantzDale, Bethnim, Bkell, Brentsmith101, CBM, CRGreathouse, Camembert, Centrx, Charles Matthews, Charvest, Chris the speller, Classicalecon, Constructive editor,
Conversion script, Coolhandscot, Crambo0349, Digby Tantrum, Downgrader, Dpv, Dreadstar, Dreftymac, Dysprosia, EdH, Edcolins, Elwikipedista, Epbr123, Eric-Wester, Fagstein, Figs,
Fresheneesz, Fudo, Garo, Gco, Giftlite, GoingBatty, Graham87, Gregbard, Grubber, Haham hanuka, Henrygb, Herbee, Icep, Ida Shaw, Ihcoyc, Imran, Isis4563, Isnow, J.delanoy, JahJah,
JamesBWatson, Jet57, JingaJenga, Jiy, JoeSmack, Jonathan Drain, Justin W Smith, KCliffer, KHenriksson, Law, Leonard Vertighel, Linas, Lir, Loggie, Lowellian, Lupin, MFH, Manuel
Anastácio, Marek69, Mark Renier, Materialscientist, MathMartin, Mav, Mcaruso, Mendaliv, Merope, Michael Hardy, Michael Slone, Mutt Lunker, Nbarth, Ncmvocalist, Nellandmice,
Newbyguesses, Nikai, Nk, Non-dropframe, Obradovic Goran, Oleg Alexandrov, Olegalexandrov, Outs, Paolo.dL, Patrick, Paul August, Pexatus, Philip Trueman, Pjrich, Poor Yorick, Pred,
RexNL, Rlupsa, Rror, Rsenington, Sabbut, Saber Cherry, Salix alba, Sam Hocevar, Scarian, Shadowjams, Shanes, SixPurpleFish, Stdazi, Ste4k, Stewartadcock, Stickee, Suenm, Suicidalhamster,
SuperHamster, Syp, Tarquin, TedPavlic, Thingg, Toby Bartels, Tosha, Totalcynic, Tsemii, Tzfyr, Urdutext, VKokielov, Wahrmund, Wayne Slam, Wikipelli, Wolfrock, XJamRastafire,
Xantharius, Xiong Yingfei, Youandme, Zaraki, Zero0000, Zundark, 167 anonymous edits

Integer  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=411268718  Contributors: -Midorihana-, .:Ajvol:., 16@r, 28bytes, 5 albert square, ALostIguana, Ace ETP, Ahoerstemeier,
Airplaneman, Aitias, Akanemoto, Alansohn, Aldaron, Alejo2083, Altenmann, Amyx231, Analoguedragon, Andre Engels, Andres, AndyZ, Antandrus, Apparition11, Arammozuob, Arnejohs,
Arthena, Arvindn, AxelBoldt, Az1568, BarretBonden, Bendono, Bjankuloski06en, Blehfu, Blockofwood, Bobo192, Bongwarrior, BrianH123, Brianjd, Brion VIBBER, Bryan Derksen, CRiyl,
Camw, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Capricorn42, Charles Matthews, Chris 73, Christian List, Christopher Parham, Chun-hian, Cikicdragan, Ciphergoth, Clader2, Computer97, Conversion
script, Corvus cornix, Cxw, Cybercobra, DB.Gerry, DJ1AM, DMacks, Daniel Arteaga, Darkmeerkat, Darth Panda, Davexia, DavidCBryant, Davidw1985, Dbenbenn, Deconstructhis, Demmy100,
DerHexer, Deryck Chan, Digby Tantrum, Dirtylittlesecerts, Dkusic, Dr Dec, Drake Redcrest, Dreadstar, Dreish, Dricherby, Dryke, Dwheeler, Dysprosia, Edgar181, El C, Elassint, Elroch,
Epbr123, Eric119, Esanchez7587, Extransit, Faradayplank, Fayimora, Fieldday-sunday, Finell, Fredrik, Fæ, GT1345, Gaia Octavia Agrippa, Gaius Cornelius, Gakusha, Gauss, Georgia guy,
Gfoley4, Gggh, Giftlite, Graham87, GreekHouse, GromXXVII, Grover cleveland, Guardian72, Hairhorn, Harland1, Henrygb, Hippietrail, Hornlitz, Hut 8.5, Igoldste, Imasleepviking, InvisibleK,
Iridescent, Isaac909, J.delanoy, JSpung, Ja 62, JackSchmidt, Jake Nelson, Jarmiz, Jauhienij, Jfire, Jh12, Jiddisch, Jim.belk, Jj137, Jleedev, Johnferrer, Jojit fb, Josh Parris, Jshadias, Julian
Mendez, Jumbuck, KSmrq, Kadri, Kahriman, Kanags, Karadimos, Katzmik, Kawehi 65, Keilana, King of Hearts, Kingpin13, KnowledgeOfSelf, Knutux, Koeplinger, Ksero, Kuru,
Kwamikagami, L Kensington, La Pianista, Lambiam, Leonard Vertighel, Leszek Jańczuk, Liempt, Lights, Linas, LizardJr8, Lolimakethingsfun, Loren.wilton, Lowellian, Lukeelms, Lupin,
MacMed, Macy, Marc van Leeuwen, Markus Kuhn, MattGiuca, Mb5576, McSly, Mendaliv, Mentifisto, Merlion444, Metatron's Cube, Mets501, Michael Hardy, Michael Slone, Mike Segal,
Miquonranger03, Moeron, Msh210, NSR, Nakon, NawlinWiki, Nikai, Notinlist, Obradovic Goran, Odie5533, Oleg Alexandrov, Olegalexandrov, OmegaMan, Omerks, Oneiros, Optikos,
Oxymoron83, P0mbal, Panoramix, ParisianBlade, Paul August, Pb30, Philip Trueman, PhilippWeissenbacher, Pinethicket, Pleasantville, PookeyMaster, Pretzelpaws, Pufferfish101, Quaeler,
Quota, Qxz, RJFJR, RJaguar3, Radon210, Raja Hussain, Rholton, Rich Farmbrough, Riitoken, Rob Hooft, Rumping, SJP, SLSB, Saeed, Salix alba, Salsa Shark, Sasquatch, Sbowers3, Sceptre,
Scgtrp, Seaphoto, Seba5618, Seresin, Shadowjams, Sillychiva593, Sin Harvest, Snigbrook, Spindled, Splintax, Stephenb, Stevertigo, Sticky Parkin, Stuart Presnell, Stwalkerster, SunCreator,
SuperMidget, T.J.V., TakuyaMurata, Tanyakh, Tardis, Tbhotch, TeleComNasSprVen, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, The Thing That Should Not Be, TheRingess, Theda, Timothy Clemans,
Tobias Bergemann, TomdFr, Triwbe, Trovatore, Troy 07, Ttwo, Unyoyega, Vegard, Vsmith, Wafulz, Waterfox, Wikipe-tan, Wikipelli, Wimt, Wknight94, Wolfrock, Wyatt915, X!,
XJamRastafire, Xantharius, Youssefsan, Zack, Zarcillo, ZooFari, Zundark, 691 anonymous edits

Abundant number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=396964128  Contributors: Anton Mravcek, Army1987, Arvindn, Ary29, Auclairde, Barticus88, Betacommand, Bubba73,
CRGreathouse, Cacycle, ChrisHodgesUK, Cronholm144, Deor, Diannuc, Dissident, Doctormatt, Docu, Drbreznjev, Eequor, Eganfan, Eric-Wester, Eric119, Eugene van der Pijll, Filemon,
Fragglet, Fredrik, Frost Drake, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Guanaco, Hannes Eder, Hede2000, Hello32020, Herbee, J.delanoy, Jim McKeeth, Kazubon, Linas, Motomuku, Nialsh, One more night,
OwenX, Ragib, Ruud Koot, Sabbut, Schneelocke, Scythe33, Shizhao, Tanyakh, Tjdw, Uncle Dick, XJamRastafire, 42 anonymous edits

Baum–Sweet sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=349172676  Contributors: David Eppstein, Gandalf61, Giftlite, McWomble, Michael Hardy

Bell number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=409335239  Contributors: Amikake3, Ams80, AnonMoos, Betacommand, CBM, CRGreathouse, Charles Matthews, D6, David
Eppstein, Dcoetzee, Dr. Universe, Druseltal2005, Eequor, F3et, Fredrik, Futurebird, Gian-2, Giftlite, Herbee, Ixionid, Jeffersonian123, Jks, Linas, Man pl, Maxal, Michael Hardy, Mirv, Numerao,
Patrick, Pmanderson, PrimeHunter, Pyrop, R. J. Mathar, Rar, Remember the dot, Rich Farmbrough, Robinh, Salix alba, Samboy, Small potato, Texture, Tokenzero, Umeboshi, Wshun, Wzwz,
XJamRastafire, Xanthoxyl, Zero0000, 45 anonymous edits

Binomial coefficient  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=411565078  Contributors: .:Ajvol:., 137.112.129.xxx, 3ICE, A. Pichler, Altenmann, Amit man, Anonymous Dissident,
Atlastawake, Avé, AxelBoldt, Basploeger, Bo Jacoby, Boaex, BosRedSox13, Bsskchaitanya, Btyner, CRGreathouse, Calculuslover, CarloWood, Catapult, Cdang, Charles Matthews, Cherkash,
Classicalecon, Cometstyles, CommandoGuard, Conversion script, Cornince, Cryptography project, DAGwyn, DVD R W, Danski14, David Eppstein, Dcoetzee, Dejan Jovanović, DejanSpasov,
Denelson83, Devoutb3nji, Doug Bell, DrBob, Dysprosia, E rulez, Ebony Jackson, Edemaine, Eleuther, Emul0c, Eric119, Excelsiorfireblade, Ferkel, Fredrik, Fresheneesz, Fropuff, Gauge, Ghazer,
Giftlite, Graham87, Gzorg, Hashar, Hawthorn, Hede2000, Hierakares, Himynameisbrak, Indianaed, Isilando2, Jim.belk, Jitse Niesen, Jmabel, Jobu0101, Joey96, Josh3580, Jrvz, Jusdafax, KSmrq,
Kaimbridge, Karl Stroetmann, Kestrelsummer, Keta, King Bee, Kneufeld, Knightry, LakeHMM, Lambiam, Lantonov, Law, Lclem, Linas, Ling.Nut, Llama320, Llamabr, Luke Gustafson,
Mabuhelwa, Macrakis, Madmath789, Magister Mathematicae, Mangojuice, Marc van Leeuwen, Maxal, Maxwell helper, Mboverload, Mcld, Mcmlxxxi, Mhym, Michael Hardy, Michael Slone,
Mikeblas, Mormegil, Nbarth, Ninly, Nk, Oleg Alexandrov, Ondra.pelech, Orangutan, Ott2, PMajer, Paolo.dL, Patrick, Paul August, PaulTanenbaum, Pfunk42, Pgc512, PhotoBox, Postxian,
PrimeHunter, Quantling, Ragzouken, Rahence, Rhebus, Rich Farmbrough, Rponamgi, Sander123, Sanjaymjoshi, Schmock, Sciyoshi, Shelandy, Shelbymoore3, Simoneau, Sjorford, Small potato,
Spacepotato, Sreyan, Stebulus, Stellmach, Stpasha, TakuyaMurata, Tetracube, Thiago R Ramos, Timwi, Tomi, Twas Now, Uncle uncle uncle, Vonkje, Voyagerfan5761, WardenWalk,
Wavelength, Wellithy, XJamRastafire, Xanthoxyl, Ylloh, Zahlentheorie, Zalethon, Ziyuang, スマスリク, 247 anonymous edits

Carmichael number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=409142563  Contributors: 4pq1injbok, Andre Engels, Arbol01, Arthena, Arthur Rubin, AxelBoldt,
[email protected], Betacommand, Blaxthos, Bojan Basic, Boris Alexeev, Burn, CRGreathouse, Charles Matthews, CharlotteWebb, Conversion script, CryptoDerk, Cycrutchfield, DVdm,
DYLAN LENNON, Dbenbenn, Dr. Megadeth, EmilJ, Fredrik, Fryed-peach, FvdP, Gandalf61, Gene Nygaard, Georg Muntingh, Giftlite, Goncalopp, Gscshoyru, Hannes Eder, Harriv, Heder,
Hendrikeppinga, Herbee, Igny, Jeppesn, Jitse Niesen, Joffan, Just Another Dan, Krithin, Kurykh, Linas, MFH, Maksim-e, Maxal, Mdd4696, Mdeby, Michael Hardy, Ninho, Nousernamesleft,
OwenX, Paul August, Paul Carpenter, PerryTachett, Peter Kwok, Pointillist, PrimeFan, Quadell, Rspeer, SGBailey, Sander123, Sonett72, Tanyakh, Timwi, Tnfiddler, Vanish2, W.F.Galway,
Waltpohl, Wik, Wolfkeeper, XJamRastafire, 45 anonymous edits

Catalan number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413034214  Contributors: A. Pichler, Amikake3, AndPud, Armend, Arthur Rubin, Auntof6, AxelBoldt, B jonas, Bernhard
Oemer, Blotwell, Brianga, CRGreathouse, Caesura, Cartanalgebra, Charles Matthews, Chodges, ChongDae, Ciphers, Connor Behan, Crisófilax, Damian Yerrick, Dan D. Ric, Dannyxyz22, David
Eppstein, Dmharvey, Dominus, Drilnoth, ESkog, EdC, Fredrik, Fropuff, Fudo, Giftlite, Gonfer, Greg Kuperberg, Henrygb, Herbee, Ikska, Jcreed, JesseW, JocK, JoergenB, Joffan, John Baez,
Jshimbi, Kamitsaha, King Midas1234, Kingpin13, Kompik, LaosLos, Linas, Luckytoilet, Marc van Leeuwen, Maxim Razin, Mhym, Michael Hardy, Mikeblas, Netwriter2, Nitrxgen, Num Ref,
PrimeFan, Profvk, Quantling, R.e.b., RDBury, Rama, Rar, Rjwilmsi, Robertd, Sam nead, Sj, StephanCom, Sukolsak, Tanyakh, Unyoyega, Vadik, Vince Vatter, XJamRastafire, Xiaodai, Yrodro,
‫ينام‬, 83 anonymous edits

Composite number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=408547491  Contributors: 7, A8UDI, ABCD, Acroterion, Ahoerstemeier, Alksub, Angela, Antandrus, Arthena,
Asparagus, Bacchus87, Barticus88, Beotae, Bobo192, Brw12, Bsadowski1, CRGreathouse, Calvin 1998, CameronPG, CardinalDan, CarrotMan, Ceranthor, Christian75, Cimon Avaro,
Cremepuff222, Cronholm144, Curtholr, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Dedalus, DerHexer, Discospinster, Dmismir, Doctormatt, Docu, Dogah, Earlypsychosis, Eenu, Egil, Epbr123, Evil saltine, Excirial,
Falcon8765, Flewis, Fredrik, Gandalf61, Gdr, Giftlite, Googl, Graham87, Greswik, Haham hanuka, Hayson1991, Heryu, Hluup, IGeMiNix, IRP, Icairns, Ixfd64, J.delanoy, JFreeman, Jim.belk,
Kafame, Katalaveno, Kilva, Kingpin13, LOL, Linas, LovesMacs, Luckas Blade, Maksim-e, Mat-C, Mathfan, Michael Hardy, Mild Bill Hiccup, Minna Sora no Shita, Miquonranger03, Mormegil,
Mutinus, Nibblus, Nightgamer360, Nikai, Nyambayar.T, Oleg Alexandrov, P Carn, Pdcook, Persian Poet Gal, Pevernagie, PhiEaglesfan712, Piano non troppo, Piolinfax, PrimeFan, PrimeHunter,
Promethean, RDBury, RadiantRay, Revolver, RexNL, Rjwilmsi, Robo37, Ronhjones, Ronk01, SEWilco, Samuelsen, SchfiftyThree, SeeSchloss, Shne, Simetrical, Slakr, Sopoforic,
TakuyaMurata, Tarquin, Tcncv, The Thing That Should Not Be, Theresa knott, Tide rolls, Tinyclick, Tommy2010, Us441, Versus22, Virginia-American, Vrenator, WadeSimMiser, Wikieditor06,
Willking1979, Wimt, Wysprgr2005, X!, XJamRastafire, Xhaoz, Yamaguchi先生, Yosri, 340 anonymous edits

Deficient number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=358634029  Contributors: Anton Mravcek, Arthur Rubin, Ary29, Auclairde, Bab dz, Bob.v.R, Bobo192, Bubba73,
CRGreathouse, CWY2190, Cacycle, Clark89, Doctormatt, Eequor, Erud, Fredrik, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Haham hanuka, Hannes Eder, Hede2000, Herbee, Krich, Linas, Motomuku, OwenX,
PhiEaglesfan712, Sabbut, Schneelocke, Tanyakh, Unyoyega, XJamRastafire, 27 anonymous edits
Article Sources and Contributors 190

Euler numbers  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=15941988  Contributors: AxelBoldt, AyAn4m1, Blaxthos, Captintuba, Dan Gluck, Duncan, EmilJ, Fredrik, Gfis, Giftlite,
GoGi, Hamsterlopithecus, Herbee, Igorpak, Jimothy 46, Kaszeta, Lethe, Linas, Lowellian, Michael Hardy, Mindmatrix, Minesweeper, Ojigiri, Oleg Alexandrov, Phe, PierreAbbat, Roadrunner,
Ross tang, Selket, Silly rabbit, Urhixidur, Wirkstoff, XJamRastafire, Zundark, 28 anonymous edits

Even and odd numbers  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=161012507  Contributors: .:Ajvol:., Afed, Ahoerstemeier, Angela, Angr, Arthur Rubin, AxelBoldt, Beowulf7120,
BiT, Blotwell, Bm128, Brick Thrower, CRGreathouse, Calcyman, Charles Matthews, Cheeser1, ChemGardener, Chenxlee, Col tom, DGMorales, DRLB, David Eppstein, Demmy, Ellywa,
Falsedef, Fishnet37222, GeordieMcBain, Gesslein, Giftlite, Gregwmay, HeikoEvermann, Henrygb, Iseeaboar, IslandHopper973, Ixfd64, JForget, Jhinman, Jonathan Webley, Josh Parris, Jshadias,
Jumbuck, Justin W Smith, Kelisi, Kewp, Kpufferfish, LimoWreck, Linas, Logan, Lotans, Lucinos, MDCollins, MER-C, MK8, MacMed, Magister Mathematicae, Marc Venot, Maxal, Mcqxx,
Melchoir, Mellum, Mets501, Mfc, Michael Angelkovich, Michael Hardy, Minesweeper, Mormegil, N2e, Nuno Tavares, Nuttycoconut, Oddity-, Oleg Alexandrov, Oliver Pereira, Oxymoron83,
Paquitotrek, PhotoBox, PierreAbbat, Poor Yorick, Potatoswatter, Rhopkins8, Rhythm, Rodriguesds, Romanm, Rpresser, Ryulong, Salix alba, Snowdog, Starwiz, Stwalkerster, Synchronism,
TXiKi, TakuyaMurata, Thaurisil, The Anome, The enemies of god, Thetorpedodog, Toby Bartels, Trainman jaime, Twri, Usien6, Vegaswikian, VictorAnyakin, Wbrenna36, Xario, Xcentaur,
Zaslav, 176 anonymous edits

Factorial  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=414043547  Contributors: A. Pichler, Acer, Agricola44, Ahoerstemeier, Alexandre Vassalotti, Alparmarta, Altenmann, Andres,
Anonymous Dissident, Anton Mravcek, Arabic Pilot, ArglebargleIV, Arneth, ArnoldReinhold, Arphibagon, Aruton, Audiovideo, Autopilot, AxelBoldt, Bdesham, Ben pcc, Blahm, Boltsman,
Booyabazooka, BruceHodge, Bryan H Bell, Bubba73, Burgercat, CRGreathouse, Capitalist, Carlosguitar, CheekierMonkey, Chrispringle, Christian List, Ckatz, Colonies Chris, Connelly,
Conversion script, Curlytop999, Darkmeerkat, David Eppstein, Db099221, Dcluett, Dcoetzee, Deathphoenix, Denelson83, Dhp1080, Dmcq, Dogah, Dominus, Domitori, Dragohunter, Dude1818,
Dysprosia, Ec-, EdC, Emperorbma, Eras-mus, Eric119, Eridani, Ernest lk lam, Eumeme, Eutactic, Evil Monkey, Excirial, FallenAngel, FatalError, Fibonacci, Fishcorn, Fredericksgary, Fredrik,
Frencheigh, Fritzpoll, Furrykef, Garoto burns, GeneralCheese, Gesslein, Giftlite, Glenn L, Godden46, Goldencako, Google Child, Gruntler, H3llbringer, Haein45, Hairy Dude, Hannes Eder,
Happy-melon, Hassan210360, Henrygb, Herbee, Hyacinth, Iamunknown, Icek, Idbelange, ImperatorExercitus, Indeed123, IronGargoyle, Isopropyl, Ixfd64, JB82, JWSchmidt, JabberWok, Jagun,
JebeddiahSpringfield, Jezzabr, Jgoulden, Jiel.B, Jim.belk, Jleedev, JohnBlackburne, Jonathunder, Jonik, Jordaan12, Jumbuck, Justin W Smith, Jwmcleod, Kaimiddleton, Karl Palmen, Kbrose,
Keith111, Keithcc, Kevin Baas, Kier07, King Bee, Knutux, Koolman2, Korax1214, Lambiam, Lantonov, Lhf, MSGJ, Marc van Leeuwen, MarkSweep, Marquez, Mathacw, MattGiuca, Mattbuck,
Matusz, Maximaximax, Mboverload, McKay, Mech Aaron, MegaSloth, Melchoir, Mets501, Michael Hardy, Michael Slone, Minesweeper, Misof, Mktos532, MoleculeUpload, Mon4, MrOllie,
Mradam2008, Mrbowtie, Ms2ger, Nabla, Namaxwell, Necrid Master, NeonMerlin, NerdyScienceDude, Nicolas.Wu, Nikai, Nishantsah, Nitrolicious, Nitrxgen, Nniigeell, Nomet, Num Ref,
Obradovic Goran, Octahedron80, Oldjackson, Oleg Alexandrov, PAR, Patrick, Paul August, Paul Niquette, Pde, Pek the Penguin, Piano non troppo, Pilover819, Pleasantville, Poor Yorick, Prari,
PrimeFan, PrimeHunter, Qonnec, Quantling, Quaoar, Quest for Truth, Qwerty mac13, RaitisMath, Rhythm, Rich Farmbrough, Rob.derosa, Robo37, SGBailey, Sabbut, Salix alba, Saraghav,
Schneelocke, Seb-Gibbs, Shawnhath, Shimgray, Silsor, Slady, Spyswimmer33, Stevenj, Stevey7788, Stuart Morrow, Super Spider, Super-Magician, Sushi Tax, Sverdrup, Svick, Swpb, THEN
WHO WAS PHONE?, TXiKi, TakuyaMurata, Taxman, Tels, Thatoneguy, The Perfection, The Thing That Should Not Be, TheArcher, Thingg, ThinkEnemies, Tim1988, TomViza, Tommy2010,
Tomruen, Trusilver, Usien6, Vorratt, Vvargoal, WFPM, Waggers, Wholmestu, Whywhenwhohow, Wik, Wile E. Heresiarch, Wirkstoff, Wperdue, WriterHound, Wrs1864, XJamRastafire, Xario,
Xenoglossophobe, Yamamoto Ichiro, Yarvin, Youandme, ZICO, Zaslav, Zundark, Zzedar, Zzyzx11, Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, ‫יש דוד‬, 451 anonymous edits

Fibonacci number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413642365  Contributors: (jarbarf), -Majestic-, 206.129.0.xxx, 27linx, 7times7, A-Doo, Aaron Schulz, Abhinaba, Acebulf,
ActivExpression, Adam78, Adamli9, Addshore, AdjustShift, Adun12, Agent Smith (The Matrix), Ahabvihrea, Ahoerstemeier, Ahudson, Ahy1, Aitias, Alan smithee, Alansohn, Albmont,
Alchemist Jack, Ale jrb, Aleenf1, Alex Rio Brazil, Alex Vinokur, Alex kraemer, Alex.muller, Alex.zeffertt, Ambiguoussimian, Angela, Animum, AnonMoos, Anonymous Dissident, Antaeus
Feldspar, Antandrus, Applesrock2222, Arithmonic, Arjun024, Armend, ArthurDenture, Asleep at the Wheel, Atjesse, Avenged Eightfold, Average Earthman, Avoided, AxelBoldt, Aykantspel,
Aymatth2, Aznfoo, B Gallagher, Bakasuprman, Bart133, Beamrider, Bender235, Beno1000, Berstff 27, Bexie02, Bhadani, Bharatveer, BilinearWidder, BillyNair, Billymac00, Blackskilled,
Blindmansays, Blotwell, Blumpkin, Bmenrigh, Bobo192, Borb, Brainix, Brian0918, Brookie, Bruce1ee, Buahaha, Bugtank, BuickCenturyDriver, Builtsoap3, Burn, Bwilliams, CLW,
CRGreathouse, Caesura, Calliopejen1, Caltas, Camembert, Camiflower, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, CanadianLinuxUser, CapitalR, CardinalDan, Casty10, Cgranade, ChanTab, Charles
Matthews, CharlotteWebb, Ched Davis, Chennavarri, Cherkash, Chinju, Christian List, Chuunen Baka, Cjthellama, Clark Kimberling, Closedmouth, CompositeFan, Connormah, Conversion
script, Coralmizu, Cornince, Corvus cornix, Courcelles, Cpl Syx, Crackpottheorist, Crisófilax, Cronholm144, Crossmr, Crzrussian, Cubbi, Curious George 57, Cybercobra, D, D-Notice, DARTH
SIDIOUS 2, DO'Neil, DVD R W, DVdm, Da monster under your bed, DaL33T, Dangiankit, Daniel.Cardenas, DanielCristofani, DanielKO, DanielRigal, Danielklein, Danno uk, Dark Mage,
Darth Panda, Dave6, David Eppstein, David Haslam, Davidwt, Dcoetzee, Deeptrivia, Dekisugi, Delldot, Demortes, Den fjättrade ankan, DerHexer, Desmond71, Devileen, Dfrg.msc,
Diagonalfish, Dicklyon, Diligent Terrier, Dingerdonger, Dirac66, Discospinster, Divineprime, Djkimmons, Dmcq, Dmmaus, DomenicDenicola, Dominus, Doomedtx, Dpeters11, DrJohnG,
Dragflame383, Dreadstar, Dreamfoundry, DrunkenSmurf, Dstlascaux, Dustball, Dyanega, Dylan Lake, Dysprosia, EBB, ERcheck, EamonnPKeane, Eddideigel, Ee79, Ehrenkater, El C, Elitropia,
Eliyak, Eliz81, Elkobit, Elm-39, Emhoo, Eog1916, Epbr123, Ertemplin, Euphonisten, Evaristor, Excirial, Exodian, F cooper 8472, Falcon8765, Fantusta, Faradayplank, FatalError, Favonian,
FerralMoonrender, Ffangs, Fibonacci, Fibonaccimaster, Finell, Firien, Fivemack, Fixedd, Flewis, Four Dog Night, Francis Schonken, FrankWasHere, Frankie816, Fred Bradstadt, Fredrik,
Fropuff, Fvasconcellos, FvdP, Fæ, GSMR, GTBacchus, GabKBel, Gaius Cornelius, Gandalf61, Gareth Wyn, Gauss, Georgewilliamherbert, Gerbrant, Gfis, Ggea, Giftlite, Gilliam, Gimmetrow,
Glencora, Gobonobo, Gogo Dodo, GoodDamon, Google Child, GoonerDP, GorillaWarfare, GrafZahl, Graham87, GregorB, GrooveDog, Gtalal, Gubbubu, Gustavo José Meano Brito, Gutsul,
Gutza, H2g2bob, Habs2345, Hairy Dude, Half price, Halmstad, Harold f, Hbdragon88, Hdfkkfghvjmbb, Heatherc, Helixweb, Henkk78, Herbee, Herk1955, Heron, Herry12, Hillgentleman,
Hitman012, Hjsmithh, Hut 8.5, Hyacinth, Hyperdivision, IRP, Iamunknown, Ibbn, Icseaturtles, Ignatzmice, Igny, Illythr, Immunize, Insanity Incarnate, Ipatrol, Ipwnuha, Iridescent, Ishboyfay,
Isopropyl, Ivan Lakhturov, Ivan Štambuk, Ixfd64, J.delanoy, JForget, JNW, JRSpriggs, Jacj, Jackol, Jackwestjr, Jacquerie27, Jambo961, Jamrb, Jangles5150, Jaswenso, Jauerback, Jayen466,
Jbl1975, Jean-claude perez, Jeffasinger, JetLover, Jiang, Jim.belk, JimVC3, Jimfbleak, Jimmah, Jjsk12345, Jleedev, Jmaccaro, JocK, Joemoser, Johann Wolfgang, Johantheghost, Johngouf85,
Johnuniq, Jonomacdrones, JoshuaZ, JovanCormac, Jrvz, Jshadias, Jtrollheiser, Juliancolton, Junkmonkey, JustAnotherJoe, Justin W Smith, Juze, Juzeris, Jxm, Jxn, Jóna Þórunn, KSmrq,
Kadambarid, Kanishk Mittal, Karl Palmen, Karl Stroetmann, Katalaveno, Katieh5584, Katsarts, Kerio00, Kevin.gould, Khgkjgfd, Killerray, Kku, Ko34, Kombiman, Konstable, Kope,
Krashlandon, Kri, Kubigula, Kukini, Kurtjanpumares, Landon1980, Larry R. Holmgren, Lars T., Lauren0 o, Laursch, Lefterov, LeilaniLad, Lemonflash, Lesgles, Levin, Liebeskind, LilHelpa,
Lilac Soul, Linas, LindsayH, Lipedia, LizardJr8, Llywrch, Lochaber, Lockoom, Lonestar662p3, Loom91, Lucas9000, Lucian Sunday, Lukehodgson, Luna Santin, Lunae, LunaticFringe,
M3tainfo, MER-C, MFSP, Madmath789, MagMath, MagnaMopus, Manfi, Maniac18, Manishearth, Manu.m, Mapletip, MarSch, Marius.bancila, MarkSweep, Markwalters79, Martynas Patasius,
MathyGirl, Matt.whitby, Maxal, Mboverload, McCart42, McSly, Mckaysalisbury, Melchoir, Mellum, Mentifisto, Mercury, Merosonox, Mets501, Mew 147258, Michael Hardy, Michaelkourlas,
Mike Rosoft, Mike.lifeguard, Mikeblas, Minimac's Clone, Miquonranger03, Miranda, Mit-Mit, Miym, Mkosto, Mmmilan, Mokoniki, Moozikalman, Mormegil, Moshi1618, MuZemike,
Mukerjee, Munci, Munjonea, Murph97, Mutinus, My name, MystRivenExile, NHJG, Naughtyco, Naughtysriram, NawlinWiki, Nbarth, Nburden, NellieBly, NerdyScienceDude,
NewEnglandYankee, Nic bor, Nikai, Nikevich, Nilfanion, NobuTamura, Noe, Nonenmac, NormDor, Nousernamesleft, Nsaa, Nsk92, NuclearWarfare, Nufy8, Numerao, Nuujinn, Nyktos, Ocolon,
Oleg Alexandrov, Omicronpersei8, Openyourminds, Opland, Orville Eastland, Oxymoron83, P n, PTP2009, Palnatoke, ParisianBlade, Patchouli, Patrick, Paul August, Pax85, PbJuNkEy,
Pckee1995, Pdcook, Peeps101, Pejhman, Peter Kwok, PeterStJohn, Petiatil, Phantomsteve, Phil Boswell, PhilKnight, Philip Trueman, Picatype, PierreAbbat, Pigsonthewing, Pillowpower,
Pilotguy, Pinethicket, Pingku, Pink Distortion, Pixiequix, Planet guru, Plattler01, Pleasantville, Pne, Pogmothoin2486, Polyamorph, Porcher, Porges, Postglock, Prashanthns, PrimeFan,
PrimeHunter, Prof.rick, Prokofiev2, Protious, Pseudomonas, Psiphiorg, Puchiko, Punnytno1, Pyninja, Pyrrhus16, QmunkE, Quantumobserver, Quantumor, Quasipalm, Quebec99, Quercusrobur,
Quintote, Qwertyus, Qxz, R'n'B, RETROFUTURE, RHaworth, RJFJR, RJaguar3, Radon210, Rambo forever, Raven in Orbit, Ravichandar84, RazorICE, Razorflame, RedWolf, Reinoutr,
Renfield286, Res2216firestar, Rgdboer, Richard L. Peterson, Rick Norwood, Rjanag, Rjwilmsi, Robbjedi, RobertStar20, Robertd, Roger Hui, Ronhjones, Rouenpucelle, Ryan Reich, RyanCross,
RyanHLewis, RyanJones, SGBailey, SJP, Sabamo, Salix alba, Salsb, Sam Coutu-Oughton, Sam Hocevar, Samueldk, Sarindam7, Sarranduin, Sarregouset, Satyadev, ScaldingHotSoup, Scetoaux,
SchfiftyThree, Schissel, Seaphoto, Seav, Secret Squïrrel, Senordingdong, Sesu Prime, Seth Nimbosa, Sfmammamia, Shadowjams, Shafei, Shai-kun, Shamilton, Shoeofdeath, Shreevatsa,
Shyamal, Sil3ntr3con, Silly rabbit, Simetrical, Sir Vicious, Skizzik, Skyy Train, SlaterDeterminant, Slyfoxx, Smalljim, Snezzy, Snowdog, Snowolf, Somebody9973, Soosed, Spangineer,
SparrowsWing, Speeddemon010647, Spitfire, Srl, Srnec, Stannered, Stephen.c.johnson, Stephenb, Stevage, Steven Weston, Sturmde, Stuza2, Styrofoam1994, Sunny256, Supreme geek overlord,
Surachit, Surturz, Suwa, Swartday, TMC1221, TakuyaMurata, Tamfang, Tanthalas39, Tarquilu, Tb, TeaDrinker, Teapotgeorge, Terence, The Anome, The Thing That Should Not Be, The sock
that should not be, TheDJ, TheHYPO, TheMathinator, TheRingess, Thedjatclubrock, Theleftorium, Thingg, Thomas.ohland, Ticmarc, Tiddly Tom, Tide rolls, Timneu22, Timwi, Tiptoety,
Tobster1998, Toddst1, Toh, Tom, Tomeasy, Tommy2010, Tony1, Tosha, TotientDragooned, Tpbradbury, TreasuryTag, Tresiden, Trialsanderrors, Triwbe, Trovatore, Tsange, Tulcod,
Tylerdmace, Ukdragon37, Ukexpat, Unixer, Vafthrudnir, Velho, Versus22, Violetriga, Virginia-American, Vox Rationis, Voyagerfan5761, Wafulz, Waggers, Ward3001, Wayne Slam, Wazinger,
WeichaoLiu, Wenli, Wereon, Wfgiuliano, Wiki-otter, WikiAntPedia, WikiLaurent, WikiSlasher, Willking1979, Wimt, Winchelsea, Wknight94, Woodstone, Woohookitty, Work permit,
Wtmitchell, Wutchamacallit27, Wyatt915, XJamRastafire, Xavexgoem, Xdenizen, Xenonice, Yamaguchi先生, Yarnalgo, Yarvin, YellowMonkey, Zac67, Zfr, Zhou Yu, ZombieDance, Zsinj,
Zven, Zzedar, Zzuuzz, Александър, 2057 anonymous edits

Fibonacci word  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=409218742  Contributors: AdeSav, Brighterorange, Charles Matthews, Charvest, ClamDip, David Eppstein, Finell, Fudo,
Gfis, Hermel, Michael Hardy, NellieBly, Prokofiev2, R.e.s., Slashme, Smjg, Sompm, Tamfang, TheRingess, Zarboublian, 16 anonymous edits

Figurate numbers  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=16336433  Contributors: 4pq1injbok, Andycjp, Art LaPella, Burn, Calair, D6, David Eppstein, Dbenbenn, Dedoleo,
Eequor, Falcor84, Finell, Gentlemath, Giftlite, Herbee, Ilmari Karonen, Indefatigable, Jakob.scholbach, Jonhays0, Jor, Keenan Pepper, Loren Rosen, Ma'ame Michu, Melab-1,
Mhaitham.shammaa, Monedula, Mviergujerghs89fhsdifds, Ocarroll, Oleg Alexandrov, Pdelong, Personline, PeterWT, Peterhi, PrimeHunter, Sabbut, Saga City, Shawn81, Tedernst, Tentacles,
Thnidu, 34 anonymous edits

Golomb sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=347859010  Contributors: Autarch, CRGreathouse, David Eppstein, Michael Hardy, PrimeHunter, Vanish2

Happy number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413272187  Contributors: 4meter4, A Real Kaiser, A.R., ACredibleLie, Acm, Adishem, Ahugenerd, Ajd, Alasdair,
Angmering, AppleMacReporter, Argenblargendargen, Basketballtim, Beano, BinaryFrog, Blotwell, Bubba73, CRGreathouse, ColinHorne, Cristiano Toàn, Darksun, DataWraith, DavidWBrooks,
Article Sources and Contributors 191

Dbenbenn, Dhartung, Doctormatt, Dogah, Dysprosia, Emurphy42, Er Komandante, Evatutin, Evilmoo, Fmansfeld, FrostyBytes, Gabrielbijleveld, Giftlite, Hohum, Hughcharlesparker,
Hypnosadist, Ian Pitchford, Ismakefire, JYi, Justin W Smith, KeithS, Kelly Martin, LPH, Linas, Lucas Brown, MFH, MarkSweep, MathMan64, Matt.whitby, Melchoir, Mgenuth,
Moe1234567890000, Mrmrbeaniepiece, Murkee, Mytchill, Nealmcb, Oleg Alexandrov, Oliphaunt, OwenX, Peak Freak, Pearle, PhiJ, Philip Trueman, Phoenix79, Pichu826, Pmanderson,
PrimeHunter, R. S. Shaw, R27182818, Radon210, Rick21784, Rikimaru, Serein (renamed because of SUL), Silverfish, Smjg, Snorbaard, Squad51, Stephenb, TJ09, TWSummer, Telemath,
Thehelpfulone, TonyW, Waldir, Wikipeterproject, XJamRastafire, Zaslav, ZeroOne, 147 anonymous edits

Highly totient number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=277395499  Contributors: Anonymous Dissident, Anton Mravcek, Bubba73, Dbenbenn, Linas, Magister
Mathematicae, Mathnerd1729, Nnh, Oleg Alexandrov, PrimeFan, Remuel, Silverfish, Voila viola1116, 2 anonymous edits

Highly composite number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=411909211  Contributors: A Nobody, Andris, Anton Mravcek, AxelBoldt, Barticus88, Billymac00, Blaxthos,
Braveorca, Bubba73, Cewvero, Coasterlover1994, Cyde, David Eppstein, Dedalus, DmitTrix, Doctormatt, Drostie, Eequor, Eric Olson, Evercat, Fredrik, FvdP, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Graham87,
GregorB, HTMLCODER.exe, Henning Makholm, Henrygb, IceKarma, Incnis Mrsi, J834 4562, Josh Parris, Just Another Dan, Karl Palmen, Ktsquare, Laurentius, Linas, Lst27, Luqui,
Madmath789, Matchups, Mathematicaster, Matt B., Michael Hardy, Mr Death, Numbo3, Oleg Alexandrov, PAK Man, Patrick, Paul August, Paul Martin, Pcb21, PrimeFan, PrimeHunter,
Radiojon, Raul654, Samuelsen, Schneelocke, Shawn81, Sjorford, Sketchmoose, Stephan Leeds, Stevenj, Switchercat, TDNoe, Tarquin, The Anome, Tikiwont, Timwi, Torkel1001,
XJamRastafire, 51 anonymous edits

Home prime  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413106091  Contributors: CRGreathouse, Julzes, Melaen, Michael Hardy, Racklever

Hyperperfect number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=387620759  Contributors: Asyndeton, Barticus88, Bubba73, CRGreathouse, CompositeFan, Doctormatt,
DragonflySixtyseven, Gandalf61, Gfis, Giftlite, Herbee, Linas, Maksim-e, Marco Krohn, Michael Hardy, Pgjpgj, PuzzletChung, Schneelocke, Sjorford, Tide rolls, 13 anonymous edits

Juggler sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=390471005  Contributors: Adcoon, CultureDrone, Gandalf61, GregorB, Michael Hardy, Updatehelper, Xeno, 2 anonymous
edits

Kolakoski sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=412410332  Contributors: CBM, Clark Kimberling, David Eppstein, Eric Rowland, Fabrictramp, Gfis, Giftlite, Michael
Hardy, Pascal666, RHaworth, Zarboublian, 6 anonymous edits

Lucky number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=412302185  Contributors: Algebraist, Antonio Lopez, Arthur Rubin, Blotwell, Buck O'Nollege, CRGreathouse, CapitalSasha,
Carlosguitar, Cawas, Celtic Minstrel, Computer97, DXL, David Eppstein, Dominus, Dysprosia, Enochlau, Fredrik, Giftlite, Haham hanuka, Isnow, JerryFriedman, Jshadias, King Mir, Linas,
Message From Xenu, Mr. Billion, Nakon, Ninetyone, Oleg Alexandrov, Olivier, Pleasantville, Pred, PrimeHunter, Rikimaru, Sbhuvans, Sottolacqua, Tanyakh, Tommy2010, Wtmitchell,
XJamRastafire, 46 anonymous edits

Lucas number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=408815318  Contributors: Andy M. Wang, Anton Mravcek, Arbol01, BL Lacertae, Blackskilled, CRGreathouse,
Carrionluggage, Charles Matthews, Danielklein, Dina, DiscX, Fantusta, Fredrik, Fropuff, Gaius Cornelius, Gandalf61, GatesPlusPlus, Giftlite, Insanity Incarnate, J04n, JRSpriggs, Jed 20012,
Kanguole, Maxal, Mikez23, Netsnipe, Nffy212, PV=nRT, Patrick, Plenilune, PrimeHunter, Razorflame, Sawbeit, Shadowx88, Sligocki, Stux, Vijilant, Wasell, Wik, Wild Lion,
Wutchamacallit27, Xiutwel, ZeroOne, 34 anonymous edits

Padovan sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=389040662  Contributors: Amber388, Burn, CRGreathouse, Charles Matthews, Fnorp, FvdP, Gandalf61, Gentlemath,
Gfis, Giftlite, Hyperdivision, Jtlien, Knodeltheory, Michael Hardy, Oleg Alexandrov, Plenilune, Pmanderson, PrimeFan, Txomin, 13 anonymous edits

Partition number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=51538533  Contributors: 4pq1injbok, Almit39, Anomalocaris, Arch dude, Bluebusy, Bruguiea, Burn, CRGreathouse,
Charles Matthews, Chinasaur, David Eppstein, El C, Eliasen, Fivemack, FractalFusion, GTBacchus, Gandalf61, Giftlite, GromXXVII, Hannes Eder, Henrygb, Hillman, HorsePunchKid, Ilmari
Karonen, Ixfd64, JNLII, JRSpriggs, Jason Quinn, Jed 20012, JoaquinFerrero, Joriki, Justin W Smith, Jwmcleod, Kevin Forsyth, Khunglongcon, KiruJiwak, Kku, Krishnachandranvn, Lambiam,
Lantonov, Linas, Loopology, Macrakis, Marc van Leeuwen, Mathman99, Maxal, Merovingian, Mhym, Miaers, Michael Hardy, Michael Slone, Milogardner, Nonenmac, Oleg Alexandrov, Philip
Trueman, Phys, Pwlfong, Redgolpe, Richard L. Peterson, Robinh, Robo37, Shoeofdeath, Simetrical, Stevertigo, Tarquin, Tetracube, Thehebrewhammer, Timothy Clemans, Timrem, Wang
ty87916, Wshun, Ylloh, Zdaugherty, ‫םעניבא‬, 白駒, 75 anonymous edits

Perfect number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=412813759  Contributors: $-vrt, 5 albert square, Aaron Schulz, Al11697, Alexei Kopylov, Alexw, Andersmusician,
Anhydrobiosis, Anomalocaris, Anonymous56789, Antandrus, Ark, Arthur Rubin, Asyndeton, AxelBoldt, Barticus88, Bhadani, Blaxthos, Bobo192, Boing! said Zebedee, Bryan Derksen,
Bsadowski1, Bubblylizzie, CRGreathouse, Calvin 1998, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Chesscanoe, Chikushi, Chinmin, Christian List, Ciphergoth, Coffee, Conversion script, CrazyChemGuy,
Cureden, Curps, DYLAN LENNON, David Eppstein, Dbenbenn, DerHexer, Desi4eva, Diannuc, Discospinster, Dissimul, Dmharvey, Dmoews, Doctormatt, Dominik92, Donarreiskoffer,
Doniago, Download, Drilnoth, Drummer2901, Dysepsion, Dysprosia, Eganfan, Elroch, Ericswebber, Faithlessthewonderboy, Fredrik, Froggy33, G Furtado, GDonato, Gandalf61, Geopol,
Georgia guy, Giftlite, Glenn L, Goodboy Johnny, Gordon Stangler, Goudzovski, GraemeMcRae, Graham87, Greatestrowerever, Gscshoyru, Hank Ramsey, Herbee, Heron, Herve661, Hgrosser,
Iceager, Icseaturtles, InterCommunication, Intgr, Ipi31415, Ixfd64, J.delanoy, JUSTINBFAN4EVER&ALWAYS, Jackol, Jagged 85, Jagun, Jannex, Jim McKeeth, Jim.belk, Jitse Niesen, Jni,
John254, Johnny06man, JoshuaZ, Jumbuck, Jurvetson2, Justin W Smith, Jvs.cz, Katsushi, Kbh3rd, Kdau, Kesuari, Knodeltheory, Kope, Kotobakarihakirai, LC, Lain2252, Laslovarga, Linas,
Logologist, Lonely Boyz, Lsdan, Lucas Brown, Lucky Eight, Ludwigs2, Lutvokuric, Lzur, MIYAJ, Matt.whitby, McGeddon, Mdotley, Merovingian, Michael Hardy, MightyWarrior, Mini-Geek,
Mormegil, Moto neeraj, Motomuku, Mscuthbert, MyNameIsClare, Myasuda, NawlinWiki, Neil Dodgson, Nekonobaka, Newbyguesses, Nick chang207`, Nigholith, Nihil novi, Nikai, Ninly,
Noraft, Nsaa, Ntsimp, Nuno Tavares, Ocolon, Oleg Alexandrov, Orangutan, OwenX, POP JAM, Party, Paul August, Paulpro16, Pearle, Peter jackson, Ph89, PhiEaglesfan712, Pmanderson,
Pouya, PranksterTurtle, PrimeFan, PrimeHunter, Pt, PuzzletChung, Pyn123, Radioxid, Reyk, Richard L. Peterson, Rob Hooft, Robert2957, Robinh, Robma, Robofish, Rock-et-86,
Roentgenium111, Roux, Rsrikanth05, Sabbut, Saberwyn, Samuelsen, Sango123, Schildt.a, Schneelocke, Schoen, Seav, Seghetti, Shinjiman, Smallman12q, Smjg, SnakeHawk, SpK, Staecker,
Stevertigo, Subpopulations, Sugakusha, Suruena, TELL ME that, Tambora1815, Tcncv, Tellyaddict, The Anome, The Perfection, The Thing That Should Not Be, Theoryofnumbers, Tholly, Toby
Bartels, TomS TDotO, Trevor Andersen, Tropylium, Trovatore, Tsr21, WAREL, WATARU, Wikieditor06, William Avery, XJamRastafire, Xaxxon, Xeddy, Xezbeth, Xihr, Yelyos, Yogi de,
Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, 375 anonymous edits

Pseudoperfect number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=16342172  Contributors: Anton Mravcek, Arvindn, Barticus88, CRGreathouse, CompositeFan, David Eppstein,
Dogah, Eequor, FrankBuss, Fredrik, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Herbee, Hv, Linas, Maksim-e, PV=nRT, Pmanderson, Schneelocke, V1adis1av, Vanish2, Vina, 7 anonymous edits

Prime number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=413522013  Contributors: (jarbarf), 0, 19.125, 21655, 5 albert square, 5ko, 99nintynine, A Stop at Willoughby, A2Kafir, ABF,
ALargeElk, AOL account, Aaron Brenneman, Aaron McDaid, AbcXyz, Abhijitsathe, Abigail-II, Adiamas, AdjustShift, Adolfbatman, Aeuoah, Agemon, Ahoerstemeier, Aitias, Ajonnet, Akwdb,
Alansohn, Alex43223, Alexandre Vassalotti, Alexius08, AlexiusHoratius, Alexkorn, Alofferman, AlphaEta, Amelio Vázquez, Amin Morshed, Amitch, Anaxial, Anclation, Andlima, Andros
1337, AndyTheGrump, Angela, Anikingos, Anna Lincoln, Anonymous Dissident, Antaeus Feldspar, Antandrus, AnthonyQBachler, Anton Mravcek, Anturiaethwr, Arbol01, Arch dude,
ArglebargleIV, Arienh4, Arr jay, Arthur Rubin, Arvindn, Ash, Asmeurer, Asyndeton, Avant Guard, Avicennasis, Avnjay, Awsdert, AxelBoldt, Az29, AznBurger, Azuredu, B00P, B9
hummingbird hovering, Babahadi, Baccyak4H, Badgernet, Bart133, Barticus88, Bdesham, BertoRich, Betacommand, Bevo, Bidabadi, Biglad2k8mc, Billymac00, Bio rules, Bkell, Bkumartvm,
Blanchardb, Blaxthos, Bluerasberry, Bocutadriansebastian, Boing! said Zebedee, Boleslav Bobcik, Bolonium, Bombcar, Bongwarrior, BorgHunter, Bpcrao, Brett Dunbar, Brianga, BrokenSegue,
Bryan Derksen, Bubba73, Bumnut, C S, C0nanPayne, CALR, CRGreathouse, CSTAR, CSWarren, CWenger, Cacycle, Calabraxthis, Calmer Waters, Calmypal, CameronPG, Camooseman, Can't
sleep, clown will eat me, CapitalR, Capricorn42, CardinalDan, CarlHinton, CarlLamb, Catgut, Chaojoker, Charles Matthews, Charleswallingford, Cheeser1, Cheveyo, Chris 73, ChrisHamburg,
ChrisfromHouston, Chrishepner, Chrism, Christian List, CielProfond, Cimon Avaro, Cirt, Clayton-Jai, Clovis Sangrail, Colonies Chris, Comet Tuttle, Cometstyles, Conical Johnson, Contestcen,
Conversion script, Coolkie, Corpbeast Jr, Corpx, Countercouper, Cpl Syx, Craig Mayhew, Crazycomputers, Creidieki, Crisófilax, Criticofpurereason, Crosstimer, CryptoDerk, Cvindustries, Cxxl,
Cyclopia, Cyclotronwiki, D6, DFRussia, DMahalko, DOSGuy, DVD R W, Dabomb87, Damian Yerrick, Dark Mage, Darkhorse, Darkmoon802, DaveJ7, David Cat, David Eppstein, Davish
Krail, Gold Five, Dawn Bard, Dbenbenn, Dcljr, Dcoetzee, DeaconJohnFairfax, Dedalus, Delibebek, Delldot, Demmy100, DerHexer, Dereklid, Dexter Nextnumber, Dianelos, Dicklyon, Dingler,
Dipics, Discospinster, Dmcq, Docmarkc1, Doctormatt, Docu, Dominus, Doniago, Doug, Dougmerritt, Dposedi, Drange net, Dreamster, Dreftymac, Dugwiki, Dysprosia, E. abu Filumena, East of
Borschov, Easyas12c, Eddideigel, Eequor, Egil, Ehccheehcche, Ehheh, Ehrenkater, Eisnel, Ekpyrotic Architect, El C, Elektron, Elroch, EmilJ, Endlessoblivion, Energy Dome, Epastore, Epbr123,
Eric119, Erkcan, Eswanhorst, EverettColdwell, Evgeni Sergeev, Ewx, Excirial, Ez leviathan, FF2010, FaerieInGrey, Fainites, Falcifer, Farmercarlos, Faseidman, Favonian, Feline Hymnic,
Fibonacci, FinnG, Flimsy.twiddle, Foobarnix, Fractalcrazy, Frankie1969, Franp9am, Fredrik, Freond, Furrykef, Futurefaust, Fuzheado, FvdP, GLaDOS, GTBacchus, Gaius Cornelius, Gandalf61,
Garion96, Garo, Gauss, Gco, Gdr, Geopol, Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, Georg Muntingh, Georgia guy, Gerbrant, Gesslein, Giftlite, Gioto, Glen, Gogino, Gogo Dodo, Gonzagalaier,
Goudzovski, Gpounder, GraemeL, Graham87, Greenerturtle, GregorB, Gromlakh, Grondemar, Gscshoyru, Gunter, Gurch, Haddock420, Hagedis, Haggis, Haham hanuka, Hajhouse, HalfShadow,
Haruth, Hdam59, Hdante, Helder.wiki, Helohe, Hemiboso, HenryLi, Henrygb, Herbee, Herocksmyworld94, Hillcino368, Hirak 99, Hmrox, Hohum, Hu12, Hubertsimson, Huck42, Husond, Hut
8.5, Hyad, Hydrogen Iodide, I dream of horses, IW.HG, Ianmacm, Icairns, Icestorm815, Ilanpi, Illumini85, Ilya, Imbalzanog, Immunize, Imnotminkus, Imran, Imsaguy, InShaneee, Indon,
Innotata, Insanity Incarnate, Intangir, Intelati, Intgr, Iosef, Iph, Iridescent, IronGargoyle, Ironwill02, Ivan-Davey, Ixfd64, J.delanoy, JAboy, JForget, JNW, JaGa, JabberWok, JackofOz,
Jacquerie27, Jakob.scholbach, James Callahan, JamesBWatson, JamesMLane, Jangid, Jaranda, JasonAJensen, JavierMC, Jbsjbs, Jc42, Jclemens, Jefflundberg, Jeffq, Jeffrey Mall, Jelammers,
Jengod, Jeugeorge, Jgillespiecsc, Jiddisch, Jim Douglas, Jim McKeeth, Jimmie24, Jimp, JoanneB, Joebastone, John Broughton, John Nixon, John Vandenberg, John254, JohnBlackburne,
Johnbibby, Johnleemk, Jomoal99, Jon Awbrey, Jonathunder, JonyFredUnit, JorgeAranda, Jpatokal, Jrssr5, Juanpabl, Juniuswikia, Jusdafax, Just James, Justin W Smith, Jwissick, K.
Article Sources and Contributors 192

Annoyomous, KClick91, KGasso, Kaiba, Kakashi-sensei, Kamrul2010, Karl Palmen, Karthixinbox, Kasreyn, Keenan Pepper, Keilana, Kelapstick, Kent Wang, Kerplunk83, Ketorin, Kevin,
Kevinkor2, Kieff, Kigore, Killiondude, Kingturtle, Kinston eagle, Kntrabssi, Knutux, Koalorka, Kope, Korako, Krychek, Ksn, Ksureshbabu, Kubigula, Kudda080893, Kuru, L Kensington, LC,
Labachevskij, Laljag, Lambiam, Lankiveil, Larry V, LavosBaconsForgotHisPassword, Lcawte, LeaveSleaves, Lee Carre, Lee Daniel Crocker, Lhf, Lifebaka, Linas, LinguistAtLarge, Little
Mountain 5, Lkhiger, Lo2u, Loadmaster, Lollypop123456789, Lordbonzion, Lowellian, Lukis100, Lumidek, Luna Santin, Lupinoid, MER-C, MK8, MONGO, MSGJ, Macrakis, Madmath789,
Magioladitis, Mahanga, Majopius, Malcohol, Malleus Fatuorum, Malsaqer, Maniac18, Marek Wolf, Marek69, Marino10, Mark Krueger, Markles, Martin Wisse, Martin451, Marysunshine,
Mathsci, Matt.whitby, Mattiedebest, Maurice Carbonaro, Mav, Maxis ftw, Mboverload, McVities, Megankerr, Melchoir, Merovingian, Mets501, Mfiorentino, Michael A. White, Michael Hardy,
MichelleG, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mindmatrix, Mini-Geek, Misosoup, MithrandirAgain, Mjquinn id, Mmbabies, Mnp, Mon4, Monedula, Monkey Bounce, Moreschi, Mori Riyo, Mormegil,
Motboylol, Mr.K., MrOllie, MrWikiMiki, Mschlindwein, Msh210, Msikma, Mtanderson.cam, Mungomba, Mwalimu59, Nakon, NawlinWiki, Neale Monks, Neil916, Neitherday, Nerfshots911,
Neverquick, NewEnglandYankee, Newbyguesses, NickyMcLean, Nikai, Noosfractal, NotAnonymous0, Novangelis, Numerao, O, Obradovic Goran, Ocatecir, Octahedron80, OisinisiO, Olaf
Davis, Oleg Alexandrov, Oli Filth, Oliphaunt, Oliver Kent, Olivier, Omicronpersei8, Openlander, Optim, OrgasGirl, Oskar Sigvardsson, OverlordQ, Ovis23, OwenX, Oxinabox, Oxymoron83,
Ozob, PIXTOM, Pakaran, Panchitaville, Parbiter, Parent5446, Pascal666, Pathoschild, Patrick, Paul August, Paul Ebermann, Paul-L, Pcb21, Pearle, Penubag, Peripitus, Permarbor0, Pescofish,
Petrus, PhiEaglesfan712, Philip Trueman, Pilotguy, Pinethicket, Plclark, Pleasantville, Plutophanes, Pmanderson, Portia327, Potatojunkie, PrimeFan, PrimeHunter, Primenlight, Primetravel,
Prlsmith, Profvk, Psmsis, Pwlfong, QuantumEngineer, Quaoarp, QuickFox, Qutezuce, Qxz, RJSprengnether, RaitisMath, Randomblue, Rashad9607, Rattenkrieg, Raven4x4x, Reaper Eternal,
Redgolpe, Redlentil, Reub2000, Revolver, Rich Farmbrough, Richard L. Peterson, Rjwilmsi, Rmosler2100, RobHar, Robertvan1, Roentgenium111, Roier, Ronhjones, Rotem Dan, Rotundo,
RoyBoy, Rrburke, Rspence1234, Rtcvb32, Rubasov, Ryeterrell, ST47, STufaro, SWAdair, Sabbut, Sae1962, Saforrest, Samuelsen, Sander123, Sarahtheawesome, Sasquatch, Savant13, Scarian,
SchfiftyThree, Schissel, Schneelocke, Schutz, Scifiintel, Scwlong, Sean Gray, Senseoften, Seth Ilys, Shalom Yechiel, Shanes, Shizhao, Shoeofdeath, Siddhant, Sidonuke, Signsamongafter,
Silverks, Simetrical, Sir Arthur Williams, Skarebo, Sligocki, Smalljim, Smiertelnik, Snoyes, Sohale, Soliloquial, Someguy1221, Speed8ump, Spencer195, SpikeToronto, Srushe, Statsone,
Stephen B Streater, StephenBuxton, Stephenb, Stevenj, Stocker741, Stompbox, Strait, StuRat, SujinYH, Sullivan.t.j, Sunrise.it, Super Rad!, Superdeterminism, Supergeek345, Svick, Symane,
Synchronism, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?, TJRC, Taemyr, Taggard, TakuyaMurata, Tanyakh, Tarantulae, Tarquin, Tawarama, Taxman, Tbone55, Tbonetime, Tekhnolyze2, Teles, Tellyaddict,
Tengai, Tewapack, Tezh, The Ostrich, TheHYPO, Thincat, Threshold Pilot, Tide rolls, Tim!, Timmygoud, Timmyp320, Timothy Clemans, Timwi, Tivedshambo, Tobias Bergemann,
Tommy2010, Tonymaric, Topaz, Toriboo96, Toyentory, Tpbradbury, Trusilver, Twas Now, Tzanko Matev, UBeR, UVW, Ubardak, Ulfben, Ulric1313, Un Piton, Uncle Dick, Uncle G, Unixer,
Unyoyega, Updatehelper, Urbank, Us441, VQuakr, Vanish2, Vanished user 39948282, Vasiľ, Vcpandya, Vecter, Versus22, VeryVerily, Vgy7ujm, Vornez, Vvvhellovvv, Vy0123, WAREL,
WCFrancis, Wafulz, WardenWalk, Warofdreams, Weplayit, Wesaq, White Cat, Whomping willow, Wickedauthor, Wiki alf, Wikipe-tan, Wikitumnus, William452, Windchaser, Wlod, Wolfdog,
Wonky the Worm, Worldedixor, Wshun, XJamRastafire, Xaosflux, Xdenizen, Xiutwel, Xkyve, Xprettyxgirlx, YassirLaCama, ZICO, Zeus000, Zingi, Zmohd2, Zoe17, Zundark, Zyqqh, ^demon,
Александр Федяинов, 1668 anonymous edits

Pseudoprime  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=410099270  Contributors: Julzes, Maxal, PrimeHunter, 1 anonymous edits

Regular paperfolding sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=395127698  Contributors: Algebraist, David Eppstein, Dmcq, Fudo, Gandalf61, Headbomb, Michael Hardy

Rudin–Shapiro sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=411209816  Contributors: David Eppstein, Gandalf61, Ged UK, Giftlite, Michael Hardy, Xezbeth, 1 anonymous
edits

Semiperfect number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=365730476  Contributors: Anton Mravcek, Arvindn, Barticus88, CRGreathouse, CompositeFan, David Eppstein,
Dogah, Eequor, FrankBuss, Fredrik, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Herbee, Hv, Linas, Maksim-e, PV=nRT, Pmanderson, Schneelocke, V1adis1av, Vanish2, Vina, 7 anonymous edits

Semiprime  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=389010054  Contributors: AgentPeppermint, Andrea.gf, ArnoldReinhold, CRGreathouse, David Eppstein, Dcoetzee, Doc
Daneeka, Dsmouse, Eequor, Fredrik, Gandalf61, Geoffrey, Giftlite, Herbee, Heryu, Intgr, JMK, Karada, Kbdank71, Linas, Lionel Elie Mamane, Maelin, Mathew5000, Michael Hardy, NYCDA,
Pmanderson, PrimeHunter, R. J. Mathar, Radiant!, Ravi12346, Schneelocke, Shadowjams, Siddhant, Silverfish, Stepa, Styrofoam1994, Vargenau, Virginia-American, WATARU, Warut,
Whosyourjudas, WikipedianYknOK, 29 anonymous edits

Superperfect number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=358426487  Contributors: Alansohn, CRGreathouse, Calle, Fivethensix, Gandalf61, Gfis, Going2killu, The Anome, 2
anonymous edits

Thue-Morse sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=348468163  Contributors: Anonymous Dissident, Ashishsippy, Blotwell, Brighterorange, CRGreathouse, Charles
Matthews, Charvest, Colosimo, David Eppstein, Dmitry Gerasimov, Dysprosia, Eubulide, Finell, Fredrik, Fudo, Gandalf61, Giftlite, Happy-melon, Herbee, Joe Decker, Jouster, Lambiam,
Lantonov, Lipedia, Melchoir, Michael Hardy, Msikma, Populus, Prosfilaes, RDBury, Saforrest, Salix alba, Schnurps, Spayrard, TedPavlic, Toby Bartels, Unyoyega, XJamRastafire, Yintan,
Yosri, 27 anonymous edits

Ulam numbers  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=378667399  Contributors: Anthony Appleyard, Arun.ramachandran, Bubba73, Burn, Cairnarvon, David Eppstein, Jonka364,
Michael Hardy, NumberTheorist, PrimeHunter, Rjwilmsi, Timeroot, XJamRastafire, 14 anonymous edits

Weird number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=401867145  Contributors: Alvis, Arthur Rubin, Auclairde, Barticus88, Bubba73, CCarloni, CRGreathouse, Carnildo, Cyp,
Dmd, Doctormatt, Dogah, Dominus, Eequor, EmilJ, Fredrik, Gandalf61, Giftlite, GraemeMcRae, Hannes Eder, Herbee, Hv, Hvn0413, Itay008, Jcdonelson, Jimp, Kompik, Ladislav the
Posthumous, Linas, Merovingian, Michael Hardy, Minesweeper, Mystylplx, NawlinWiki, Nickeras, PrimeFan, PrimeHunter, Quuxplusone, Radiant!, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, Schneelocke,
Silverfish, Stephen B Streater, TELL ME that, Tanyakh, Thavron, Vanish2, Vgmddg, Vina, 39 anonymous edits

Recursion theory  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=309430469  Contributors: Avaya1, AxelBoldt, Beland, Ben Standeven, Benanhalt, Bethnim, Blaisorblade, Brentsmith101,
CBM, CBM2, Closedmouth, Cyp, David.Monniaux, Frank Stephan, GermanX, Giftlite, Gregbard, Haham hanuka, Hairy Dude, HairyFotr, Harryboyles, Hauke Pribnow, IronGargoyle, JMK,
Jjalexand, KHamsun, KSmrq, Kumioko, LarRan, MathMartin, Mberridge, Mhss, Michael Hardy, Modster, Mr. Random, Msh210, Multipundit, Onore Baka Sama, Paul August, Pde, Peter M
Gerdes, Pietaster, Pmt6sbc, Pokus9999, Polyamorph, Quotient group, Qwfp, Readams, Ruud Koot, Scott Paeth, Siroxo, Stephanwehner, Trovatore, UKoch, Vivero, Wvbailey, Wwheeler, 76
anonymous edits

Definable set  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=405051950  Contributors: Avaya1, Blargoner, CBM, Chimpionspeak, HOOTmag, Hans Adler, JimVC3, Thehalfone, Trovatore,
3 anonymous edits

Countable  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=16079061  Contributors: 137.112.129.xxx, 16@r, ABCD, Access Denied, Aleph4, Alyssa kat13, Anonymous Dissident, Aranel,
Arc de Ciel, Arthur Rubin, AxelBoldt, Bdmy, Benandorsqueaks, Bidabadi, Brentt, Brick Thrower, Bryan Derksen, CBM, CRGreathouse, Charles Matthews, Colin Rowat, Conversion script,
Cronholm144, Damian Yerrick, Danny, David Shear, Dysprosia, Esben, Everyking, Fibonacci, FilipeS, Gauge, Georgesawyer, Giftlite, Gigacephalus, Graham87, Gregbard, Grokmoo, Grover
cleveland, Hans Adler, Head, Hirak 99, Hkpawn, Hu, HumphreyW, Ilyaroz, Imcrazyaboutyou, JRSpriggs, JackSchmidt, JakobVoss, Jetekus, Johnfranks, Jorend, Josh Parris, Julioc, Jumbuck,
Keenan Pepper, Kku, Kri, Kurt Jansson, LOL, Martin Kozák, Matchups, MathMartin, MattGiuca, Mct mht, Mets501, Michael Hardy, Mihnea Maftei, Mike4ty4, Misshamid, Muu-karhu,
NYKevin, Newone, Noisy, Oliverkroll, Owlgorithm, Pak21, Patrick, Paul August, Paul Murray, Phanxan, PhilHibbs, Pieman93, Possession, Qatter, R'n'B, Raiden09, Revolver, Reyk, Richard001,
Romanm, Ruakh, S0me l0ser, SEIBasaurus, Salix alba, Silly rabbit, Simon Lacoste-Julien, Stevertigo, Stokkink, Taejo, Teply, The Infidel, TheObtuseAngleOfDoom, Tobias Bergemann,
Topology Expert, Trovatore, Ummit, Unitvoice, Usien6, VKokielov, Wdevauld, Worldrimroamer, Wyss, Xaonon, Xie Xiaolei, Zundark, Александър, 142 anonymous edits

Uncountable  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=34218281  Contributors: 66.67.121.xxx, Aleph4, Arthur Rubin, AxelBoldt, Bananabruno, Bh3u4m, CBM, CRGreathouse,
Canopus1, Charles Matthews, Conversion script, Crunchy Frog, Dreadstar, Dugwiki, Dysprosia, Fibonacci, Fropuff, Func, Gaius Cornelius, Germandemat, Giftlite, Gregbard, Island, JRSpriggs,
KarenJo90, Keenan Pepper, Kevin Baas, Loadmaster, Mets501, Michael Hardy, Mshonle, Oleg Alexandrov, Patrick, PierreAbbat, Piet Delport, Qatter, Revolver, Salgueiro, Salix alba, Stephen B
Streater, Tarquin, Taw, Tobias Bergemann, Toby Bartels, Trovatore, Ummit, 28 anonymous edits

Cardinality  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=412453736  Contributors: AxelBoldt, BalthaZar, Betacommand, Bhadani, Bobo192, CRGreathouse, Charles Matthews, Cjrs 79,
Classicalecon, Connormah, Conversion script, Dataffer9, Dcoetzee, Dionyziz, Dpv, Dr Dec, Dreadstar, E=MC^2, Eltwarg, EvenT, GaborLajos, Gaius Cornelius, Gala.martin, Giftlite, Goetz,
Gutsul, JRSpriggs, JamesBWatson, Jersey Devil, Jim.belk, Justin W Smith, Keithjones, Kilva, Kwamikagami, LapoLuchini, Larry V, Ling.Nut, Lradrama, MER-C, Manuel Anastácio, Mets501,
Mhss, Michael Hardy, Mistercupcake, Muu-karhu, Newone, Noctibus, Octahedron80, Olaf, Oleg Alexandrov, Paolo.dL, Paul August, PaulTanenbaum, Perremba, Pmcm, Pred, RJGray,
Ralfipedia, Revolver, Rlupsa, Ruud Koot, Sam Staton, Schmmd, Silly rabbit, Surgo, Svick, Tbsmith, TedPavlic, Tobias Bergemann, Tosha, Trovatore, UnicornTapestry, Usien6, Waltpohl,
WikHead, Xantharius, Zundark, Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, 虞海, 90 anonymous edits

Beth one  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=17698859  Contributors: Albmont, Algebraist, Alink, Aquae, Arthur Rubin, AxelBoldt, Boemanneke, CBM, CBM2, CRGreathouse,
Damian Yerrick, David Shay, Easwaran, EmilJ, Figaro, Fropuff, Froth, Giftlite, Gwern, Ideal gas equation, It Is Me Here, JRSpriggs, Keenan Pepper, KittySaturn, Lambiam, Lethe, M cuffa,
MachMan, Melchoir, Mets501, Michael C Price, Mike Rosoft, Ntsimp, Number 0, Paolo.dL, Patrick, Paul August, Potatoswatter, RJGray, Rizzoj, Salix alba, Star trooper man, Sławomir Biały,
TedPavlic, Trovatore, Tsirel, Usien6, Zundark, 23 anonymous edits

Complete sequence  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=375806212  Contributors: Dcoetzee, Gandalf61

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 193

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:Cauchy sequence illustration2.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cauchy_sequence_illustration2.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Oleg
Alexandrov
Image:Latex integers.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Latex_integers.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: User:Alejo2083
File:Number-line.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Number-line.gif  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Original uploader was MathsIsFun at en.wikipedia
File:Relatives Numbers Representation.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Relatives_Numbers_Representation.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Thomas
Douillard, thomas.douillard gmail.com, with "asymptote"
File:Genji chapter symbols groupings of 5 elements.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Genji_chapter_symbols_groupings_of_5_elements.svg  License: Public Domain
 Contributors: AnonMoos
Image:BellNumberAnimated.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:BellNumberAnimated.gif  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
User:Xanthoxyl
Image:Pascal's triangle 5.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pascal's_triangle_5.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
User:Conrad.Irwin, User:Drini
Image:Catalan number binary tree example.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_number_binary_tree_example.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:
EugeneZelenko, Juiced lemon, Kilom691, Rocket000, Taral, 1 anonymous edits
Image:Catalan number 4x4 grid example.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_number_4x4_grid_example.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Mlepicki,
2 anonymous edits
Image:Catalan-Hexagons-example.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan-Hexagons-example.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Dmharvey
Image:Catalan stairsteps 4.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_stairsteps_4.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
User:RobertdWc
Image:Catalan number reflection example.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_number_reflection_example.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:
Dmharvey, Ricky81682
Image:Catalan number exceedance example.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_number_exceedance_example.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:
Dmharvey, Ricky81682
Image:Catalan number swapping example.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_number_swapping_example.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:
Dmharvey, Ricky81682
Image:Catalan number algorithm table.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Catalan_number_algorithm_table.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Dmharvey,
Ricky81682
Image:Rubiks revenge solved.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rubiks_revenge_solved.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
User:TheCoffee
Image:Solid white.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Solid_white.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Fibonacci
Image:Log-factorial.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Log-factorial.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Original uploader was Ec- at en.wikipedia
Image:Factorial plot.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Factorial_plot.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Mathacw
Image:Factorial05.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Factorial05.jpg  License: Attribution  Contributors: User:Domitori
File:FibonacciBlocks.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FibonacciBlocks.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: Borb, 1 anonymous
edits
File:Yupana 1.GIF  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Yupana_1.GIF  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Scarton
File:Fibonacci spiral 34.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Darapti, Dicklyon
Image:FakeRealLogSprial.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FakeRealLogSprial.svg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors:
FakeRealLogSpiral.png: Pau derivative work: silverhammermba
File:Young-Fibonacci.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Young-Fibonacci.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:David Eppstein
File:Helianthus whorl.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Helianthus_whorl.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: L. Shyamal
File:Achatina fulica 001.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Achatina_fulica_001.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: Luis Ruiz
Berti
image:Fibonacci_word_cutting_sequence.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fibonacci_word_cutting_sequence.png  License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:Prokofiev
Image:GrayDotX.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GrayDotX.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Ilmari Karonen
Image:GrayDot.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GrayDot.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Ilmari Karonen
Image:LuckySieve.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:LuckySieve.gif  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Celtic Minstrel at en.wikipedia
Image:Padovan_triangles.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Padovan_triangles.png  License: unknown  Contributors: User:Gandalf61
File:Ferrer partitioning diagrams.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ferrer_partitioning_diagrams.svg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors:
User:nonenmac
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