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Unitary divisor

A natural number $d$ is a unitary divisor of a number $n$ if $d$ is a divisor of $n$ and $d$ and $n/d$ are coprime, having no common factor other than 1. Equivalently, $d$ is a unitary divisor of $n$ if and only if every prime factor of $d$ appears to the same power in $d$ as in $n$.

The sum of unitary divisors function is denoted by $\sigma^*(n)$. The sum of the $k$-th powers of the unitary divisors is denoted by $\sigma_k^*(n)$. These functions are multiplicative arithmetic functions of $n$ that are not totally multiplicative. The Dirichlet series generating function is

$$ \sum_{n\ge 1}\sigma_k^*(n) n^{-s} = \frac{\zeta(s)\zeta(s-k)}{\zeta(2s-k)} . $$

The number of unitary divisors of $n$ is $\sigma_0(n) = 2^{\omega(n)}$, where $\omega(n)$ is the number of distinct prime factors of $n$.

A unitary or unitarily perfect number is equal to the sum of its aliquot unitary divisors:equivalen tly, it is n such that $\sigma^*(n) = 2n$. A unitary perfect number must be even. It is not known whether or not there are infinitely many unitary perfect numbers, or indeed whether there are any further examples beyond the five already known. A sixth such number would have at least nine odd prime factors. The five known are

$$ 6 = 2\cdot3,\ 60 = 2^2\cdot3\cdot5,\ 90 = 2\cdot3^3\cdot5,\ 87360 = 2^6\cdot3\cdot5\cdot7\cdot13, $$ and $$ 146361946186458562560000 = 2^{18}\cdot3\cdot5^4\cdot7\cdot11\cdot13\cdot19\cdot37\cdot79\cdot109\cdot157\cdot313\ . $$

References

• Guy, Richard K. Unsolved Problems in Number Theory, Problem Books in Mathematics, 3rd ed. (Springer-Verlag, 2004) p.84, section B3. ISBN 0-387-20860-7 Zbl 1058.11001
• Sándor, Jozsef; Crstici, Borislav (2004). Handbook of number theory II. (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 2004) pp. 179–327. ISBN 1-4020-2546-7. Zbl 1079.11001
• Wall, Charles R. "The fifth unitary perfect number", Can. Math. Bull. 18 (1975) 115-122. ISSN 0008-4395. Zbl 0312.10004
• Wall, Charles R. "New unitary perfect numbers have at least nine odd components". Fibonacci Quarterly 26 no.4 (1988) ISSN 0015-0517. MR967649. Zbl 0657.10003

Descartes number

A number which is close to being a perfect number. They are named for René Descartes who observed that the number

$$D= 198585576189 = 3^2⋅7^2⋅11^2⋅13^2⋅22021 $$

would be an odd perfect number if only 22021 were a prime number, since the sum-of-divisors function for $D$ satisfies

$$\sigma(D) = (3^2+3+1)\cdot(7^2+7+1)\cdot(11^2+11+1)\cdot(13^3+13+1)\cdot(22021+1) \ . $$

A Descartes number is defined as an odd number $n = m p$ where $m$ and $p$ are coprime and $2n = \sigma(m)\cdot(p+1)$. The example given is the only one currently known.

If $m$ is an odd almost perfect number, that is, $\sigma(m) = 2m-1$, then $m(2m−1)$ is a Descartes number.

References

• Banks, William D.; Güloğlu, Ahmet M.; Nevans, C. Wesley; Saidak, Filip (2008). "Descartes numbers". In De Koninck, Jean-Marie; Granville, Andrew; Luca, Florian (edd). Anatomy of integers. Based on the CRM workshop, Montreal, Canada, March 13--17, 2006. CRM Proceedings and Lecture Notes 46 (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society) pp. 167–173. ISBN 978-0-8218-4406-9. Zbl 1186.11004.

Multiplicative sequence

Also m-sequence, a sequence of polynomials associated with a formal group structure. They have application in the cobordism ring in algebraic topology.

Definition

Let $K_n$ be polynomials over a ring $A$ in indeterminates $p_1,\ldots$ weighted so that $p_i$ has weight $i$ (with $p_0=1$) and all the terms in $K_n$ have weight $n$ (so that $K_n$ is a polynomial in $p_1,\ldots,p_n$). The sequence $K_n$ is multiplicative if an identity

$$\sum_i p_i z^i = \sum p'_i z^i \cdot \sum_i p''_i z^i $$

implies

$$\sum_i K_i(p_1,\ldots,p_i) z^i = \sum_j K_j(p'_1,\ldots,p'_j) z^j \cdot \sum_k K_k(p''_1,\ldots,p''_k) z^k . $$ The power series

$$\sum K_n(1,0,\ldots,0) z^n $$

is the characteristic power series of the $K_n$. A multiplicative sequence is determined by its characteristic power series $Q(z)$, and every power series with constant term 1 gives rise to a multiplicative sequence.

To recover a multiplicative sequence from a characteristic power series $Q(z)$ we consider the coefficient of z^j in the product

$$ \prod_{i=1}^m Q(\beta_i z) $$

for any $m>j$. This is symmetric in the $\beta_i$ and homogeneous of weight j: so can be expressed as a polynomial $K_j(p_1,\ldots,p_j)$ in the elementary symmetric functions $p$ of the $\beta$. Then $K_j$ defines a multiplicative sequence.

Examples

As an example, the sequence $K_n = p_n$ is multiplicative and has characteristic power series $1+z$.

Consider the power series

$$ Q(z) = \frac{\sqrt z}{\tanh \sqrt z} = 1 - \sum_{k=1}^\infty (-1)^k \frac{2^{2k}}{(2k)!} B_k z^k $$ where $B_k$ is the $k$-th Bernoulli number. The multiplicative sequence with $Q$ as characteristic power series is denoted $L_j(p_1,\ldots,p_j)$.

The multiplicative sequence with characteristic power series

$$ Q(z) = \frac{2\sqrt z}{\sinh 2\sqrt z} $$

is denoted $A_j(p_1,\ldots,p_j)$.

The multiplicative sequence with characteristic power series

$$Q(z) = \frac{z}{1-\exp(-z)} = 1 + \frac{x}{2} - \sum_{k=1}^\infty (-1)^k \frac{B_k}{(2k)!} z^{2k} $$ is denoted $T_j(p_1,\ldots,p_j)$: the Todd polynomials.

Genus

The genus of a multiplicative sequence is a ring homomorphism, from the cobordism ring of smooth oriented compact manifolds to another ring, usually the ring of rational numbers.

For example, the Todd genus is associated to the Todd polynomials $T_j$ with characteristic power series $$\frac{z}{1-\exp(-z)}$$ and the L-genus is associated to the polynomials $L_j$ with charac\teristic polynomial $$\frac{\sqrt z}{\tanh \sqrt z} . $$

References

• Hirzebruch, Friedrich. Topological methods in algebraic geometry, Classics in Mathematics. Translation from the German and appendix one by R. L. E. Schwarzenberger. Appendix two by A. Borel. Reprint of the 2nd, corr. print. of the 3rd ed. [1978] (Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1995). ISBN 3-540-58663-6. Zbl 0843.14009.

Nagao's theorem

A result, named after Hirosi Nagao, about the structure of the group of 2-by-2 invertible matrices over the ring of polynomials over a field. It has been extended by Serre to give a description of the structure of the corresponding matrix group over the coordinate ring of a projective curve.

Nagao's theorem

For a general ring $R$ we let $GL_2(R)$ denote the group of invertible 2-by-2 matrices with entries in $R$, and let $R^*$ denote the group of units of $R$, and let

$$ B(R) = \left\lbrace{ \left({\begin{array}{*{20}c} a & b \\ 0 & d \end{array}}\right) : a,d \in R^*, ~ b \in R }\right\rbrace \ . $$

Then $B(R)$ is a subgroup of $GL_2(R)$.

Nagao's theorem states that in the case that $R$ is the ring $K[t]$ of polynomials in one variable over a field $K$, the group $GL_2(R)$ is the amalgamated product of $GL_2(K)$ and $B(K[t])$ over their intersection $B(K)$.

Serre's extension

In this setting, $C$ is a smooth projective curve over a field $K$. For a closed point $P$ of $C$ let $R$ be the corresponding coordinate ring of $C$ with $P$ removed. There exists a graph of groups $(G,T)$ where $T$ is a tree with at most one non-terminal vertex, such that $GL_2(R)$ is isomorphic to the fundamental group $\pi_1(G,T)$.

References

• Mason, A.. "Serre's generalization of Nagao's theorem: an elementary approach". Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 353 (2001) 749–767. DOI 10.1090/S0002-9947-00-02707-0 Zbl 0964.20027.
• Nagao, Hirosi. "On $GL(2, K[x])$". J. Inst. Polytechn., Osaka City Univ., Ser. A 10 (1959) 117–121. MR0114866. Zbl 0092.02504.
• Serre, Jean-Pierre. Trees. (Springer, 2003) ISBN 3-540-44237-5.

Almost perfect number

Slightly defective number or least deficient number

A natural number $n$ such that the sum of all divisors of n (the sum-of-divisors function $\sigma(n)$) is equal to $2n − 1$. The only known almost perfect numbers are the powers of 2 with non-negative exponents; however, it has not been shown that all almost perfect numbers are of this form. It is known that an odd almost perfect number greater than 1 would have at least 6 prime factors.

If $m$ is an odd almost perfect number then $m(2m-1)$ is a Descartes number.

References

• Kishore, Masao. "Odd integers N with five distinct prime factors for which 2−10−12 < σ(N)/N < 2+10−12". Mathematics of Computation 32 (1978) 303–309. ISSN 0025-5718. MR0485658. Zbl 0376.10005
• Kishore, Masao. "On odd perfect, quasiperfect, and odd almost perfect numbers". Mathematics of Computation 36' (1981) 583–586. ISSN 0025-5718. Zbl 0472.10007
• Banks, William D.; Güloğlu, Ahmet M.; Nevans, C. Wesley; Saidak, Filip. "Descartes numbers". In De Koninck, Jean-Marie; Granville, Andrew; Luca, Florian (edd), Anatomy of integers. Based on the CRM workshop, Montreal, Canada, March 13--17, 2006. CRM Proceedings and Lecture Notes 46. (Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society, 2008). pp. 167–173. ISBN 978-0-8218-4406-9. Zbl 1186.11004
• Guy, R. K. . "Almost Perfect, Quasi-Perfect, Pseudoperfect, Harmonic, Weird, Multiperfect and Hyperperfect Numbers". Unsolved Problems in Number Theory (2nd ed.). (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1994). pp. 16, 45–53
• Sándor, József; Mitrinović, Dragoslav S.; Crstici, Borislav, edd. (2006). Handbook of number theory I. (Dordrecht: Springer-Verlag, 2006). p.110. ISBN 1-4020-4215-9. Zbl 1151.11300
• Sándor, Jozsef; Crstici, Borislav, edd. Handbook of number theory II. (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 2004). pp.37–38. ISBN 1-4020-2546-7. Zbl 1079.11001

Erdős–Wintner theorem

A result in probabilistic number theory characterising those additive functions that possess a limiting distribution.

Limiting distribution

A distribution function $F$ is a non-decreasing function from the real numbers to the unit interval [0,1] which is right-continuous and has limits 0 at $-\infty$ and 1 at $+\infty$.

Let $f$ be a complex-valued function on natural numbers. We say that $F$ is a limiting distribution for $f$ if $F$ is a distribution function and the sequence $F_N$ defined by

$$ F_n(t) = \frac{1}{N} | \{n \le N : |f(n)| \le t \} | $$

converges weakly to $F$.

Statement of the theorem

Let $f$ be an additive function. There is a limiting distribution for $f$ if and only if the following three series converge: $$ \sum_{|f(p)|>1} \frac{1}{p} \,,\ \sum_{|f(p)|\le1} \frac{f(p)}{p} \,,\ \sum_{|f(p)|\le1} \frac{f(p)^2}{p} \ . $$

When these conditions are satisfied, the distribution is given by $$ F(t) = \prod_p \left({1 - \frac{1}{p} }\right) \cdot \left({1 + \sum_{k=1}^\infty p^{-k}\exp(i t f(p)^k) }\right) \ . $$

References

• Sándor, József; Mitrinović, Dragoslav S.; Crstici, Borislav, eds. (2006). Handbook of number theory I. Dordrecht: Springer-Verlag. pp. 564–566. ISBN 1-4020-4215-9. Zbl 1151.11300
• Tenenbaum, Gérald Introduction to Analytic and Probabilistic Number Theory. Cambridge studies in advanced mathematics 46. (Cambridge University Press, 1995). ISBN 0-521-41261-7. Zbl 0831.11001

Brauer–Wall group

A group classifying graded central simple algebras over a field. It was first defined by Wall (1964) as a generalisation of the Brauer group.

The Brauer group $\mathrm{B}(F)$ of a field $F$ is defined on the isomorphism classes of central simple algebras over F. The analogous construction for $\mathbf{Z}/2$-graded algebras defines the Brauer–Wall group $\mathrm{BW}(F)$.[Lam (2005) pp.98–99]

Properties

• The Brauer group $\mathrm{BW}(F)$ injects into $\mathrm{BW}(F)$ by mapping a CSA $A$ to the graded algebra which is $A$ in grade zero.

There is an exact sequence $$ 0 \rightarrow \mathrm{B}(F) \rightarrow \mathrm{BW}(F) \rightarrow Q(F) \rightarrow 0 $$ where $Q(F)$ is the group of graded quadratic extensions of $F$, defined as $\mathbf{Z}/2 \times F^*/(F^*)^2$ with multiplication $(e,x)(f,y) = (e+f,(-1)^{ef}xy$. The map from W to BW is the Clifford invariant defined by mapping an algebra to the pair consisting of its grade and determinant.

There is a map from the additive group of the Witt–Grothendieck ring to the Brauer–Wall group obtained by sending a quadratic space to its Clifford algebra. The map factors through the Witt group[Lam (2005) p.113] which has kernel $I^3$, where $I$ is the fundamental ideal of $W(F)$.[Lam (2005) p.115]

Examples

• $\mathrm{BW}(\mathbf{R})$ is isomorphic to $\mathbf{Z}/8$. This is an algebraic aspect of Bott periodicity.

References

• Lam, Tsit-Yuen, Introduction to Quadratic Forms over Fields, Graduate Studies in Mathematics 67, (American Mathematical Society, 2005) ISBN 0-8218-1095-2 MR2104929, Zbl 1068.11023
• Wall, C. T. C., "Graded Brauer groups", Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik 213 (1964) 187–199, ISSN 0075-4102, Zbl 0125.01904, MR0167498

Barban–Davenport–Halberstam theorem

A statement about the distribution of prime numbers in an arithmetic progression. It is known that in the long run primes are distributed equally across possible progressions with the same difference. Theorems of the Barban–Davenport–Halberstam type give estimates for the error term, determining how close to uniform the distributions are.

Let $a$ be coprime to $k$ and $$ \vartheta(x;a,k) = \sum_{p<x \,;\, p \equiv a \bmod k} \log p $$ be a weighted count of primes in the arithmetic progression $a$ modulo $k$. We have $$ \vartheta(x;a,k) = \frac{x}{\phi(k)} + E(x;a,k) $$ where the error term $E$ is small compared to $x$. We take a square sum of error terms $$ G(x,Q) = \sum_{k < Q} \sum_{a \bmod k} E^2(x;a,k) . $$ Then we have $$ G(x,Q) = O(Q x \log x) + O(x \log^{-A} x) $$ for any positive $A$.

This form of the theorem is due to Gallagher. The result of Barban is valid only for $Q < x \log^{-B} x$ for some $B$ depending on $A$, and the result of Davenport–Halberstam has $B = A+5$.

See also

• Bombieri–Vinogradov theorem
• Elliott–Halberstam conjecture

References

• Hooley, C. "On theorems of Barban-Davenport-Halberstam type". In Bennett, M. A.; Berndt, B.C.; Boston, N.; Diamond, H.G.; Hildebrand, A.J.; Philipp, W. (edd) Surveys in number theory: Papers from the millennial conference on number theory. (Natick, MA: A K Peters, 2002) pp. 75–108. ISBN 1-56881-162-4. Zbl 1039.11057.