The aim of this note is to show that given a positive integer $n \geq 5$, the positive integral solutions of the diophantine equation $4/n = 1/x + 1/y+1/z$ cannot have solution such that $x$ and $y$ are coprime with $xy < \sqrt{z/2}$. The proof uses the continued fraction expansion of $4/n$.
This paper makes a fundamental assertion about the Erdős-Straus conjecture. Suppose that for a prime $p$ there exists $x,y,z \in \mathbb{N}$ with $x \leq y \leq z$ so that $$ \frac{4}{p} = \frac{1}{x} + \frac{1}{y} + \frac{1}{z}. $$ The main contribution of this paper is that, under this assumption, the Erdős-Straus conjecture can be reduced by one variable. For example, it is necessarily true that $$ z = \frac{xyp}{\gcd(y,p) \gcd \left( xy, x+y \right)}.$$ Considering other reductions of the Erdős-Straus conjecture, this paper suggests a method for proof.
This paper is a preliminary expository paper that outlines the relationship between solutions to the Erdős-Straus conjecture for a given prime $p$ and their corresponding Pythagorean triples. This paper also uses Bézout Coefficients to find a relationship between the solutions to the conjecture and roots of a second degree polynomial.
Paul Erdos conjectured that for every n in N, n>1, there exist a, b, c natural numbers, not necessarily distinct, so that 4/n=1/a+1/b+1/c (see \cite{rg}). In this paper we prove an extension of Mordell's theorem and formulate a conjecture which is stronger than Erdos' conjecture.
The Erdös-Straus conjecture states that the equation $\frac{4}{n}=\frac{1}{x}+\frac{1}{y}+\frac{1}{z}$ has positive integer solutions $x, y, z$ for every postive integers $n\ge 2$. We generalize the Erdös-Straus equation, state several methods for obtaining well-defined equations, and some features of well-defined equations. Using well-defined equations, we explain the inefficiency of the solutions that did not lead to a complete proof of the problem. Finally, we prove that this conjecture cannot be completely proven by the methods expressed in various articles. For this reason, we express con…
The Erdös--Straus conjecture states that the equation $\frac{4}{n}=\frac{1}{x}+\frac{1}{y}+\frac{1}{z}$ has positive integer solutions $x,y,z$ for every postive integers $n\geq 2$. In this short note we find explicity the solutions of the famous conjecture for the case $n\equiv13 \textrm{ mod } 24.$
In this paper we will explore the solutions to the diophantine equation in the Erdős-Straus conjecture. For a prime $p$ we are discussing the relationship between the values $x,y,z \in \mathbb{N}$ so that $$ \frac{4}{p} = \frac{1}{x} + \frac{1}{y} + \frac{1}{z}.$$ We will separate the types of solutions into two cases. In particular we will argue that the most common relationship found is $$ x = \lfloor \frac{py}{4y-p} \rfloor + 1.$$ Finally, we will make a few conjectures to motivate further research in this area.
In 1999 Allan Swett checked (in 150 hours) the Erdős-Straus conjecture up to $N=10^{14}$ with a sieve based on a single modular equation. After having proved the existence of a "complete" set of seven modular equations (including three new ones), this paper offers an optimized sieve based on these equations. A program written in C++ (and given elsewhere) allows then to make a checking whose running time, on a typical computer, range from few minutes for $N=10^{14}$ to about 16 hours for $N=10^{17}$.
For any positive integer $n$, let $f(n)$ denote the number of solutions to the Diophantine equation $\frac{4}{n} = \frac{1}{x} + \frac{1}{y} + \frac{1}{z}$ with $x,y,z$ positive integers. The \emph{Erdős-Straus conjecture} asserts that $f(n) > 0$ for every $n \geq 2$. To solve this conjecture, it suffices without loss of generality to consider the case when $n$ is a prime $p$. In this paper we consider the question of bounding the sum $\sum_{p<N} f(p)$ asymptotically as $N \to \infty$, where $p$ ranges over primes. Our main result establishes the asymptotic upper and lower bounds $$ N \log^2 N…
In this paper we make a Gaussian integer version of the Erdős-Straus conjecture and we solve the Erdős-Straus diophantine equation over the rings of integers of norm-Euclidean quadratic fields.
We find a polynomial in three variables whose values at nonnegative integers satisfy the Erdős-Straus Conjecture. Although the perfect squares are not covered by these values, it allows us to prove that there are arbitrarily long sequence of consecutive numbers satisfying the Erdős-Straus Conjecture. We conjecture that the values of this polynomial include all the prime numbers of the form $4q+5$, which is checked up to $10^{14}$. A greedy-type algorithm to find an Erdős-Straus decomposition is also given; the convergence of this algorithm is proved for a wide class of numbers. Combining this …
We prove new upper bounds for the number of representations of an arbitrary rational number as a sum of three unit fractions. In particular, for fixed $m$ there are at most $\mathcal{O}_ε(n^{3/5+ε})$ solutions of $\frac{m}{n}=\frac{1}{a_1}+\frac{1}{a_2}+\frac{1}{a_3}$. This improves upon a result of Browning and Elsholtz (2011) and extends a result of Elsholtz and Tao (2013) who proved this when $m=4$ and $n$ is a prime. Moreover there exists an algorithm finding all solutions in expected running time $\mathcal{O}_ε\left(n^ε\left(\frac{n^3}{m^2}\right)^{1/5}\right)$, for any $ε>0$. We also imp…
Potential Relation Between the Riemann Zeta Function and the Polynomial Function $F$ of the Generalized Erdős--Straus Conjecture, Subject to its Analytic Continuation
Congruence Classes of Supporting the Erdös-Straus Conjecture I: Tame Solutions
HLM, Institute of Mathematics, Academy of Mathematics & System Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院数学与系统科学研究院);School of Mathematics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学数学学院)
Congruence Classes of Supporting the Erdös-Straus Conjecture II: Wild Solutions
HLM, Institute of Mathematics, Academy of Mathematics & System Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院数学与系统科学研究院);School of Mathematics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学数学科学学院)
Let $n$ be a positive integer. We study the diophantine equation $ab(ab-1)-na=Δ^2$, where $a,b$ are positive integers. We also show that if a system of two congruences is soluble, then an equation which is a translation of Erdős-Straus conjecture is soluble.
Let $\left\{a_1, \dots, a_n\right\} \subset \mathbb{N}$ be a set of positive integers, $a_n$ denoting the largest element, so that for any two of the $2^n$ subsets the sum of all elements is distinct. Erdős asked whether this implies $a_n \geq c \cdot 2^n$ for some universal $c>0$. We prove, slightly extending a result of Elkies, that for any $a_1, \dots, a_n \in \mathbb{R}_{>0}$ $$ \int_{\mathbb{R}} \left( \frac{\sin{ x}}{ x} \right)^2 \prod_{i=1}^{n} \cos{( a_i x)^2} dx \geq \fracπ{2^{n}}$$ with equality if and only if all subset sums are $1-$separated. This leads to a new proof of the curre…
In 1961, P. Erdős, A. Ginzburg, and A. Ziv proved a remarkable theorem stating that each set of $2n-1$ integers contains a subset of size $n$, the sum of whose elements is divisible by $n$. We will prove a similar result for pairs of integers, i.e., planar lattice points, usually referred to as Kemnitz' conjecture.
Erdős and Szekeres showed in 1978 that for any four positive integers satisfying m_1+m_2 = n_1+n_2, the two binomial coefficients (m_1+m_2)!/m_1! m_2! and (n_1+n_2)!/n_1! n_2! have a common divisor >1. The analogous statement for families of k k-nomial coefficients (k>1) was conjectured in 1997 by David Wasserman. Erdős and Szekeres remark that if m_1, m_2, n_1, n_2 as above are all >1, there is probably a lower bound on the common divisor in question which goes to infinity as a function of m_1+m_2. Such a bound is here obtained. Results are proved that narrow the class of possible counterexam…
Let $s(\cdot)$ denote the sum-of-proper-divisors function, that is, $s(n) = \sum_{d\mid n,~d<n}d$. Erdős-Granville-Pomerance-Spiro conjectured that for any set $\mathcal{A}$ of asymptotic density zero, the preimage set $s^{-1}(\mathcal{A})$ also has density zero. We prove a weak form of this conjecture: If $ε(x)$ is any function tending to $0$ as $x\to\infty$, and $\mathcal{A}$ is a set of integers of cardinality at most $x^{\frac12+ε(x)}$, then the number of integers $n\le x$ with $s(n) \in \mathcal{A}$ is $o(x)$, as $x\to\infty$. In particular, the EGPS conjecture holds for infinite sets wit…