A Natural Prime-Generating Recurrence
Abstract
For the sequence defined by a(n) = a(n-1) + gcd(n,a(n-1)) with a(1) = 7 we prove that a(n) - a(n-1) takes on only 1's and primes, making this recurrence a rare "naturally occurring" generator of primes. Toward a generalization of this result to an arbitrary initial condition, we also study the limiting behavior of a(n)/n and a transience property of the evolution.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Integer Sequences
- Pub Date:
- July 2008
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0710.3217
- Bibcode:
- 2008JIntS..11...28R
- Keywords:
-
- Mathematics - Number Theory;
- 11A41;
- 11B37;
- 11A05
- E-Print:
- 11 pages, 2 figures