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A parity problem from sieve theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2010

D. R. Heath-Brown
Affiliation:
Magdalen College, Oxford, OX1 4AU
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Let Ω(n) denote the number of prime factors of n, counted according to multiplicity. We shall consider the following question. Are there infinitely many natural numbers n for which Ω(n) = Ω(n + 1)? Erdős and Mirsky [4] have asked a closely related question concerning the divisor function d(n)—are there infinitely many n for which d(n) = d(n + 1)? The fact that Ω(n)is completely additive makes our problem slightly easier.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University College London 1982

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References

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