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Erdős Problem 1000

References:

    erdosproblems.com/1000

    [Ca50b] Cassels, J. W. S., Some metrical theorems in Diophantine approximation. I. Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc. (1950), 209-218.

    [Er64b] Erdős, P., Problems and results on diophantine approximations. Compositio Math. (1964), 52-65.

    [Ha] Haight, J. A., Metric Diophantine approximation and related topics. PhD thesis.

open Filter Topologynamespace Erdos1000

Given an infinite sequence of integers $A = {n_1 < n_2 < \cdots}$, phiSeq n k is $\phi_A(k)$: the number of $1\leq m\leq n_k$ such that $$ \frac{n_k}{(m,n_k)}\neq n_j $$ for all $1\leq j<k$.

def phiSeq (n : ) (k : ) : := ((Finset.Icc 1 (n k)).filter fun m => j < k, n k / Nat.gcd m (n k) n j).card

The average $\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k\leq N}\frac{\phi_A(k)}{n_k}$.

noncomputable def phiAvg (n : ) (N : ) : := ( k Finset.range N, (phiSeq n k : ) / (n k : )) / (N : )

Let $A={n_1<n_2<\cdots}$ be an infinite sequence of integers, and let $\phi_A(k)$ count the number of $1\leq m\leq n_k$ such that the fraction $\frac{m}{n_k}$ does not have denominator $n_j$ for $j<k$ when written in lowest form; equivalently, $$ \frac{n_k}{(m,n_k)}\neq n_j $$ for all $1\leq j<k$.

Is there a sequence $A$ such that $$ \lim_{N\to \infty}\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k\leq N}\frac{\phi_A(k)}{n_k}=0? $$

This was solved by Haight [Ha] who proved that such a sequence does exist (contrary to Erdős' expectations).

@[category research solved, AMS 11, formal_proof using lean4 at "https://github.com/plby/lean-proofs/blob/main/src/v4.29.1/ErdosProblems/Erdos1000.lean"] theorem erdos_1000 : answer(True) n : , StrictMono n 0 < n 0 Tendsto (phiAvg n) atTop (𝓝 0) := True n, StrictMono n 0 < n 0 Tendsto (phiAvg n) atTop (𝓝 0) All goals completed! 🐙

It is trivial that $\phi_A(k)\geq \phi(n_k)$, where $\phi$ is the Euler totient function.

@[category research solved, AMS 11] theorem erdos_1000.variants.totient_le (n : ) (hn : StrictMono n) (k : ) : (n k).totient phiSeq n k := n: hn:StrictMono nk:(n k).totient phiSeq n k All goals completed! 🐙

The study of $\phi_A$ was introduced by Cassels [Ca50b], who proved that there exist sequences such that $$ \liminf_{N\to \infty}\frac{1}{N}\sum_{k\leq N}\frac{\phi_A(k)}{n_k}=0. $$

@[category research solved, AMS 11] theorem erdos_1000.variants.liminf_eq_zero : n : , StrictMono n 0 < n 0 atTop.liminf (phiAvg n) = 0 := n, StrictMono n 0 < n 0 liminf (phiAvg n) atTop = 0 All goals completed! 🐙

Erdős [Er64b] proved that the limit of $\frac{\phi_A(k)}{n_k}$ as $k\to \infty$ cannot be $0$.

@[category research solved, AMS 11] theorem erdos_1000.variants.not_tendsto_zero (n : ) (hn : StrictMono n) (hn0 : 0 < n 0) : ¬ Tendsto (fun k : => (phiSeq n k : ) / (n k : )) atTop (𝓝 0) := n: hn:StrictMono nhn0:0 < n 0¬Tendsto (fun k (phiSeq n k) / (n k)) atTop (𝓝 0) All goals completed! 🐙

In fact he proved that if $\liminf \frac{\phi_A(k)}{n_k}=0$ then $\limsup \frac{\phi_A(k)}{n_k}=1$.

@[category research solved, AMS 11] theorem erdos_1000.variants.limsup_eq_one (n : ) (hn : StrictMono n) (hn0 : 0 < n 0) (h : atTop.liminf (fun k : => (phiSeq n k : ) / (n k : )) = 0) : atTop.limsup (fun k : => (phiSeq n k : ) / (n k : )) = 1 := n: hn:StrictMono nhn0:0 < n 0h:liminf (fun k (phiSeq n k) / (n k)) atTop = 0limsup (fun k (phiSeq n k) / (n k)) atTop = 1 All goals completed! 🐙end Erdos1000