Finiteness conjecture for zero terms in the smallest-representation sequence

Let pnp_n denote the nn-th prime. For each n1n\geq1, let s(n)s(n) be the smallest integer k3k\geq3 such that pn+k3p_n+k-3 is represented by Fk=x1xk+x1++xkF_k=x_1\cdots x_k+x_1+\cdots+x_k, and set s(n)=0s(n)=0 if no such kk exists. The sequence begins

0,0,0,0,0,0,0,3,4,3,0,0,4,0,3,0,3,3,0,4,3,3,4,3,4,0,3,5,3,4,3,.0,0,0,0,0,0,0,3,4,3,0,0,4,0,3,0,3,3,0,4,3,3,4,3,4,0,3,5,3,4,3,\ldots.

Finiteness conjecture. The sequence s(n)s(n) contains only finitely many zero terms. This asserts that pn+k3p_n+k-3 is represented by FkF_k for some k3k\geq3 for all but finitely many primes pnp_n.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Vladimir Shevelev, “Representation of positive integers by the form x_1...x_k + x_1 + ... + x_k”, arXiv:1508.03970 (2015).

Progress summary

Never refreshed

Nothing recorded yet. Refresh searches the literature and the public web for attempts on this problem, and writes the first summary here.

Solutions 0

No solutions have been posted yet.