Merca's conjectures on odd divisor-function convolutions

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Let Pm(k)P_m(k) be the generalized mm-gonal number

Pm(k):=(m2−1)k2−(m2−2)k,P_m(k):=\left(\frac{m}{2}-1\right)k^2-\left(\frac{m}{2}-2\right)k,

and let

σodd(n):=∑d∣n\d oddd,\sigma_{\mathrm{odd}}(n):=\sum_{\substack{d\mid n\d\ \mathrm{odd}}}d,

with σodd(n):=0\sigma_{\mathrm{odd}}(n):=0 for n≤0n\leq 0. For positive integers mm and nn, consider the three congruences

∑k=−∞∞σodd(n−Pm(k))≡{n\if@display\else\fi\pmodx2if n=Pm(j), j∈Z,0\if@display\else\fi\pmodx2otherwise,\sum_{k=-\infty}^{\infty}\sigma_{\mathrm{odd}}(n-P_m(k))\equiv \begin{cases} n% \allowbreak \if@display\mkern18mu\else\mkern8mu\fi \pmodx 2&\text{if }n=P_m(j),\ j\in\mathbb{Z},\\ 0% \allowbreak \if@display\mkern18mu\else\mkern8mu\fi \pmodx 2&\text{otherwise}, \end{cases} ∑k=−∞∞σodd(n−P5(k))≡{n\if@display\else\fi\pmodxmif n=P5(j), j∈Z,0\if@display\else\fi\pmodxmotherwise,\sum_{k=-\infty}^{\infty}\sigma_{\mathrm{odd}}(n-P_5(k))\equiv \begin{cases} n% \allowbreak \if@display\mkern18mu\else\mkern8mu\fi \pmodx m&\text{if }n=P_5(j),\ j\in\mathbb{Z},\\ 0% \allowbreak \if@display\mkern18mu\else\mkern8mu\fi \pmodx m&\text{otherwise}, \end{cases}

and

∑k=−∞∞(−1)P3(−k)σodd(n−P5(k))≡{(−1)P3(−j)n\if@display\else\fi\pmodxmif n=P5(j), j∈Z,0\if@display\else\fi\pmodxmotherwise.\sum_{k=-\infty}^{\infty}(-1)^{P_3(-k)}\sigma_{\mathrm{odd}}(n-P_5(k))\equiv \begin{cases} (-1)^{P_3(-j)}n% \allowbreak \if@display\mkern18mu\else\mkern8mu\fi \pmodx m&\text{if }n=P_5(j),\ j\in\mathbb{Z},\\ 0% \allowbreak \if@display\mkern18mu\else\mkern8mu\fi \pmodx m&\text{otherwise}. \end{cases}

Merca's conjectures. The first congruence holds for all n∈Z+n\in\mathbb{Z}^+ if and only if m∈{5,6}m\in\{5,6\}; the second holds for all n∈Z+n\in\mathbb{Z}^+ if and only if m∈{2,3,6}m\in\{2,3,6\}; and the third holds for all n∈Z+n\in\mathbb{Z}^+ if and only if m∈{2,4}m\in\{2,4\}. The paper proves these assertions, so they are now theorems rather than open conjectures.

References

Primary source

Kaya Lakein and Anne Larsen, “A Proof of Merca's Conjectures on Sums of Odd Divisor Functions”, arXiv:2107.07637 (2021).

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