The balanced and efficient numbers counting conjecture

For an odd integer n>1n>1, classify nn according to the purely periodic 2-adic expansion of 1/n-1/n: it is 2-balanced when that period contains equally many 11s and 00s, 2-efficient when it contains more 00s than 11s, and 2-inefficient when it contains more 11s than 00s. Let B(x)B(x), E(x)E(x), and I(x)I(x) count balanced, efficient, and inefficient numbers less than or equal to xx, respectively.

The balanced and efficient numbers counting conjecture. For all xx,

B(x)+E(x)I(x).B(x)+E(x)\geq I(x).

The conjecture formalizes the heuristic that inefficient numbers are uncommon, based on a bias toward extra zero digits in finite approximations to the 2-adic expansion of 1/n-1/n. Its resolution is not supplied in the source.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Joshua Zelinsky, “Upper Bounds on Integer Complexity”, arXiv:2211.02995 (2022).

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