The disjoint zero-block conjecture for the floor-function differences

Let n1n\geq 1 be an odd integer, and define

dn():=2n(21)n.d_n(\ell):=\left\lfloor\sqrt{2\ell n}\right\rfloor-\left\lfloor\sqrt{(2\ell-1)n}\right\rfloor.

Suppose that δ:=dn(λ)2\delta:=d_n(\lambda)\geq 2 for some λ1\lambda\geq 1. Disjoint zero-block conjecture. Each such λ\lambda corresponds to δ1\delta-1 consecutive integers λ,,λ+δ2\ell_{\lambda},\ldots,\ell_{\lambda}+\delta-2 such that

dn(λ+j)=0(j=0,,δ2),d_n(\ell_{\lambda}+j)=0\qquad (j=0,\ldots,\delta-2),

and the sets of these zero values are disjoint. The statement describes the observed relationship between values of the floor-function differences: a value at least 22 is paired with a consecutive block of zero values, with different blocks disjoint. The supplied text does not state whether this claim has been proved or remains open.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Marc Chamberland and Karl Dilcher, “An alternating sum of the floor function of square roots”, arXiv:2510.26291 (2025).

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.