OFFSET
1,3
COMMENTS
Conjecture: (i) a(n) > 0 for all n > 2, and a(n) = 1 only for n = 8, 12, 16. Moreover, if m and n are positive integers with m >= max{2, n-1} and gcd(m, n+1) = 1, then x^2 + n*y^2 is prime for some positive integers x and y with x + y = m, except for the case m = n + 3 = 29.
(ii) Let m and n be integers greater than one with m >= (n-1)/2 and gcd(m, n-1) = 1. Then x + n*y is prime for some positive integers x and y with x + y = m.
(iii) Any integer n > 3 not equal to 12 or 16 can be written as x + y (x, y > 0) with (n-2)*x - y and (n-2)*x^2 + y^2 both prime.
LINKS
Zhi-Wei Sun, Table of n, a(n) for n = 1..10000
Zhi-Wei Sun, Conjectures involving primes and quadratic forms, preprint, arXiv:1211.1588.
EXAMPLE
a(8) = 1 since 8 = 5 + 3 with 5^2 + (8-2)*3^2 = 79 prime.
a(12) = 1 since 12 = 11 + 1 with 11^2 + (12-2)*1^2 = 131 prime.
a(16) = 1 since 16 = 15 + 1 with 15^2 + (16-2)*1^2 = 239 prime.
MATHEMATICA
a[n_]:=Sum[If[PrimeQ[x^2+(n-2)*(n-x)^2], 1, 0], {x, 1, n-1}]
Table[a[n], {n, 1, 100}]
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
Zhi-Wei Sun, Nov 21 2013
STATUS
approved