OFFSET
1,3
COMMENTS
a(n) tells how many more positive integers there are <= prime(n+1)^2 whose smallest prime factor is at least prime(n+1), as compared to how many positive integers there are <= (prime(n) * prime(n+1)) whose smallest prime factor is at least prime(n).
Conjecture 1: for n >= 2, a(n) > 0.
Conjecture 2: ratio a(n)/A256447 converges towards 1. See the associated plots in A256447 and A256449 and comments in A050216.
As what comes to the second conjecture, it's not necessarily true. See the plots linked into A256468. - Antti Karttunen, Mar 30 2015
LINKS
Antti Karttunen, Table of n, a(n) for n = 1..564
FORMULA
EXAMPLE
For n=1, the respective primes are prime(1) = 2 and prime(2) = 3, and the ranges in question are [1, 9] and [1, 6]. The former range contains 4 such numbers whose lpf (A020639) is at least 3, namely {3, 5, 7, 9}, while the latter range contains 5 such numbers whose lpf is at least 2, namely {2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, thus a(1) = 4 - 5 = -1.
For n=2, the respective primes are prime(2) = 3 and prime(3) = 5, and the ranges in question are [1, 25] and [1, 15]. The former range contains 8 such numbers whose lpf is at least 5, namely {5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 25}, while the latter range contains 7 such numbers whose lpf is at least 3, namely {3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15}, thus a(2) = 8 - 7 = 1.
For n=3, the respective primes are prime(3) = 5 and prime(4) = 7, and the ranges in question are [1, 49] and [1, 35]. The former range contains 13 such numbers whose lpf is at least 7, namely {7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 49}, while the latter range contains 11 such numbers whose lpf is at least 5, namely {5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 25, 29, 31, 35}, thus a(3) = 13 - 11 = 2.
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
sign
AUTHOR
Antti Karttunen, Mar 29 2015
STATUS
approved