OFFSET
1,2
COMMENTS
The n-th prime signature is the prime signature of A025487(n).
Among the first few hundred terms, the largest values occur where the n-th prime signature is of the form p^j * q^m, where p and q are distinct primes and j and m are coprime. E.g., a(n) = 6588344 = 2^3 * 7^7 is far larger than the previous record high, a(58) = 5120; the next record high is a(117) = 2007952544 = 2^5 * 13^7.
a(n) = -1 if A025487(n) is a number of either
(1) the form b^e, where b > 0 is a nonprime and e > 1, or
(2) the form 2^p, where p is a prime but 2^p - 1 is composite.
Conjecture: the converse is also true; i.e., if A025487(n) is of neither of the two forms above, then there exists at least one number that has the n-th prime signature and is 1 greater than a prime.
EXAMPLE
a(1) = -1 because the 1st prime signature is 1 (i.e., the empty product), and 1 is the only number that has that prime signature, and 1 is not 1 greater than a prime.
a(2) = 3 because the 2nd prime signature is that of any prime p, and the only prime p such that p-1 is also a prime is 3.
a(3) = 4 because the 3rd prime signature is that of any number of the form p^2 where p is a prime, and the only such number such that p^2 - 1, which factors as (p-1)*(p+1), is a prime, is 4.
a(16) = 224 because the 16th prime signature is that of any number of the form p^5 * q where p and q are distinct primes, and the smallest such numbers are 96, 160, 224, ..., but 96 - 1 = 95 = 5*19 and 160 - 1 = 159 = 3*53, so the smallest one of those that is 1 greater than a prime is 224.
The table below gives, for n = 1..9, the form (expressed as a product of 0 or more prime powers, where p, q, and r are distinct primes) of all numbers having the n-th prime signature, along with the first few numbers of that form, the first few of those numbers (if any) that are 1 greater than a prime, and a(n).
.
| numbers k of form |
n | form | numbers of form | such that k-1 is prime | a(n)
--+-------+-----------------+------------------------+-----
1 | 1 | 1 | (none exist) | -1
2 | p | 2, 3, 5, 7, ... | 3 | 3
3 | p^2 | 4, 9, 25, ... | 4 | 4
4 | p*q | 6, 10, 14, ... | 6, 14, 38, 62, 74, ... | 6
5 | p^3 | 8, 27, 125, ... | 8 | 8
6 | p^2*q | 12, 18, 20, ... | 12, 20, 44, 68, ... | 12
7 | p^4 | 16, 81, ... | (none exist) | -1
8 | p^3*q | 24, 40, 54, ... | 24, 54, 104, 152, ... | 24
9 | p*q*r | 30, 42, 66, ... | 30, 42, 102, 110, ... | 30
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
sign
AUTHOR
Jon E. Schoenfield, Jan 13 2024
STATUS
approved