OFFSET
2,1
COMMENTS
For any prime p, generation m consists of the numbers p^(m-1) <= k < p^m. The zeroth generation consists of just the number 0. When there is a k in generation m such that p divides A001008(k), then that k may generate solutions in generation m+1. It is conjectured that for all primes there are solutions for only a finite number of generations.
Boyd's table 3 states incorrectly that harmonic primes have 2 generations; harmonic primes have 3 generations.
LINKS
Max Alekseyev, Table of n, a(n) for n = 2..220
David W. Boyd, A p-adic study of the partial sums of the harmonic series, Experimental Math., Vol. 3 (1994), No. 4, 287-302. [WARNING: Table 2 contains miscalculations for p=19, 47, 59, ... - Max Alekseyev, Apr 01 2025]
Leonardo Carofiglio, Giacomo Cherubini, and Alessandro Gambini, On Eswarathasan--Levine and Boyd's conjectures for harmonic numbers, arXiv:2503.15714 [math.NT], 2025.
A. Eswarathasan and E. Levine, p-integral harmonic sums, Discrete Math. 91 (1991), 249-257.
EXAMPLE
a(4)=7 because the fourth prime, 7, divides A001008(k) for k = 6, 42, 48, 295, 299, 337, 341, 2096, 2390, 14675, 16731, 16735 and 102728. These values of k fall into 6 generations; adding the zeroth generation makes a total of 7 generations.
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
T. D. Noe, Feb 24 2004; corrected Jul 28 2004
EXTENSIONS
a(8), a(15), a(17) corrected, and terms a(23) onward from Carofiglio et al. (2025) added by Max Alekseyev, Apr 01 2025
STATUS
approved
