OFFSET
3,1
LINKS
Nathan Fox, Table of n, a(n) for n = 3..100
N. Bradley Fox et al., Elated Numbers, arXiv:2409.09863 [math.NT], 2024.
EXAMPLE
561 cannot be written as a sum of fewer than nine perfect squares less than 10^2. 561 can be written as a sum of nine of these numbers in five ways:
561 = 1^2 + 5^2 + 7^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2
561 = 3^2 + 6^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2
561 = 3^2 + 7^2 + 7^2 + 7^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2
561 = 5^2 + 5^2 + 5^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2 + 9^2
561 = 7^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2 + 8^2
The last sum here does not include 9^2, so a(10) >= 561. In fact, a(10) = 561, as every number larger than 561 has 9^2 in every shortest decomposition of this form.
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
N. Bradley Fox, Nathan Fox, Helen Grundman, Rachel Lynn, Changningphaabi Namoijam, Mary Vanderschoot, Oct 15 2024
STATUS
approved