View Proposal #168
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| ID | 168 |
|---|---|
| First Name | Christian |
| Last Name | Roettger |
| Institution | Iowa State University |
| Speaker Category | faculty |
| Title of Talk | Primitive prime divisors of Mersenne numbers via Uniform Distribution |
| Abstract | Given a sequence a of integers, a primitive divisor of a(n) is an integer which divides a(n) but no earlier term of the sequence. Last year, we presented a result about a weighted average of primitive prime divisors of the well-known Mersenne numbers M(n) = 2^n-1. This year, we have an entirely different, simple proof of the same result, using cyclotomic polynomials and uniform distribution. We are indebted to Carl Pomerance for helpful insights. We will also mention possible applications to other sequences like the Fibonacci numbers. |
| Subject area(s) | Number theory, analytic |
| Suitable for undergraduates? | Yes |
| Day Preference | |
| Computer Needed? | N |
| Bringing a laptop? | Y |
| Overhead Needed? | N |
| Software requests | |
| Special Needs | |
| Date Submitted | 3/9/2006 |
| Year | 2006 |