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SOME COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS CONCERNING THE

DIVISOR FUNCTIONS d(n) AND SIGMA(n)

Article · January 1993

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Pentti Haukkanen
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THE MATHEMATICS STUDENT

Vol. 62 Nos. 1-4 (1993) pp. 166-168

SOME COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS CONCERNING

THE DIVISOR FUNCTIONS d(n) AND a(n)
By
PENT TI HAUKKANEN

(Received ; October 11, 1991)

1. Introduction

Let d(n) and a(n) denote the number and the sum of the positive
divisors of n, respectively. That is,

d(n) = a(n) = d.
din din

Some positive integers n for which

d(n) = d(n + 1), (1)
d(n) = d(n + 1) = d(n + 2), (2)
d(n) = d(n -I- 1) = d(n + 2) = d(n + 3), (3)
d(n) = d(n + 1) = d(n + 2) = d(n + 3) d(n + 4), (4)
are given in the literature (see e.g. [3], p. 169). In this paper we shall
give the least positive integers n for which
d(n) = d(n 1) = d(n + 2) = = d(n + 5), (5)
d(n) d(n + 1) = d(n + 2) = = d(n + 6). (6)
Hunsucker, Nebb and Stearns [1] listed the positive integers
n < 107 for which
a(n) a(n + 1). (7)
They also made the following conjecture : If a(n) a(n + 1) and both
n and n 1 are not square free, then either n 0 (mod 4) or n 1 -a-. 0
(mod 4). We have calculated the positive integers n C 2 . 108 for which
(7) holds. Our calculations show that the above conjecture does not hold.
For brevity, we will give only those n for which the conjecture fails.
If n and n + 2 are twin prime numbers, then
a(n + 2) = a(n) -1- 2. (8)
Makowski [2] showed that there are three composite numbers n C 9998
which satisfy (8). Our calculations show that these three numbers are
the only composite numbers < 2.10 8 which do so.
 SOME COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS CONCERNING 167

The results of this paper were obtained using the Mathematica

system.

2. On the equations (1)-(6)

THEOREM 1.

1) The least integer for which (1) holds is n = 2.

2) The least integer for which (2) holds is n = 33.
3) The least integer for which (3) holds is n = 242.
4) The least integer for which (4) holds is n 11605.
5) The least integer for which (5) holds is n = 28374.
6) The least integer for which (6) holds is n 171893.
The canonical factorizations of the arguments and the values of d(n)
in Theorem 1 are the following :
1) n --- 2, n 1 = 3, d(n) = 2.
2) n = 3.11, n + 1 = 2 . 17, n + 2 = 5.7, An) = 4.
3) n n + 1 35, n + 2 = 22 .61, n + 3 = 5 . 72 , d(n) 6.
4) n 5 . 11 . 211, n+ 1 = 2 . 7 . 829, n+ 2 3.53.73,
n+ 3 = 23 .1451, n + 4 = 13.19.47, cl(n) = 8.
5) n = 2 . 3 . 4729,n + 1 ---- 53. 227, n+2=23. 3547, n+ 3 33.1051,
n + 4 = 2.7.2027, n 5 = 13 . 37.59, d(n) = 8.
6) n 19 . 83 . 109, n + 1 = 2 . 3 28649, n + 2 = 5.31.1109,
n 3=23 .21487, n + 4 --- 3 . 11 . 5209, n+ 5 2.61.1409,
n + 6 = 7.13 . 1889, d(n) = 8.

REMARK 1. There exists no n 3 . 108 satisfying

d(n) ------d(n + 1) = + 2) = d(n 7).

REMARK 2. In the context of the above calculations we calculated

the maximum value of d(n) when n < 3 . 103. The maximum value is
1024 and is taken for the number n 294053760.

3. On the equations (7) and (8)

THEOREM 2. The number of integers n C 108 satisfying (7) is 232

e
and the number of integers n [108, 2.108] satisfying (7) is 61.

REMARK 3. The conjecture given in [1] and cited in the introduction

to this paper does not hold. Namely, if n 52586505, then n satisfies
 168 PENTTI HAUKKANEN

(7) and the factorizations of n and n 1 are n = 32.5.71.109.151,

n 1 = 2 . 72. 43.12479. Another counterexample is n = 164233250, for
which (7) holds and n 2.53 .353-1861, n 1 = 35.72.13.1061.

THEOREM 3. The only composite integers n C 2 . 108 satisfying (8) are

n = 434, n 8575, and n 8825.

REMARK 4. There exists no positive integer n C 2 . 108 such that

0(n) = a(n + 1) = a(n + 2).

REFERENCES

1. Hunsucker, J.L., Nebb, J., and Stearns, R. E., Computational results con-
cerning some equations involving a(n), Math. Student 41 (1973), 285-289.
2. Makowski, A., On some equations involving functions 0(n) and a(n), Amer.
Math. Monthly 67 (1960), 668-670; Correction, ibid. 68 (1961), 650.
3. Sierpinski, W., Elementary theory of numbers, 2nd ed. (Transl. from the
Polish.) Ed. A. Schnizel, North-Holland Mathematical Library, 31. Am-
sterdam etc. : North-Holland; Warszawa : PWN-Polish Scicntific Publishers
(1988).

Department of Mathematical Sciences

University of Tampere
P.O. Box 607
SF-33101 Tampere, Finland

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