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The procedure
Example
Counting solutions
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St�rmer's theorem

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In number theory, St�rmer's theorem, named after Carl St�rmer, gives a finite bound
on the number of consecutive pairs of smooth numbers that exist, for a given degree
of smoothness, and provides a method for finding all such pairs using Pell
equations. It follows from the Thue�Siegel�Roth theorem that there are only a
finite number of pairs of this type, but St�rmer gave a procedure for finding them
all.[1]

Statement
If one chooses a finite set
?
=
{
?
1
,
?
2
,
�
?
?
}
{\displaystyle P=\{p_{1},p_{2},\dots p_{k}\}} of prime numbers then the P-smooth
numbers are defined as the set of integers

{
?
1
?
1
?
2
?
2
?
?
?
?
?
|
?
?
?
{
0
,
1
,
2
,
�
}
}
{\displaystyle \left\{p_{1}^{e_{1}}p_{2}^{e_{2}}\cdots p_{k}^{e_{k}}\mid e_{i}\in \
{0,1,2,\ldots \}\right\}}
that can be generated by products of numbers in P. Then St�rmer's theorem states
that, for every choice of P, there are only finitely many pairs of consecutive P-
smooth numbers. Further, it gives a method of finding them all using Pell
equations.

The procedure
St�rmer's original procedure involves solving a set of roughly 3k Pell equations,
in each one finding only the smallest solution. A simplified version of the
procedure, due to D. H. Lehmer,[2] is described below; it solves fewer equations
but finds more solutions in each equation.

Let P be the given set of primes, and define a number to be P-smooth if all its
prime factors belong to P. Assume p1 = 2; otherwise there could be no consecutive
P-smooth numbers, because all P-smooth numbers would be odd. Lehmer's method
involves solving the Pell equation

?
2
-
2
?
?
2
=
1
{\displaystyle x^{2}-2qy^{2}=1}
for each P-smooth square-free number q other than 2. Each such number q is
generated as a product of a subset of P, so there are 2k - 1 Pell equations to
solve. For each such equation, let xi, yi be the generated solutions, for i in the
range from 1 to max(3, (pk + 1)/2) (inclusive), where pk is the largest of the
primes in P.
Then, as Lehmer shows, all consecutive pairs of P-smooth numbers are of the form
(xi - 1)/2, (xi + 1)/2. Thus one can find all such pairs by testing the numbers of
this form for P-smoothness.

Example
To find the ten consecutive pairs of {2,3,5}-smooth numbers (in music theory,
giving the superparticular ratios for just tuning) let P = {2,3,5}. There are seven
P-smooth squarefree numbers q (omitting the eighth P-smooth squarefree number, 2):
1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, and 30, each of which leads to a Pell equation. The number of
solutions per Pell equation required by Lehmer's method is max(3, (5 + 1)/2) = 3,
so this method generates three solutions to each Pell equation, as follows.

For q = 1, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 2y2 = 1 are (3,2),
(17,12), and (99,70). Thus, for each of the three values xi = 3, 17, and 99,
Lehmer's method tests the pair (xi - 1)/2, (xi + 1)/2 for smoothness; the three
pairs to be tested are (1,2), (8,9), and (49,50). Both (1,2) and (8,9) are pairs of
consecutive P-smooth numbers, but (49,50) is not, as 49 has 7 as a prime factor.
For q = 3, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 6y2 = 1 are (5,2),
(49,20), and (485,198). From the three values xi = 5, 49, and 485 Lehmer's method
forms the three candidate pairs of consecutive numbers (xi - 1)/2, (xi + 1)/2:
(2,3), (24,25), and (242,243). Of these, (2,3) and (24,25) are pairs of consecutive
P-smooth numbers but (242,243) is not.
For q = 5, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 10y2 = 1 are (19,6),
(721,228), and (27379,8658). The Pell solution (19,6) leads to the pair of
consecutive P-smooth numbers (9,10); the other two solutions to the Pell equation
do not lead to P-smooth pairs.
For q = 6, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 12y2 = 1 are (7,2),
(97,28), and (1351,390). The Pell solution (7,2) leads to the pair of consecutive
P-smooth numbers (3,4).
For q = 10, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 20y2 = 1 are (9,2),
(161,36), and (2889,646). The Pell solution (9,2) leads to the pair of consecutive
P-smooth numbers (4,5) and the Pell solution (161,36) leads to the pair of
consecutive P-smooth numbers (80,81).
For q = 15, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 30y2 = 1 are
(11,2), (241,44), and (5291,966). The Pell solution (11,2) leads to the pair of
consecutive P-smooth numbers (5,6).
For q = 30, the first three solutions to the Pell equation x2 - 60y2 = 1 are
(31,4), (1921,248), and (119071,15372). The Pell solution (31,4) leads to the pair
of consecutive P-smooth numbers (15,16).
Counting solutions
St�rmer's original result can be used to show that the number of consecutive pairs
of integers that are smooth with respect to a set of k primes is at most 3k - 2k.
Lehmer's result produces a tighter bound for sets of small primes: (2k - 1) �
max(3,(pk+1)/2).[2]

The number of consecutive pairs of integers that are smooth with respect to the
first k primes are

1, 4, 10, 23, 40, 68, 108, 167, 241, 345, ... (sequence A002071 in the OEIS).
The largest integer from all these pairs, for each k, is

2, 9, 81, 4375, 9801, 123201, 336141, 11859211, ... (sequence A117581 in the OEIS).
OEIS also lists the number of pairs of this type where the larger of the two
integers in the pair is square (sequence A117582 in the OEIS) or triangular
(sequence A117583 in the OEIS), as both types of pair arise frequently.

Generalizations and applications

Louis Mordell wrote about this result, saying that it "is very pretty, and there
are many applications of it."[3]

In mathematics
Chein (1976) used St�rmer's method to prove Catalan's conjecture on the
nonexistence of consecutive perfect powers (other than 8,9) in the case where one
of the two powers is a square.

Mabkhout (1993) proved that every number x4 + 1, for x > 3, has a prime factor
greater than or equal to 137. St�rmer's theorem is an important part of his proof,
in which he reduces the problem to the solution of 128 Pell equations.

Several authors have extended St�rmer's work by providing methods for listing the
solutions to more general diophantine equations, or by providing more general
divisibility criteria for the solutions to Pell equations.[4]

Conrey, Holmstrom & McLaughlin (2013) describe a computational procedure that,

empirically, finds many but not all of the consecutive pairs of smooth numbers
described by St�rmer's theorem, and is much faster than using Pell's equation to
find all solutions.

In music theory
In the musical practice of just intonation, musical intervals can be described as
ratios between positive integers. More specifically, they can be described as
ratios between members of the harmonic series. Any musical tone can be broken into
its fundamental frequency and harmonic frequencies, which are integer multiples of
the fundamental. This series is conjectured to be the basis of natural harmony and
melody. The tonal complexity of ratios between these harmonics is said to get more
complex with higher prime factors. To limit this tonal complexity, an interval is
said to be n-limit when both its numerator and denominator are n-smooth.[5]
Furthermore, superparticular ratios are very important in just tuning theory as
they represent ratios between adjacent members of the harmonic series.[6]

St�rmer's theorem allows all possible superparticular ratios in a given limit to be

found. For example, in the 3-limit (Pythagorean tuning), the only possible
superparticular ratios are 2/1 (the octave), 3/2 (the perfect fifth), 4/3 (the
perfect fourth), and 9/8 (the whole step). That is, the only pairs of consecutive
integers that have only powers of two and three in their prime factorizations are
(1,2), (2,3), (3,4), and (8,9). If this is extended to the 5-limit, six additional
superparticular ratios are available: 5/4 (the major third), 6/5 (the minor third),
10/9 (the minor tone), 16/15 (the minor second), 25/24 (the minor semitone), and
81/80 (the syntonic comma). All are musically meaningful.

Notes
St�rmer (1897).
Lehmer (1964).
As quoted by Chapman (1958).
In particular see Cao (1991), Luo (1991), Mei & Sun (1997), Sun & Yuan (1989), and
Walker (1967).
Partch (1974).
Halsey & Hewitt (1972).
References
Cao, Zhen Fu (1991). "On the Diophantine equation (axm - 1)/(abx-1) = by2". Chinese
Sci. Bull. 36 (4): 275�278. MR 1138803.
Chapman, Sydney (1958). "Fredrik Carl Mulertz Stormer, 1874-1957". Biographical
Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 4: 257�279. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1958.0021.
JSTOR 769515.
Chein, E. Z. (1976). "A note on the equation x2 = yq + 1". Proceedings of the
American Mathematical Society. 56 (1): 83�84. doi:10.2307/2041579. JSTOR 2041579.
MR 0404133.
Conrey, J. B.; Holmstrom, M. A.; McLaughlin, T. L. (2013). "Smooth neighbors".
Experimental Mathematics. 22 (2): 195�202. arXiv:1212.5161.
doi:10.1080/10586458.2013.768483. MR 3047912.
Halsey, G. D.; Hewitt, Edwin (1972). "More on the superparticular ratios in music".
American Mathematical Monthly. 79 (10): 1096�1100. doi:10.2307/2317424. JSTOR
2317424. MR 0313189.
Lehmer, D. H. (1964). "On a Problem of St�rmer". Illinois Journal of Mathematics.
8: 57�79. doi:10.1215/ijm/1256067456. MR 0158849.
Luo, Jia Gui (1991). "A generalization of the St�rmer theorem and some
applications". Sichuan Daxue Xuebao. 28 (4): 469�474. MR 1148835.
Mabkhout, M. (1993). "Minoration de P(x4+1)". Rend. Sem. Fac. Sci. Univ. Cagliari.
63 (2): 135�148. MR 1319302.
Mei, Han Fei; Sun, Sheng Fang (1997). "A further extension of St�rmer's theorem".
Journal of Jishou University (Natural Science Edition) (in Chinese). 18 (3): 42�44.
MR 1490505.
Partch, Harry (1974). Genesis of a Music: An Account of a Creative Work, Its Roots,
and Its Fulfillments (2nd ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-306-71597-X.
St�rmer, Carl (1897). "Quelques th�or�mes sur l'�quation de Pell
?
2
-
?
?
2
=
�
1
x^{2}-Dy^{2}=\pm 1 et leurs applications". Skrifter Videnskabs-selskabet
(Christiania), Mat.-Naturv. Kl. I (2).
Sun, Qi; Yuan, Ping Zhi (1989). "On the Diophantine equations
(
?
?
?
-
1
)
/
(
?
?
-
1
)
=
?
2
(ax^{n}-1)/(ax-1)=y^{2} and
(
?
?
?
+
1
)
/
(
?
?
+
1
)
=
?
2
(ax^{n}+1)/(ax+1)=y^{2}". Sichuan Daxue Xuebao. 26: 20�24. MR 1059671.
Walker, D. T. (1967). "On the diophantine equation mX2 - nY2 = �1". American
Mathematical Monthly. 74 (5): 504�513. doi:10.2307/2314877. JSTOR 2314877. MR
0211954.
Categories: Mathematics of musicTheorems in number theory
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