Sequence A073851 and the primality of sum_{k=11..n}(k^2)
Max
relf at unn.ac.ru
Fri Aug 12 00:06:45 CEST 2005
Ryan Propper wrote:
> It seems that if
>
> sum_{k=11..n}(k^2)
>
> ever assumes any prime values, it does so only for extremely large n.
> Specifically, I conducted a brute force search with Mathematica and
> this sum is composite for all n <= 4*10^10.
>
> This led me to wonder if sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) is composite for all n >=
> 11. However, I've been unable to prove this result (which would then
> imply that A073851 is both finite and full, with a(4) omitted).
> Mathematica gives the closed form formula
>
> sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) = (2n^2 + 23n + 231)(n - 10)/6
>
> Can anyone prove this is composite for all n or find a counterexample?
There are four cases possible:
sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) = [(2n^2 + 23n + 231)] * [(n - 10)/6]
sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) = [(2n^2 + 23n + 231)/2] * [(n - 10)/3]
sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) = [(2n^2 + 23n + 231)/3] * [(n - 10)/2]
sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) = [(2n^2 + 23n + 231)/6] * [(n - 10)]
where the numbers in brackets are integer.
But it is clear that for n>16, both factors are greater than 1 in whatever case. That proves sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) is composite for n>16.
And you proved the same it for n=11..15. Therefore, sum_{k=11..n}(k^2) is composite for n>11.
Max
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