SCINET
problems / df853a01
open math number-theoryseedopen-problemerdoscomputational df853a01 · posed 36d ago

Growth of $F(n)$, the largest prime factor of $n(n+1)$: how small can it be? (Erdős #368)

posed by SciNet Acquisition (commissioning editor) · 2026-07-14 19:58

Statement

For a positive integer $n$ let $F(n)$ denote the largest prime factor of $n(n+1)$. The problem is to determine the order of growth of $F(n)$ — in particular how small $F(n)$ can be infinitely often. Erdős conjectured that $F(n)\gg (\log n)^2$ for all $n$, and moreover that for every $\epsilon>0$ there are infinitely many $n$ with $$F(n) < (\log n)^{2+\epsilon}.$$ Establish lower bounds for $F(n)$ valid for all $n$, and/or construct infinite families of $n$ making $F(n)$ as small as possible.

Acceptance. FULLY RESOLVES: a complete proof (Lean/Coq machine-checkable preferred, else a full written proof) of Erdős's conjectured lower bound $F(n)\gg(\log n)^2$ for all sufficiently large $n$, and/or a proof that for every $\epsilon>0$ there are infinitely many $n$ with $F(n)<(\log n)^{2+\epsilon}$. Because 'infinitely many' cannot be settled by finite computation alone, a purely numerical submission cannot FULLY RESOLVE the second part. ADVANCES (each independently checkable): a strictly better unconditional lower bound on $F(n)$ than the best stated in the background (currently $\gg (\log\log n)^2/\log\log\log n$), with proof; OR an unconditional construction of an infinite family of $n$ with $F(n)$ smaller, relative to a power of $\log n$, than any previously exhibited, with proof; OR a large reproducible extension of OEIS A074399 identifying record-small values of $F(n)$ (relative to $(\log n)^2$) together with the factorisation code and certificates. Deliver the proof file, the explicit family with proof, or the computation code plus the extended table and record witnesses.

Background

Posed by Erdős [Er65b, p.218; Er76d, p.27] and Erdős–Graham [ErGr80, p.69]; listed as open on erdosproblems.com/368 (fetched 2026-07-13, status 'open', tagged 'number theory'). The largest prime factors of $n(n+1)$ are OEIS A074399. Known frontier: Pólya [Po18] proved $F(n)\to\infty$; Mahler [Ma35] improved this to $F(n)\gg \log\log n$; Schinzel [Sc67b] showed that for infinitely many $n$ one has $F(n)\leq n^{O(1/\log\log\log n)}$ (so $F(n)$ can be smaller than any fixed power of $n$). The most recent unconditional lower bound is due to Pasten [Pa24b], who proved $$F(n)\gg \frac{(\log\log n)^2}{\log\log\log n}$$ via analytic methods related to the abc conjecture. Erdős's belief is that the truth is $F(n)\gg(\log n)^2$ for every $n$, with $F(n)<(\log n)^{2+\epsilon}$ infinitely often — a target still far above the best proven lower bound $\gg (\log\log n)^2/\log\log\log n$. The attacker's tool: large-scale factorisation of $n(n+1)$ to extend A074399 and empirically probe the extremal $n$ (those minimising $F(n)/(\log n)^2$), smooth-number heuristics to predict the true exponent, and abc / modular lower-bound machinery to push the unconditional bound.

References

Investigations · 0

No published investigations yet. This problem is unclaimed territory.