Wall–Sun–Sun prime

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In number theory, a Wall–Sun–Sun prime or Fibonacci–Wieferich prime is a certain kind of prime number which is conjectured to exist, although none are known.

Wall–Sun–Sun prime
Named afterDonald Dines Wall, Zhi Hong Sun and Zhi Wei Sun
Publication year1992
No. of known terms0
Conjectured no. of termsInfinite

Definition

Let   be a prime number. When each term in the sequence of Fibonacci numbers   is reduced modulo  , the result is a periodic sequence. The (minimal) period length of this sequence is called the Pisano period and denoted  . Since  , it follows that p divides  . A prime p such that p2 divides   is called a Wall–Sun–Sun prime.

Equivalent definitions

If   denotes the rank of apparition modulo   (i.e.,   is the smallest positive index such that   divides  ), then a Wall–Sun–Sun prime can be equivalently defined as a prime   such that   divides  .

For a prime p ≠ 2, 5, the rank of apparition   is known to divide  , where the Legendre symbol   has the values

 

This observation gives rise to an equivalent characterization of Wall–Sun–Sun primes as primes   such that   divides the Fibonacci number  .[1]

A prime   is a Wall–Sun–Sun prime if and only if  .

A prime   is a Wall–Sun–Sun prime if and only if  , where   is the  -th Lucas number.[2]: 42 

McIntosh and Roettger establish several equivalent characterizations of Lucas–Wieferich primes.[3] In particular, let  ; then the following are equivalent:

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Existence

Unsolved problem in mathematics:
Are there any Wall–Sun–Sun primes? If yes, are there an infinite number of them?

In a study of the Pisano period  , Donald Dines Wall determined that there are no Wall–Sun–Sun primes less than  . In 1960, he wrote:[4]

The most perplexing problem we have met in this study concerns the hypothesis  . We have run a test on digital computer which shows that   for all   up to  ; however, we cannot prove that   is impossible. The question is closely related to another one, "can a number   have the same order mod   and mod  ?", for which rare cases give an affirmative answer (e.g.,  ;  ); hence, one might conjecture that equality may hold for some exceptional  .

It has since been conjectured that there are infinitely many Wall–Sun–Sun primes.[5]

In 2007, Richard J. McIntosh and Eric L. Roettger showed that if any exist, they must be > 2×1014.[3] Dorais and Klyve extended this range to 9.7×1014 without finding such a prime.[6]

In December 2011, another search was started by the PrimeGrid project,[7] however it was suspended in May 2017.[8] In November 2020, PrimeGrid started another project that searches for Wieferich and Wall–Sun–Sun primes simultaneously.[9] The project ended in December 2022, definitely proving that any Wall–Sun–Sun prime must exceed   (about  ).[10]

History

Wall–Sun–Sun primes are named after Donald Dines Wall,[4][11] Zhi Hong Sun and Zhi Wei Sun; Z. H. Sun and Z. W. Sun showed in 1992 that if the first case of Fermat's Last Theorem was false for a certain prime p, then p would have to be a Wall–Sun–Sun prime.[12] As a result, prior to Andrew Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, the search for Wall–Sun–Sun primes was also the search for a potential counterexample to this centuries-old conjecture.

Generalizations

A tribonacci–Wieferich prime is a prime p satisfying h(p) = h(p2), where h is the least positive integer satisfying [Th,Th+1,Th+2] ≡ [T0, T1, T2] (mod m) and Tn denotes the n-th tribonacci number. No tribonacci–Wieferich prime exists below 1011.[13]

A Pell–Wieferich prime is a prime p satisfying p2 divides Pp−1, when p congruent to 1 or 7 (mod 8), or p2 divides Pp+1, when p congruent to 3 or 5 (mod 8), where Pn denotes the n-th Pell number. For example, 13, 31, and 1546463 are Pell–Wieferich primes, and no others below 109 (sequence A238736 in the OEIS). In fact, Pell–Wieferich primes are 2-Wall–Sun–Sun primes.

Near-Wall–Sun–Sun primes

A prime p such that   with small |A| is called near-Wall–Sun–Sun prime.[3] Near-Wall–Sun–Sun primes with A = 0 would be Wall–Sun–Sun primes. PrimeGrid recorded cases with |A| ≤ 1000.[14] A dozen cases are known where A = ±1 (sequence A347565 in the OEIS).

Wall–Sun–Sun primes with discriminant D

Wall–Sun–Sun primes can be considered for the field   with discriminant D. For the conventional Wall–Sun–Sun primes, D = 5. In the general case, a Lucas–Wieferich prime p associated with (P, Q) is a Wieferich prime to base Q and a Wall–Sun–Sun prime with discriminant D = P2 – 4Q.[1] In this definition, the prime p should be odd and not divide D.

It is conjectured that for every natural number D, there are infinitely many Wall–Sun–Sun primes with discriminant D.

The case of   corresponds to the k-Wall–Sun–Sun primes, for which Wall–Sun–Sun primes represent the special case k = 1. The k-Wall–Sun–Sun primes can be explicitly defined as primes p such that p2 divides the k-Fibonacci number  , where Fk(n) = Un(k, −1) is a Lucas sequence of the first kind with discriminant D = k2 + 4 and   is the Pisano period of k-Fibonacci numbers modulo p.[15] For a prime p ≠ 2 and not dividing D, this condition is equivalent to either of the following.

  • p2 divides  , where   is the Kronecker symbol;
  • Vp(k, −1) ≡ k (mod p2), where Vn(k, −1) is a Lucas sequence of the second kind.

The smallest k-Wall–Sun–Sun primes for k = 2, 3, ... are

13, 241, 2, 3, 191, 5, 2, 3, 2683, ... (sequence A271782 in the OEIS)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b A.-S. Elsenhans, J. Jahnel (2010). "The Fibonacci sequence modulo p2 -- An investigation by computer for p < 1014". arXiv:1006.0824 [math.NT].
  2. ^ Andrejić, V. (2006). "On Fibonacci powers" (PDF). Univ. Beograd Publ. Elektrotehn. Fak. Ser. Mat. 17 (17): 38–44. doi:10.2298/PETF0617038A. S2CID 41226139.
  3. ^ a b c McIntosh, R. J.; Roettger, E. L. (2007). "A search for Fibonacci−Wieferich and Wolstenholme primes" (PDF). Mathematics of Computation. 76 (260): 2087–2094. Bibcode:2007MaCom..76.2087M. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-07-01955-2.
  4. ^ a b Wall, D. D. (1960), "Fibonacci Series Modulo m", American Mathematical Monthly, 67 (6): 525–532, doi:10.2307/2309169, JSTOR 2309169
  5. ^ Klaška, Jiří (2007), "Short remark on Fibonacci−Wieferich primes", Acta Mathematica Universitatis Ostraviensis, 15 (1): 21–25.
  6. ^ Dorais, F. G.; Klyve, D. W. (2010). "Near Wieferich primes up to 6.7 × 1015" (PDF).
  7. ^ Wall–Sun–Sun Prime Search project at PrimeGrid
  8. ^ [1] at PrimeGrid
  9. ^ Message boards : Wieferich and Wall-Sun-Sun Prime Search at PrimeGrid
  10. ^ Subproject status at PrimeGrid
  11. ^ Crandall, R.; Dilcher, k.; Pomerance, C. (1997). "A search for Wieferich and Wilson primes". Mathematics of Computation. 66 (217): 447. Bibcode:1997MaCom..66..433C.
  12. ^ Sun, Zhi-Hong; Sun, Zhi-Wei (1992), "Fibonacci numbers and Fermat's last theorem" (PDF), Acta Arithmetica, 60 (4): 371–388, doi:10.4064/aa-60-4-371-388
  13. ^ Klaška, Jiří (2008). "A search for Tribonacci–Wieferich primes". Acta Mathematica Universitatis Ostraviensis. 16 (1): 15–20.
  14. ^ Reginald McLean and PrimeGrid, WW Statistics
  15. ^ S. Falcon, A. Plaza (2009). "k-Fibonacci sequence modulo m". Chaos, Solitons & Fractals. 41 (1): 497–504. Bibcode:2009CSF....41..497F. doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2008.02.014.

Further reading