This paper by the legendary N. J. A. Sloane mentioning the result on prime sequences (particularly GPF-Fibonacci sequences and a conjecture on GPF-Tribonacci) that I got in collaboration with my student Greg Back meant a lot to me. It is, for me, a most valuable "Math memory".
Friday, January 23, 2026
A valuable memory
Thursday, August 5, 2021
My Top 100 book as a jazz of numbers
Sequential Experiments with Primes got into the 100 Best Number Theory Books of All Time @ https://bookauthority.org/books/best-number-theory-books As an undergraduate college faculty member, I am happy. Thank you! :-)
I believe the attractiveness of the book lies not only on the novelty of certain ideas, but also in the style in which said novelty is attained. It's a sort of "jazz" with numbers (unfolding as a sustained creative piece not unlike the free development of a jazz gig). A jazz with no particular rigid/studied reverence to other established theoretical
approaches. Just free self-sustained jazz discovering new facts. In its way, it's structured as a sort of "dessins d'enfants" leading to a different look on the mystery of prime numbers.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
'On Ducci Sequences with Primes' - Fibonacci Quarterly
Mihai Caragiu, Alexandru Zaharescu, and Mohammad Zaki
On Ducci Sequences with Primes
Fibonacci Quart. 52 (2014), no. 1, 32-38.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
GPF sequences in Rutgers' Experimental Mathematics Seminar
Thursday, June 30, 2011
GPF sequences - a forum discussion
Monday, November 1, 2010
New paper. GPF-Tribonacci sequences
In the main result on GPF-Fibonacci sequences (Theorem 3) we prove that all GPF-Fibonacci sequences (that is, prime sequences in which each subsequent term is the greatest prime factor of sum of the previous two terms) that are non-constant eventually enter the same 4-cycle 7,3,5,2.
Friday, October 22, 2010
GPF stability?...
A visual on the behavior of the same recurrence as before, only with a different initial condition (an 8-digit prime, picked at random)
The limit cycle is the same. The choiceL[1] = 11631013L[N] = P(26390*L[N-1] + 1103)
L[1] = 7654237825827857857221111238572389123865443346789678979leads, again to the same limit cycle. This raises an interesting question of "stability" (that is, assuming ultimate periodicity holds, are there finitely many - if not a single one - limit cycles?*) Note that in this particular case, the limit cycle is not unique: for example, the choice
L[1] = 2250957258971258907129712971234237484736596896123596812363leads to a different limit cycle, of period 18:
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A recurrence with primes inspired by a formula of Ramanujan
where P is the greatest prime factor function. The prime sequence (L[N]) turns out to be ultimately periodic, with periodL[1] = 2L[N] = P(26390*L[N-1] + 1103)
(1459, 30011, 15529243, 409816723873, 292299009270529, 701251895877205583, 15696384675317604187, 451826639233, 109391789076697, 151939437564949207, 74396630251, 29303389139179, 26646743, 2111734381, 55728670315693, 70865191, 18516162293, 487831, 12873861193, 1132987, 1921687, 330167, 968123137, 2901559, 14505047, 2091738751, 675347, 5940802811, 57192517, 137210047703, 938359, 24763295113, 6250999, 2795997707, 6922448587, 30040009, 46632696389, 3290305727, 282788861, 24151449977, 212452254964711, 5606615008518724393, 4871183188935589, 733134419023, 19347417318018073, 29451120121, 218661017, 242650193, 36178184149, 16311737023, 6797093683, 179375302295473, 29858734728029, 1862817989297131, 4993054962517, 15723597697, 311287129201, 13424039, 6946282163, 252731, 741063577, 106787, 26293, 10356319, 23227, 612961633, 511873, 4640443, 346915841, 3511741099, 33101671, 3527213, 6883, 20719, 433, 57427, 1529263, 510851287, 4456663, 117611337673, 999421747, 33078701, 2389547, 2335560979, 4285298911, 113089038262393, 30741542832733, 1801335599663, 688945601088517, 4790671, 7790117, 769966999, 239280127, 8821951, 756227, 34513, 4289, 37729271, 914302537, 11594639093, 39465611, 11110373, 478571, 11549, 859, 22670113, 176369, 1551459671, 40453493, 6714262147, 14927447, 43770591937, 70138194257, 2603300909203, 51190093, 942712181, 8292724819231, 24011017, 168928483, 6954793553, 270216913, 16301459, 1158523, 30573423073, 21129377, 5023461803, 1979, 17408971, 70381, 1798021, 88289, 467017, 540149, 39929, 4231837, 223803967, 5906186690233, 155864266755249973, 144041128039, 604427630617, 8896176894581, 1577342687387, 17151245784979, 452621376265596913, 878711663, 19359229, 2829679, 12128509, 8627, 41177, 65371, 1663589, 4878012757, 207798167, 609310403137, 1409652983, 1377805267499, 526960594337677, 86463252140809, 8419797874523803, 15369684199, 10962323405749, 1278583667, 132525119, 129531033019, 1221680363, 7825861, 206524472893, 5450180839647373, 24708859707660913, 652066807685171495173, 1941559636106473627171, 193285868819, 100015962316363, 1111967795377, 29344830120000133, 81694832084891, 718642206240091531, 18964967822676015504193, 4407663528935561, 857965267921, 42742695533, 20327255503, 11413537717559, 250324962137, 1275058048793, 11216260635882791, 857911268779, 13341354380129, 39119815787956157, 209783083, 325657385969, 72031783, 2035949, 163601, 72953, 7247, 21249937, 560785838533, 1345376207171543, 1075893275977485481, 9099479420859497, 98635636088557, 320878911329, 2822664823324471, 110249906411, 14055531546799, 499608015161, 548195730743, 160630728871, 385367721355163, 32609594737, 1641473, 83465267, 122840243, 140682811, 161071, 4250664793, 153443, 449929097, 26904379, 116579, 405499, 7715299, 3579647, 33083, 2881391)Here is a logarithmic plot of this sequence:
This special case illustrates a general conjecture on the ultimate periodicity of GPF sequences. For this, and related sequences and algebraic structures, see
- Greg Back and Mihai Caragiu, The Greatest Prime Factor and Recurrent Sequences, Fibonacci Quarterly (accepted for publication);
- Mihai Caragiu and Greg Back, The Greatest Prime Factor and Related Magmas, JP J.of Algebra, Number Theory and Appl. 15 (2), 127-136 (December 2009);
- Mihai Caragiu and Lisa Scheckelhoff, The Greatest Prime Factor and Related Sequences, JP J.of Algebra, Number Theory and Appl. 6(2), 403-409 (2006);


