We give upper and lower bounds on the count of positive integers n ≤ x dividing the nth term of a non-degenerate linearly recurrent sequence with simple roots.

Let a be an integer different from 0, ±1, or a perfect square. We consider a conjecture of Erdős which states that #{p:ℓa(p)=r}≪εrε for any ε>0, where ℓa(p) is the order of a modulo p. In particular, we see what this conjecture says about Artin’s primitive root conjecture and compare it to the generalized Riemann hypothesis and the ABC conjecture. We also extend work of Goldfeld related to divisors of p+a and the order of a modulo p.

We study various Dirichlet series of the form ∑n≥1f(πnα)/ns, where α is an irrational number and f(x) is a trigonometric function like cot(x), 1/sin(x) or 1/sin2(x). The convergence is slow and strongly depends on the Diophantine properties of α. We provide necessary and sufficient convergence conditions using the continued fraction of α. We also show that any one of our series is equal to a related series, which converges much faster, defined in term of iterations of the continued fraction operator α↦{1/α}.

We study the distribution, in the space of Satake parameters, of local components of Siegel cusp forms of genus 2 and growing weight k, subject to a specific weighting which allows us to apply results concerning Bessel models and a variant of Petersson’s formula. We obtain for this family a quantitative local equidistribution result, and derive a number of consequences. In particular, we show that the computation of the density of low-lying zeros of the spinor L-functions (for restricted test functions) gives global evidence for a well-known conjecture of Böcherer concerning the arithmetic nature of Fourier coefficients of Siegel cusp forms.

Let p be an odd prime. In this paper, we consider the equation and we describe all its solutions. Moreover, we prove that this equation has no solution (x,y,m,n) when n>3 is an odd prime and y is not the sum of two consecutive squares. This extends the work of Tengely [On the diophantine equation x2+q2m=2yp, Acta Arith.127(1) (2007), 71–86].

Let q be an odd prime. In this paper, we prove that if N is an odd perfect number with qα∥N then σ(N/qα)/qα≠p,p2,p3,p4,p1p2,p21p2, where p,p1, p2 are primes and p1≠p2. This improves a result of Dris and Luca [‘A note on odd perfect numbers’, arXiv:1103.1437v3 [math.NT]]: σ(N/qα)/qα≠1,2,3,4,5. Furthermore, we prove that for K≥1 , if N is an odd perfect number with qα ∥N and σ(N/qα)/qα ≤K, then N≤4K8.

Let be a commutative algebraic group defined over a number field K. For a prime ℘ in K where has good reduction, let N℘,n be the number of n-torsion points of the reduction of modulo ℘ where n is a positive integer. When is of dimension one and n is relatively prime to a fixed finite set of primes depending on , we determine the average values of N℘,n as the prime ℘ varies. This average value as a function of n always agrees with a divisor function.

Let a,b,c be relatively prime positive integers such that a2+b2=c2. Half a century ago, Jeśmanowicz [‘Several remarks on Pythagorean numbers’, Wiadom. Mat.1 (1955/56), 196–202] conjectured that for any given positive integer n the only solution of (an)x+(bn)y=(cn)z in positive integers is (x,y,z)=(2,2,2). In this paper, we show that (8n)x+(15n)y=(17n)z has no solution in positive integers other than (x,y,z)=(2,2,2).

In 1987, Gordon gave an integer primality condition similar to the familiar test based on Fermat’s little theorem, but based instead on the arithmetic of elliptic curves with complex multiplication. We prove the existence of infinitely many composite numbers simultaneously passing all elliptic curve primality tests assuming a weak form of a standard conjecture on the bound on the least prime in (special) arithmetic progressions. Our results are somewhat more general than both the 1999 dissertation of the first author (written under the direction of the third author) and a 2010 paper on Carmichael numbers in a residue class written by Banks and the second author.

We give new bounds on sums of the form ∑ n≤NΛ(n)exp (2πiagn/m) and ∑ n≤NΛ(n)χ(gn+a), where Λ is the von Mangoldt function, m is a natural number, a and g are integers coprime to m, and χ is a multiplicative character modulo m. In particular, our results yield bounds on the sums ∑ p≤Nexp (2πiaMp/m) and ∑ p≤Nχ(Mp) with Mersenne numbers Mp=2p−1, where p is prime.

In this paper we present new explicit simultaneous rational approximations which converge subexponentially to the values of the Bell polynomials at the points where m=1,2,…,a, a∈ℕ, γ is Euler’s constant and ζ is the Riemann zeta function.

We describe a variant of Fermat’s factoring algorithm which is competitive with SQUFOF in practice but has heuristic run time complexity O(n1/3) as a general factoring algorithm. We also describe a sparse class of integers for which the algorithm is particularly effective. We provide speed comparisons between an optimised implementation of the algorithm described and the tuned assortment of factoring algorithms in the Pari/GP computer algebra package.

We provide evaluations of several recently studied higher and multiple Mahler measures using log-sine integrals. This is complemented with an analysis of generating functions and identities for log-sine integrals which allows the evaluations to be expressed in terms of zeta values or more general polylogarithmic terms. The machinery developed is then applied to evaluation of further families of multiple Mahler measures.

We discuss the following general question and some of its extensions. Let (εk)k≥1 be a sequence with values in {0,1}, which is not ultimately periodic. Define ξ:=∑ k≥1εk/2k and ξ′:=∑ k≥1εk/3k. Let 𝒫 be a property valid for almost all real numbers. Is it true that at least one among ξ and ξ′ satisfies 𝒫?

In this note we study the existence of primes and of primitive divisors in function field analogues of classical divisibility sequences. Under various hypotheses, we prove that Lucas sequences and elliptic divisibility sequences over function fields defined over number fields contain infinitely many irreducible elements. We also prove that an elliptic divisibility sequence over a function field has only finitely many terms lacking a primitive divisor.

Let K be a complete discrete valuation field of characteristic zero with residue field kK of characteristic p>0. Let L/K be a finite Galois extension with Galois group G=Gal(L/K) and suppose that the induced extension of residue fields kL/kK is separable. Let 𝕎n(⋅) denote the ring of p-typical Witt vectors of length n. Hesselholt [‘Galois cohomology of Witt vectors of algebraic integers’, Math. Proc. Cambridge Philos. Soc.137(3) (2004), 551–557] conjectured that the pro-abelian group {H1 (G,𝕎n (𝒪L))}n≥1 is isomorphic to zero. Hogadi and Pisolkar [‘On the cohomology of Witt vectors of p-adic integers and a conjecture of Hesselholt’, J. Number Theory131(10) (2011), 1797–1807] have recently provided a proof of this conjecture. In this paper, we provide a simplified version of the original proof which avoids many of the calculations present in that version.

For a real quadratic field , let tk be the exact power of 2 dividing the class number hk of k and ηk the fundamental unit of k. The aim of this paper is to study tk and the value of Nk/ℚ(ηk). Various methods have been successfully applied to obtain results related to this topic. The idea of our work is to select a special circular unit ℰk of k and investigate C(k)=〈±ℰk 〉. We examine the indices [E(k):C(k)]and [C(k):CS (k)] , where E(k)is the group of units of k, and CS (k)is that of circular units of k defined by Sinnott. Then by using the Sinnott’s index formula [E(k):CS (k)]=hk, we obtain as much information about tk and Nk/ℚ (ηk)as possible.

We define and study a Lefschetz operator on the equivariant cohomology complex of the Drinfeld and Lubin–Tate towers. For ℓ-adic coefficients we show how this operator induces a geometric realization of the Langlands correspondence composed with the Zelevinski involution for elliptic representations. Combined with our previous study of the monodromy operator, this suggests a possible extension of Arthur’s philosophy for unitary representations occurring in the intersection cohomology of Shimura varieties to the possibly non-unitary representations occurring in the cohomology of Rapoport–Zink spaces. However, our motivation for studying the Lefschetz operator comes from the hope that its geometric nature will enable us to realize the mod-ℓ Langlands correspondence due to Vignéras. We discuss this problem and propose a conjecture.

We consider a mod 7 Galois representation attached to a genus 2 Siegel cusp form of level 1 and weight 28 and using some of its Fourier coefficients and eigenvalues computed by N. Skoruppa and the classification of maximal subgroups of PGSp(4,p) we show that its image is as large as possible. This gives a realization of PGSp(4,7) as a Galois group over ℚ and the corresponding number field provides a non-solvable extension of ℚ which ramifies only at 7.

We prove the conjectural relations between Mahler measures and L-values of elliptic curves of conductors 20 and 24. We also present new hypergeometric expressions for L-values of elliptic curves of conductors 27 and 36. Furthermore, we prove a new functional equation for the Mahler measure of the polynomial family (1+X) (1+Y )(X+Y )−αXY, α∈ℝ.