Almost primes between all squares

We prove that for all n ≥ 1 there exists a number between n 2 and ( n + 1 ) 2 with at most 4 prime factors. This is the first result of this kind that holds for every n ≥ 1 rather than just sufficiently large n . Our approach relies on a recent computation by Sorenson and Webster, along with an explicit version of the linear sieve. As part of our proof, we also prove an explicit version of Kuhn's weighted sieve. This is done for generic sifting sets to enhance the future applicability of our methods.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Number Theory
Published
2025-06-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnt.2025.05.009
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Analytic Number Theory Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
10.76
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article

Almost primes between all squares

Daniel R. Johnston, Adrian Dudek
2 citations
Journal of Number Theory
Analytic Number Theory Research
10.76
article

Almost primes between all squares

Daniel R. Johnston, Adrian Dudek
article en
2 citations

Abstract

We prove that for all n ≥ 1 there exists a number between n 2 and ( n + 1 ) 2 with at most 4 prime factors. This is the first result of this kind that holds for every n ≥ 1 rather than just sufficiently large n . Our approach relies on a recent computation by Sorenson and Webster, along with an explicit version of the linear sieve. As part of our proof, we also prove an explicit version of Kuhn's weighted sieve. This is done for generic sifting sets to enhance the future applicability of our methods.

Journal of Number TheoryVol. 278
The University of Queensland (AU), University of Canberra (AU), UNSW Canberra
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Analytic Number Theory Research
10.76
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