A Superlogarithmic Lower Bound for Prime-Free Intervals Following Even Powers of a Fixed Prime

We investigate the distance to the next prime following even powers of a fixed prime \(q\), defining \(K_q(n)=\operatorname{nextprime}(q^{2n})-q^{2n}\). Using Fermat's little theorem, a constructive least-common-multiple argument, and a known upper-bound sieve estimate, we establish that for every fixed prime \(q\), there exist infinitely many positive integers \(n\) satisfying \(K_q(n)\gg_q \dfrac{\log n\log\log n}{\log\log\log n}\). Consequently, \(\limsup_{n\to\infty}\dfrac{K_q(n)}{\log n}=\infty\). The result provides a quantitative construction of arbitrarily long sequences of consecutive composite integers immediately following numbers of the form \(q^{2n}\). It also establishes that no finite upper bound depending only on \(q\), including one of the form \(Cq^\alpha\) with absolute constants \(C>0\) and \(\alpha\in\mathbb R\), can universally bound the distance to the next prime for all positive integers \(n\). The note presents a self-contained derivation using established number-theoretic techniques and illustrates the construction with an explicit numerical example.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23824017
Primary Topic
Analytic Number Theory Research
Type
article
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article

A Superlogarithmic Lower Bound for Prime-Free Intervals Following Even Powers of a Fixed Prime

dr vengy
3 links
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Analytic Number Theory Research
article

A Superlogarithmic Lower Bound for Prime-Free Intervals Following Even Powers of a Fixed Prime

dr vengy
article en

Abstract

We investigate the distance to the next prime following even powers of a fixed prime \(q\), defining \(K_q(n)=\operatorname{nextprime}(q^{2n})-q^{2n}\). Using Fermat's little theorem, a constructive least-common-multiple argument, and a known upper-bound sieve estimate, we establish that for every fixed prime \(q\), there exist infinitely many positive integers \(n\) satisfying \(K_q(n)\gg_q \dfrac{\log n\log\log n}{\log\log\log n}\). Consequently, \(\limsup_{n\to\infty}\dfrac{K_q(n)}{\log n}=\infty\). The result provides a quantitative construction of arbitrarily long sequences of consecutive composite integers immediately following numbers of the form \(q^{2n}\). It also establishes that no finite upper bound depending only on \(q\), including one of the form \(Cq^\alpha\) with absolute constants \(C>0\) and \(\alpha\in\mathbb R\), can universally bound the distance to the next prime for all positive integers \(n\). The note presents a self-contained derivation using established number-theoretic techniques and illustrates the construction with an explicit numerical example.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Analytic Number Theory Research
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A Superlogarithmic Lower Bound for Prime-Free Intervals Following Even Powers of a Fixed Prime — dr vengy · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS