HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In recreational mathematics, a repunit is a
number A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers ...
like 11, 111, or 1111 that contains only the digit 1 — a more specific type of repdigit. The term stands for repeated unit and was coined in 1966 by
Albert H. Beiler Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...
in his book ''Recreations in the Theory of Numbers''. A repunit prime is a repunit that is also a
prime number A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only way ...
. Primes that are repunits in base-2 are
Mersenne prime In mathematics, a Mersenne prime is a prime number that is one less than a power of two. That is, it is a prime number of the form for some integer . They are named after Marin Mersenne, a French Minim friar, who studied them in the early 17 ...
s. As of March 2022, the largest known prime number , the largest probable prime ''R''8177207 and the largest
elliptic curve primality In mathematics, elliptic curve primality testing techniques, or elliptic curve primality proving (ECPP), are among the quickest and most widely used methods in primality proving. It is an idea put forward by Shafi Goldwasser and Joe Kilian in 198 ...
prime ''R''49081 are all repunits.


Definition

The base-''b'' repunits are defined as (this ''b'' can be either positive or negative) :R_n^\equiv 1 + b + b^2 + \cdots + b^ = \qquad\mbox, b, \ge2, n\ge1. Thus, the number ''R''''n''(''b'') consists of ''n'' copies of the digit 1 in base-''b'' representation. The first two repunits base-''b'' for ''n'' = 1 and ''n'' = 2 are :R_1^

1 \qquad \text \qquad R_2^

b+1\qquad\text\ , b, \ge2.
In particular, the '' decimal (base-''10'') repunits'' that are often referred to as simply ''repunits'' are defined as :R_n \equiv R_n^ = = \qquad\mbox n \ge 1. Thus, the number ''R''''n'' = ''R''''n''(10) consists of ''n'' copies of the digit 1 in base 10 representation. The sequence of repunits base-10 starts with : 1, 11,
111 111 may refer to: *111 (number) *111 BC *AD 111 *111 (emergency telephone number) *111 (Australian TV channel) * Swissair Flight 111 * ''111'' (Her Majesty & the Wolves album) * ''111'' (Željko Joksimović album) * NHS 111 *(111) a Miller index fo ...
, 1111, 11111, 111111, ... . Similarly, the repunits base-2 are defined as :R_n^ = = \qquad\mboxn \ge 1. Thus, the number ''R''''n''(2) consists of ''n'' copies of the digit 1 in base-2 representation. In fact, the base-2 repunits are the well-known Mersenne numbers ''M''''n'' = 2''n'' − 1, they start with :1, 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, 127, 255, 511, 1023, 2047, 4095, 8191, 16383, 32767, 65535, ... .


Properties

* Any repunit in any base having a composite number of digits is necessarily composite. Only repunits (in any base) having a prime number of digits might be prime. This is a necessary but not sufficient condition. For example, *: ''R''35(''b'') = = 11111 × 1000010000100001000010000100001 = 1111111 × 10000001000000100000010000001, :since 35 = 7 × 5 = 5 × 7. This repunit factorization does not depend on the base-''b'' in which the repunit is expressed. * If ''p'' is an odd prime, then every prime ''q'' that divides ''R''''p''(''b'') must be either 1 plus a multiple of 2''p,'' or a factor of ''b'' − 1. For example, a prime factor of ''R''29 is 62003 = 1 + 2·29·1069. The reason is that the prime ''p'' is the smallest exponent greater than 1 such that ''q'' divides ''bp'' − 1, because ''p'' is prime. Therefore, unless ''q'' divides ''b'' − 1, ''p'' divides the Carmichael function of ''q'', which is even and equal to ''q'' − 1. *Any positive multiple of the repunit ''R''''n''(''b'') contains at least ''n'' nonzero digits in base-''b''. * Any number ''x'' is a two-digit repunit in base x − 1. * The only known numbers that are repunits with at least 3 digits in more than one base simultaneously are 31 (111 in base-5, 11111 in base-2) and 8191 (111 in base-90, 1111111111111 in base-2). The Goormaghtigh conjecture says there are only these two cases. * Using the
pigeon-hole principle In mathematics, the pigeonhole principle states that if items are put into containers, with , then at least one container must contain more than one item. For example, if one has three gloves (and none is ambidextrous/reversible), then there mu ...
it can be easily shown that for relatively prime natural numbers ''n'' and ''b'', there exists a repunit in base-''b'' that is a multiple of ''n''. To see this consider repunits ''R''1(''b''),...,''R''''n''(''b''). Because there are ''n'' repunits but only ''n''−1 non-zero residues modulo ''n'' there exist two repunits ''R''''i''(''b'') and ''R''''j''(''b'') with 1 ≤ ''i'' < ''j'' ≤ ''n'' such that ''R''''i''(''b'') and ''R''''j''(''b'') have the same residue modulo ''n''. It follows that ''R''''j''(''b'') − ''R''''i''(''b'') has residue 0 modulo ''n'', i.e. is divisible by ''n''. Since ''R''''j''(''b'') − ''R''''i''(''b'') consists of ''j'' − ''i'' ones followed by ''i'' zeroes, . Now ''n'' divides the left-hand side of this equation, so it also divides the right-hand side, but since ''n'' and ''b'' are relatively prime, ''n'' must divide ''R''''j''−''i''(''b''). * The Feit–Thompson conjecture is that ''R''''q''(''p'') never divides ''R''''p''(''q'') for two distinct primes ''p'' and ''q''. * Using the
Euclidean Algorithm In mathematics, the Euclidean algorithm,Some widely used textbooks, such as I. N. Herstein's ''Topics in Algebra'' and Serge Lang's ''Algebra'', use the term "Euclidean algorithm" to refer to Euclidean division or Euclid's algorithm, is an ...
for repunits definition: ''R''1(''b'') = 1; ''R''''n''(''b'') = ''R''''n''−1(''b'') × ''b'' + 1, any consecutive repunits ''R''''n''−1(''b'') and ''R''''n''(''b'') are relatively prime in any base-''b'' for any ''n''. * If ''m'' and ''n'' have a common divisor ''d'', ''R''''m''(''b'') and ''R''''n''(''b'') have the common divisor ''R''''d''(''b'') in any base-''b'' for any ''m'' and ''n''. That is, the repunits of a fixed base form a strong divisibility sequence. As a consequence, If ''m'' and ''n'' are relatively prime, ''R''''m''(''b'') and ''R''''n''(''b'') are relatively prime. The Euclidean Algorithm is based on ''gcd''(''m'', ''n'') = ''gcd''(''m'' − ''n'', ''n'') for ''m'' > ''n''. Similarly, using ''R''''m''(''b'') − ''R''''n''(''b'') × ''b''''m''−''n'' = ''R''''m''−''n''(''b''), it can be easily shown that ''gcd''(''R''''m''(''b''), ''R''''n''(''b'')) = ''gcd''(''R''''m''−''n''(''b''), ''R''''n''(''b'')) for ''m'' > ''n''. Therefore, if ''gcd''(''m'', ''n'') = ''d'', then ''gcd''(''R''''m''(''b''), ''R''''n''(''b'')) = ''Rd''(''b'').


Factorization of decimal repunits

(Prime factors colored means "new factors", i. e. the prime factor divides ''R''''n'' but does not divide ''R''''k'' for all ''k'' < ''n'') Smallest prime factor of ''R''''n'' for ''n'' > 1 are :11, 3, 11, 41, 3, 239, 11, 3, 11, 21649, 3, 53, 11, 3, 11, 2071723, 3, 1111111111111111111, 11, 3, 11, 11111111111111111111111, 3, 41, 11, 3, 11, 3191, 3, 2791, 11, 3, 11, 41, 3, 2028119, 11, 3, 11, 83, 3, 173, 11, 3, 11, 35121409, 3, 239, 11, ...


Repunit primes

The definition of repunits was motivated by recreational mathematicians looking for prime factors of such numbers. It is easy to show that if ''n'' is divisible by ''a'', then ''R''''n''(''b'') is divisible by ''R''''a''(''b''): :R_n^=\frac\prod_\Phi_d(b), where \Phi_d(x) is the d^\mathrm
cyclotomic polynomial In mathematics, the ''n''th cyclotomic polynomial, for any positive integer ''n'', is the unique irreducible polynomial with integer coefficients that is a divisor of x^n-1 and is not a divisor of x^k-1 for any Its roots are all ''n''th primit ...
and ''d'' ranges over the divisors of ''n''. For ''p'' prime, :\Phi_p(x)=\sum_^x^i, which has the expected form of a repunit when ''x'' is substituted with ''b''. For example, 9 is divisible by 3, and thus ''R''9 is divisible by ''R''3—in fact, 111111111 = 111 · 1001001. The corresponding cyclotomic polynomials \Phi_3(x) and \Phi_9(x) are x^2+x+1 and x^6+x^3+1, respectively. Thus, for ''R''''n'' to be prime, ''n'' must necessarily be prime, but it is not sufficient for ''n'' to be prime. For example, ''R''3 = 111 = 3 · 37 is not prime. Except for this case of ''R''3, ''p'' can only divide ''R''''n'' for prime ''n'' if ''p'' = 2''kn'' + 1 for some ''k''.


Decimal repunit primes

''R''''n'' is prime for ''n'' = 2, 19, 23, 317, 1031, 49081 ... (sequence A004023 in
OEIS The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) is an online database of integer sequences. It was created and maintained by Neil Sloane while researching at AT&T Labs. He transferred the intellectual property and hosting of the OEIS to th ...
). ''R''86453 is probably prime. On April 3, 2007 Harvey Dubner (who also found ''R''49081) announced that ''R''109297 is a probable prime. On July 15, 2007, Maksym Voznyy announced ''R''270343 to be probably prime. Serge Batalov and Ryan Propper found ''R''5794777 and ''R''8177207 to be probable primes on April 20 and May 8, 2021, respectively. As of their discovery each was the largest known probable prime. On March 22, 2022 probable prime ''R''49081 was eventually proven to be a prime. It has been conjectured that there are infinitely many repunit primes and they seem to occur roughly as often as the prime number theorem would predict: the exponent of the ''N''th repunit prime is generally around a fixed multiple of the exponent of the (''N''−1)th. The prime repunits are a trivial subset of the permutable primes, i.e., primes that remain prime after any
permutation In mathematics, a permutation of a set is, loosely speaking, an arrangement of its members into a sequence or linear order, or if the set is already ordered, a rearrangement of its elements. The word "permutation" also refers to the act or p ...
of their digits. Particular properties are *The remainder of ''R''''n'' modulo 3 is equal to the remainder of ''n'' modulo 3. Using 10''a'' ≡ 1 (mod 3) for any ''a'' ≥ 0,
''n'' ≡ 0 (mod 3) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ 0 (mod 3) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ 0 (mod ''R''3),
''n'' ≡ 1 (mod 3) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ 1 (mod 3) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ ''R''1 ≡ 1 (mod ''R''3),
''n'' ≡ 2 (mod 3) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ 2 (mod 3) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ ''R''2 ≡ 11 (mod ''R''3).
Therefore, 3 , ''n'' ⇔ 3 , ''R''''n'' ⇔ ''R''3 , ''R''''n''. * The remainder of ''R''''n'' modulo 9 is equal to the remainder of ''n'' modulo 9. Using 10''a'' ≡ 1 (mod 9) for any ''a'' ≥ 0,
''n'' ≡ ''r'' (mod 9) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ ''r'' (mod 9) ⇔ ''R''''n'' ≡ ''R''''r'' (mod ''R''9),
for 0 ≤ ''r'' < 9.
Therefore, 9 , ''n'' ⇔ 9 , ''R''''n'' ⇔ ''R''9 , ''R''''n''.


Base 2 repunit primes

Base-2 repunit primes are called
Mersenne prime In mathematics, a Mersenne prime is a prime number that is one less than a power of two. That is, it is a prime number of the form for some integer . They are named after Marin Mersenne, a French Minim friar, who studied them in the early 17 ...
s.


Base 3 repunit primes

The first few base-3 repunit primes are : 13, 1093, 797161, 3754733257489862401973357979128773, 6957596529882152968992225251835887181478451547013 , corresponding to n of : 3, 7, 13, 71, 103, 541, 1091, 1367, 1627, 4177, 9011, 9551, ... .


Base 4 repunit primes

The only base-4 repunit prime is 5 (11_4). 4^n-1 = \left(2^n+1\right)\left(2^n-1\right), and 3 always divides 2^n + 1 when ''n'' is odd and 2^n - 1 when ''n'' is even. For ''n'' greater than 2, both 2^n + 1 and 2^n - 1 are greater than 3, so removing the factor of 3 still leaves two factors greater than 1. Therefore, the number cannot be prime.


Base 5 repunit primes

The first few base-5 repunit primes are : 31, 19531, 12207031, 305175781, 177635683940025046467781066894531, 14693679385278593849609206715278070972733319459651094018859396328480215743184089660644531, 35032461608120426773093239582247903282006548546912894293926707097244777067146515037165954709053039550781, 815663058499815565838786763657068444462645532258620818469829556933715405574685778402862015856733535201783524826169013977050781 , corresponding to n of : 3, 7, 11, 13, 47, 127, 149, 181, 619, 929, 3407, ... .


Base 6 repunit primes

The first few base-6 repunit primes are : 7, 43, 55987, 7369130657357778596659, 3546245297457217493590449191748546458005595187661976371, 133733063818254349335501779590081460423013416258060407531857720755181857441961908284738707408499507 , corresponding to n of : 2, 3, 7, 29, 71, 127, 271, 509, 1049, 6389, 6883, ... .


Base 7 repunit primes

The first few base-7 repunit primes are : 2801, 16148168401, 85053461164796801949539541639542805770666392330682673302530819774105141531698707146930307290253537320447270457,
138502212710103408700774381033135503926663324993317631729227790657325163310341833227775945426052637092067324133850503035623601 corresponding to n of : 5, 13, 131, 149, 1699, ... .


Base 8 repunit primes

The only base-8 repunit prime is 73 (111_8). 8^n - 1=\left(4^n+2^n+1\right)\left(2^n - 1\right), and 7 divides 4^n + 2^n + 1 when ''n'' is not divisible by 3 and 2^n - 1 when ''n'' is a multiple of 3.


Base 9 repunit primes

There are no base-9 repunit primes. 9^n - 1=\left(3^n + 1\right)\left(3^n - 1\right), and both 3^n+1 and 3^n - 1 are even and greater than 4.


Base 11 repunit primes

The first few base-11 repunit primes are : 50544702849929377, 6115909044841454629, 1051153199500053598403188407217590190707671147285551702341089650185945215953, 567000232521795739625828281267171344486805385881217575081149660163046217465544573355710592079769932651989153833612198334843467861091902034340949 corresponding to n of : 17, 19, 73, 139, 907, 1907, 2029, 4801, 5153, 10867, ... .


Base 12 repunit primes

The first few base-12 repunit primes are : 13, 157, 22621, 29043636306420266077, 43570062353753446053455610056679740005056966111842089407838902783209959981593077811330507328327968191581, 388475052482842970801320278964160171426121951256610654799120070705613530182445862582590623785872890159937874339918941 corresponding to n of : 2, 3, 5, 19, 97, 109, 317, 353, 701, 9739, ... .


Base 20 repunit primes

The first few base-20 repunit primes are : 421, 10778947368421, 689852631578947368421 corresponding to n of : 3, 11, 17, 1487, ... .


Bases ''b'' such that ''Rp''(b) is prime for prime ''p''

Smallest base b such that R_p(b) is prime (where p is the nth prime) are :2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 2, 2, 2, 10, 6, 2, 61, 14, 15, 5, 24, 19, 2, 46, 3, 11, 22, 41, 2, 12, 22, 3, 2, 12, 86, 2, 7, 13, 11, 5, 29, 56, 30, 44, 60, 304, 5, 74, 118, 33, 156, 46, 183, 72, 606, 602, 223, 115, 37, 52, 104, 41, 6, 338, 217, 13, 136, 220, 162, 35, 10, 218, 19, 26, 39, 12, 22, 67, 120, 195, 48, 54, 463, 38, 41, 17, 808, 404, 46, 76, 793, 38, 28, 215, 37, 236, 59, 15, 514, 260, 498, 6, 2, 95, 3, ... Smallest base b such that R_p(-b) is prime (where p is the nth prime) are :3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 7, 2, 16, 61, 2, 6, 10, 6, 2, 5, 46, 18, 2, 49, 16, 70, 2, 5, 6, 12, 92, 2, 48, 89, 30, 16, 147, 19, 19, 2, 16, 11, 289, 2, 12, 52, 2, 66, 9, 22, 5, 489, 69, 137, 16, 36, 96, 76, 117, 26, 3, 159, 10, 16, 209, 2, 16, 23, 273, 2, 460, 22, 3, 36, 28, 329, 43, 69, 86, 271, 396, 28, 83, 302, 209, 11, 300, 159, 79, 31, 331, 52, 176, 3, 28, 217, 14, 410, 252, 718, 164, ...


List of repunit primes base ''b''

Smallest prime p>2 such that R_p(b) is prime are (start with b=2, 0 if no such p exists) :3, 3, 0, 3, 3, 5, 3, 0, 19, 17, 3, 5, 3, 3, 0, 3, 25667, 19, 3, 3, 5, 5, 3, 0, 7, 3, 5, 5, 5, 7, 0, 3, 13, 313, 0, 13, 3, 349, 5, 3, 1319, 5, 5, 19, 7, 127, 19, 0, 3, 4229, 103, 11, 3, 17, 7, 3, 41, 3, 7, 7, 3, 5, 0, 19, 3, 19, 5, 3, 29, 3, 7, 5, 5, 3, 41, 3, 3, 5, 3, 0, 23, 5, 17, 5, 11, 7, 61, 3, 3, 4421, 439, 7, 5, 7, 3343, 17, 13, 3, 0, ... Smallest prime p>2 such that R_p(-b) is prime are (start with b=2, 0 if no such p exists, question mark if this term is currently unknown) :3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 0, 3, 5, 5, 5, 3, 7, 3, 3, 7, 3, 17, 5, 3, 3, 11, 7, 3, 11, 0, 3, 7, 139, 109, 0, 5, 3, 11, 31, 5, 5, 3, 53, 17, 3, 5, 7, 103, 7, 5, 5, 7, 1153, 3, 7, 21943, 7, 3, 37, 53, 3, 17, 3, 7, 11, 3, 0, 19, 7, 3, 757, 11, 3, 5, 3, 7, 13, 5, 3, 37, 3, 3, 5, 3, 293, 19, 7, 167, 7, 7, 709, 13, 3, 3, 37, 89, 71, 43, 37, ?, 19, 7, 3, ... * Repunits with negative base and even ''n'' are negative. If their absolute value is prime then they are included above and marked with an asterisk. They are not included in the corresponding OEIS sequences. For more information, see.


Algebra factorization of generalized repunit numbers

If ''b'' is a
perfect power In mathematics, a perfect power is a natural number that is a product of equal natural factors, or, in other words, an integer that can be expressed as a square or a higher integer power of another integer greater than one. More formally, ''n' ...
(can be written as ''m''''n'', with ''m'', ''n'' integers, ''n'' > 1) differs from 1, then there is at most one repunit in base-''b''. If ''n'' is a
prime power In mathematics, a prime power is a positive integer which is a positive integer power of a single prime number. For example: , and are prime powers, while , and are not. The sequence of prime powers begins: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, ...
(can be written as ''p''''r'', with ''p'' prime, ''r'' integer, ''p'', ''r'' >0), then all repunit in base-''b'' are not prime aside from ''Rp'' and ''R2''. ''Rp'' can be either prime or composite, the former examples, ''b'' = −216, −128, 4, 8, 16, 27, 36, 100, 128, 256, etc., the latter examples, ''b'' = −243, −125, −64, −32, −27, −8, 9, 25, 32, 49, 81, 121, 125, 144, 169, 196, 216, 225, 243, 289, etc., and ''R2'' can be prime (when ''p'' differs from 2) only if ''b'' is negative, a power of −2, for example, ''b'' = −8, −32, −128, −8192, etc., in fact, the ''R2'' can also be composite, for example, ''b'' = −512, −2048, −32768, etc. If ''n'' is not a prime power, then no base-''b'' repunit prime exists, for example, ''b'' = 64, 729 (with ''n'' = 6), ''b'' = 1024 (with ''n'' = 10), and ''b'' = −1 or 0 (with ''n'' any natural number). Another special situation is ''b'' = −4''k''4, with ''k'' positive integer, which has the aurifeuillean factorization, for example, ''b'' = −4 (with ''k'' = 1, then ''R2'' and ''R3'' are primes), and ''b'' = −64, −324, −1024, −2500, −5184, ... (with ''k'' = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...), then no base-''b'' repunit prime exists. It is also conjectured that when ''b'' is neither a perfect power nor −4''k''4 with ''k'' positive integer, then there are infinity many base-''b'' repunit primes.


The generalized repunit conjecture

A conjecture related to the generalized repunit primes: (the conjecture predicts where is the next generalized Mersenne prime, if the conjecture is true, then there are infinitely many repunit primes for all bases b) For any integer b, which satisfies the conditions: # , b, >1. # b is not a
perfect power In mathematics, a perfect power is a natural number that is a product of equal natural factors, or, in other words, an integer that can be expressed as a square or a higher integer power of another integer greater than one. More formally, ''n' ...
. (since when b is a perfect rth power, it can be shown that there is at most one n value such that \frac is prime, and this n value is r itself or a
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
of r) # b is not in the form -4k^4. (if so, then the number has aurifeuillean factorization) has generalized repunit primes of the form :R_p(b)=\frac for prime p, the prime numbers will be distributed near the best fit line : Y=G \cdot \log_\left( \log_\left( R_(n) \right) \right)+C, where limit n\rightarrow\infty, G=\frac=0.561459483566... and there are about : \left( \log_e(N)+m \cdot \log_e(2) \cdot \log_e \big( \log_e(N) \big) +\frac-\delta \right) \cdot \frac base-''b'' repunit primes less than ''N''. *e is the base of natural logarithm. *\gamma is Euler–Mascheroni constant. *\log_ is the
logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a number  to the base  is the exponent to which must be raised, to produce . For example, since , the ''logarithm base'' 10 of ...
in base , b, *R_(n) is the nth generalized repunit prime in base''b'' (with prime ''p'') *C is a data fit constant which varies with b. *\delta=1 if b>0, \delta=1.6 if b<0. *m is the largest natural number such that -b is a 2^th power. We also have the following 3 properties: # The number of prime numbers of the form \frac (with prime p) less than or equal to n is about e^\gamma \cdot \log_\big(\log_(n)\big). # The expected number of prime numbers of the form \frac with prime p between n and , b, \cdot n is about e^\gamma. # The probability that number of the form \frac is prime (for prime p) is about \frac.


History

Although they were not then known by that name, repunits in base-10 were studied by many mathematicians during the nineteenth century in an effort to work out and predict the cyclic patterns of
repeating decimal A repeating decimal or recurring decimal is decimal representation of a number whose digits are periodic (repeating its values at regular intervals) and the infinitely repeated portion is not zero. It can be shown that a number is rational i ...
s. It was found very early on that for any prime ''p'' greater than 5, the period of the decimal expansion of 1/''p'' is equal to the length of the smallest repunit number that is divisible by ''p''. Tables of the period of reciprocal of primes up to 60,000 had been published by 1860 and permitted the factorization by such mathematicians as Reuschle of all repunits up to ''R16'' and many larger ones. By 1880, even ''R17'' to ''R36'' had been factored and it is curious that, though Édouard Lucas showed no prime below three million had period nineteen, there was no attempt to test any repunit for primality until early in the twentieth century. The American mathematician Oscar Hoppe proved ''R19'' to be prime in 1916 and Lehmer and Kraitchik independently found ''R23'' to be prime in 1929. Further advances in the study of repunits did not occur until the 1960s, when computers allowed many new factors of repunits to be found and the gaps in earlier tables of prime periods corrected. ''R317'' was found to be a probable prime circa 1966 and was proved prime eleven years later, when ''R1031'' was shown to be the only further possible prime repunit with fewer than ten thousand digits. It was proven prime in 1986, but searches for further prime repunits in the following decade consistently failed. However, there was a major side-development in the field of generalized repunits, which produced a large number of new primes and probable primes. Since 1999, four further probably prime repunits have been found, but it is unlikely that any of them will be proven prime in the foreseeable future because of their huge size. The Cunningham project endeavours to document the integer factorizations of (among other numbers) the repunits to base 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12.


Demlo numbers

D. R. Kaprekar Dattatreya Ramchandra Kaprekar ( mr, दत्तात्रेय रामचंद्र कापरेकर; 17 January 1905 – 1986) was an Indian recreational mathematician who described several classes of natural numbers incl ...
has defined Demlo numbers as concatenation of a left, middle and right part, where the left and right part must be of the same length (up to a possible leading zero to the left) and must add up to a repdigit number, and the middle part may contain any additional number of this repeated digit. They are named after Demlo railway station (now called Dombivili) 30 miles from Bombay on the then
G.I.P. Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
, where Kaprekar started investigating them. He calls ''Wonderful Demlo numbers'' those of the form 1, 121, 12321, 1234321, ..., 12345678987654321. The fact that these are the squares of the repunits has led some authors to call Demlo numbers the infinite sequence of these, 1, 121, 12321, ..., 12345678987654321, 1234567900987654321, 123456790120987654321, ..., , although one can check these are not Demlo numbers for ''p'' = 10, 19, 28, ...


See also

* All one polynomial — Another generalization * Goormaghtigh conjecture *
Repeating decimal A repeating decimal or recurring decimal is decimal representation of a number whose digits are periodic (repeating its values at regular intervals) and the infinitely repeated portion is not zero. It can be shown that a number is rational i ...
* Repdigit * Wagstaff prime — can be thought of as repunit primes with negative base b = -2


Footnotes


Notes


References


References

* * * * * * * * *


External links

*
The main tables
of th
Cunningham project

Repunit
at The Prime Pages by Chris Caldwell.
Repunits and their prime factors
a
World!Of Numbers


of at least 1000 decimal digits by Andy Steward

Giovanni Di Maria's repunit primes page.
Smallest odd prime p such that (b^p-1)/(b-1) and (b^p+1)/(b+1) is prime for bases 2<=b<=1024Factorization of repunit numbers
{{Prime number classes Integers Base-dependent integer sequences