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Jonas Siurys
Abstract
We prove that for each positive integer k in the range 2 6 k 6 10 and for each positive integer
k 79 (mod 120) there is a k-step Fibonacci-like sequence of composite numbers and give
some examples of such sequences. This is a natural extension of a result of Graham for the
Fibonacci-like sequence.
1. Introduction
For each integer k > 2 one can define a k-step Fibonacci-like sequence, that is, the sequence of
integers (xn )
n=0 satisfying the following relation
xn =
k
X
xni
i=1
361
in his proof, while [3] contains some explicit calculations, and examples of sequences for fixed
c1 , c2 and the proof do not use external results.
All proofs of Theorem 1.1 for k = 2 are based on the fact that the Fibonacci sequence is a
regular divisibility sequence, that is, F0 = 0 and Fn | Fm if n | m. However, by a result of Hall
[6], there are no regular divisibility sequences in the case S(0, a1 , a2 ) for any a1 , a2 Z. These
difficulties have recently been overcome, and Theorem 1.1 was proved for k = 3 in [13], where
we constructed the sequence
S3 (99 202 581 681 909 167 232, 67 600 144 946 390 082 339, 139 344 212 815 127 987 596)
of composite numbers.
Section 3 of this paper is devoted to the generalisation of the proof developed in [13]. We
will describe the set of positive integer triples and show how to prove Theorem 1.1 if this set is
given. In 4 we will prove Theorem 1.1 for all k 79 (mod 120) and construct corresponding
sequences for these cases. Finally, we will give an algorithm for the construction of the set of
positive integer triples, and list examples of k-step Fibonacci-like sequences for k in the range
4 6 k 6 10.
2. Auxiliary lemmas
We start with the following elementary property of the k-step Fibonacci-like sequence.
Let a = (a0 , a1 , . . . , ak1 ) Zk . Define Sk (a) = Sk (a0 , a1 , . . . , ak1 ). We will denote by Fk
the set of all k-step Fibonacci-like sequences.
Lemma 2.1. We have that Fk is a free abelian group of rank k, and the map
Zk Fk ,
a Sk (a)
i
i
i
(s(i)
n )n=0 = Sk (0 , 1 , . . . , k1 )
for i = 1, 2, . . . , k 1, where ji is Kroneckers delta symbol. Let p be a prime number and let
(yn )
n=0 Sk (0, a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 ) (mod p) for a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 Z. Lemma 2.1 implies
yn
k1
X
ai sn(i)
(mod p).
(2.1)
i=1
Lemma 2.2. Fix k > 3. Let p be a prime number and let (yn )
n=0 Sk (0, a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 )
(mod p) with some ai Z for i in the range 1 6 i 6 k 1. Suppose that m > 2 is an integer. If
yim 0 (mod p) for i satisfying 1 6 i 6 k 1, then ylm 0 (mod p) for l = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
Proof. Let
A=
1 1
1 0
1 0
.. ..
. .
1 0
1 0
1 0
0
1
0
..
.
...
...
...
..
.
0
0
0
..
.
0
0
0
0
0
0
...
...
...
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
J. SIURYS
362
be a k k matrix and
(2.2)
s2m
(1)
...
s(k1)m
(2)
s2m
..
.
(2)
...
..
.
(k1)
...
s(k1)m
..
.
(k1)
s(k1)m
sm
Bk,m =
sm
..
.
(k1)
sm
s2m
(1)
(2)
(2.3)
for each positive integer m. Let |Bk,m | be the determinant of the matrix (2.3).
Lemma 2.3. Let m > 2 be an integer. If p is prime number and
|Bk,m | 0
(mod p)
then there exist a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 Z such that ai is not divisible by p for at least one
i = 1, 2, . . . k 1, and
k1
X
(i)
ai slm 0 (mod p)
i=1
for l = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
Pk1
Pk1
(i)
(i)
Proof. Set yn = i=1 ai sn . Since y0 = i=1 ai s0 = 0, by Lemma 2.2, it suffices to show
that there exist suitable a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 Z such that ylm 0 (mod p) for l = 1, 2, . . . , k 1.
Our aim is to solve the following system of linear equations:
(a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 )Bk,m (0, 0, . . . , 0)
(mod p).
(2.4)
Let us consider system (2.4) as a homogeneous linear system over the finite field Z/pZ.
The assumption |Bk,m | 0 (mod p) implies that the rank of the system (2.4) is at most
k 2. Therefore, the system has a non-trivial solution in Z/pZ. In other words, there exist
a1 , a2 , . . . , ak1 Z such that ai is not divisible by p for at least one i = 1, 2, . . . k 1.
2
3. General case
Let I be a positive integer (to be defined later). Our goal is to find a finite set Sk (N ) of positive
integer triples (pi , mi , ri ) (i = 1, 2, . . . , I) with the following properties.
363
(mod mi )
(3.1)
cover the integers; that is, for any integer x there is some index i, 1 6 i 6 I, such that
x ri (mod mi ).
Now, suppose that we already found the set Sk (N ) and that I is a fixed positive integer. Choose
i, where 1 6 i 6 I. Since Bk,mi 0 (mod pi ), by Lemma 2.3, there exist ai,1 , ai,2 , . . . , ai,k1
Z such that ai,j is not divisible by pi for at least one j = 1, 2, . . . k 1, and
k1
X
(j)
ai,j slmi 0
(mod pi )
(3.2)
j=1
for l = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
We shall construct the sequence (xn )
n=0 = Sk (x0 , x1 , . . . , xk1 ) satisfying
xn
k1
X
(j)
smi ri +n ai,j
(mod pi ) i = 1, 2, . . . I
(3.3)
j=1
for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . . Set
Ai,0 =
k1
X
(j)
smi ri ai,j ,
j=1
Ai,1 =
k1
X
(j)
smi ri +1 ai,j ,
j=1
(3.4)
..
.
Ai,k1 =
k1
X
(j)
j=1
(mod pi ),
x1 Ai,1
..
.
(mod pi ),
xk1 Ai,k1
(3.5)
(mod pi )
J. SIURYS
364
then, by (3.5),
Ai,0 0
(mod p),
Ai,1 0
..
.
(mod p),
Ai,k1 0
(mod p).
(3.6)
Let
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
...
smi ri +k1
(2)
...
..
.
smi ri +k1
..
.
(k1)
smi ri +k1
smi ri
smi ri +1
s(2)
C = mi.ri
..
(k1)
smi ri
smi ri +1
..
.
(k1)
smi ri +1
...
be a (k 1) k matrix over the finite field Z/pZ. By (3.4) and (3.6), we get
(ai,1 , ai,2 , . . . , ai,k1 )C (0, 0, . . . , 0)
The system of equations (3.7) has a non-trivial solution
(1)
(1)
s
smi ri
mi ri 1
(2)
s(2)
smi ri
i 1
rank(C) = rank mi r
..
..
.
.
(k1)
(k1)
smi ri 1 smi ri
(1)
= rank
(1)
s0
(2)
s0
..
.
(k1)
s0
= rank
0
0
0
..
.
1
0
0
..
.
s1
(2)
s1
..
.
...
...
..
.
(k1)
...
s1
(mod p).
(3.7)
if rank(C) 6 k 2. But
(1)
. . . smi ri +k2
(2)
. . . smi ri +k2
..
..
.
.
(k1)
. . . smi ri +k2
0
1
0
..
.
...
...
...
..
.
0
0
0
..
.
0
0
0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
...
...
...
1
0
0
0
1
0
(1)
sk1
(2)
sk1
..
.
(k1)
sk1
0
0
= k 1,
0
1
(3.8)
365
Lemma 4.1. Suppose that the numbers k, p and the sequence (yn )
n=0 are defined as in
Lemma 2.2. If there is a positive integer l such that
l1
X
yn 0
(mod p)
(4.1)
(mod p) for n = l, l + 1, l + 2, . . . ,
(4.2)
n=0
and
yn ynl
(mod p)
(mod p)
(4.3)
for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
Proof. If t = 0, then the statement of the lemma is trivial. Let t > 1. By the definition of the
(t)
Let r > k be an integer
sequence yn , n = 0, 1, 2, . . . , (4.3) is true for n = 0, 1, . . . , tl + k 1. P
r+l1
and suppose (4.3) is true for n = 0, 1, . . . tl + r 1. By (4.1) and (4.2), n=r yn 0 (mod p)
for any positive integer r. Thus we have
(t)
ytl+r
tl+r1
X
i=rk
yi
r1
X
yi yr ytl+r
(mod p).
i=rk
and
(1, 2, 0)B4,3 = (0, 0, 0)
(mod 11).
(4.4)
(mod 11)
(t)
J. SIURYS
366
that
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
4
4
4
4
4
24
28
30
31
32
32
191
223
239
247
251
253
1508
1761
1888
= 5 17
1952
1984
2000
and
(1, 2, 0, 2, 4, 0)B7,3 = (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
(mod 5),
(mod 17).
(mod 5)
(4.5)
(mod 17)
(4.6)
0
(mod
5)
and
i=0 i
i=0 vi 0
(u(t)
n )n=0 S12t+7 (u0 , u1 , . . . , u12t+6 )
and
(vn(t) )
n=0 S24t+7 (v0 , v1 , . . . , v24t+6 )
(t)
satisfy the property (4.3) for t = 0, 1, 2, . . . . Hence, the sequence un for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . satisfies
(t)
the property (4.5), and the sequence vn for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . satisfies the property (4.6) for
t = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
Set t1 = 8t + 5, t2 = 10t + 6, t3 = 5t + 3 for some positive integer t. Our goal is to find a
(t)
sequence xn for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . satisfying the following conditions for every positive integer n:
(t1 )
x(t)
n yn
x(t)
n
(t)
xn
(t2 )
un+1
(t3 )
vn+2
(mod 11),
(mod 5),
(mod 17).
(4.7)
(t)
(t)
367
(t)
Using the definition of the sequences yn , un , and vn for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . we can rewrite (4.7)
as
(x(t)
n )n=0 S120t+79 (y0 , y1 , . . . , y120t+78 )
(x(t)
n )n=0
(x(t)
n )n=0
(mod 11),
(mod 5),
(mod 17).
By the Chinese remainder theorem, the system of equations (4.7) has a solution for every
non-negative integer t. For t = 0 we find that
(x(0)
n )n=0 = S79 (121, 782, 145, 902, 289, 710, 264, 493, 865, 693, 731, 560, 66, 697, 195,
407, 34, 310, 484, 663, 325, 803, 306, 205, 121, 357, 230, 902, 884, 30, 264,
408, 695, 693, 476, 50, 66, 867, 535, 407, 544, 395, 484, 323, 580, 803, 221,
35, 121, 102, 655, 902, 119, 370, 264, 918, 780, 693, 136, 305, 66, 782, 365,
407, 289, 820, 484, 493, 920, 803, 731, 120, 121, 697, 910, 902, 34, 200, 264),
and for t > 0 we define
(0)
(0)
(0)
(x(t)
n )n=0 = S120t+79 (x0 , x1 , . . . , x120t+78 ).
By (4.3), (4.7) and by the properties (4.4)(4.6), it follows immediately that the following hold.
(t)
(t)
J. SIURYS
368
primes list {}
sk (N ) {}
divisors list list of N divisors
for d divisors list do
Construct the matrix Bk,d {see 2}
determinant |Bk,d |
factors list prime factors of determinant
for factor factors list do
if factor 6 primes list then
Put factor in primes list
Put (f actor, divisor) in sk (N )
end if
end for
end for
return sk (N )
N lcm(m1 , m2 , . . . , mI )
Covering set {}
B AN
for i from 1 to I do
MAX 0
for r from 0 to mi 1 do
if MAX < |AN (mi , r) B| then
ri r
end if
Put ri (mod mi ) in Covering set
B B\AN (mi , ri )
if B = {} then
return Covering set
end if
end for
end for
print I cant construct a covering system
369
pi
mi
ri
|B4,mi |
11
2
41
1511
521
29
167
33 391
73
251
10 399
13 177
6781
37
195 407
3
5
6
8
9
10
12
15
18
18
20
24
30
36
36
0
0
1
0
2
2
10
8
5
17
4
4
26
14
26
11
26
11 41
1511
11 521
12
2 29
112 41 167
26 11 33 391
11 41 73 251 521
11 41 73 251 521
218 29 10 399
112 41 167 1511 13 177
212 11 29 41 6781 33 391
112 37 41 73 167 251 521 195 407
112 37 41 73 167 251 521 195 407
J. SIURYS
370
pi
mi
ri
|B5,mi |
1
2
3
4
5
2
3
71
47
193
2
4
8
16
16
0
1
3
7
15
22
24 32
26 32 71
28 32 47 71 193
28 32 47 71 193
pi
mi
ri
|B6,mi |
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
5
41
31
239
79
271
1777
257
3 827 975 948 383
4
4
8
8
16
16
16
32
32
0
1
2
3
6
7
14
15
31
5 41
5 41
5 31 41 239
5 31 41 239
5 31 41 79 239 271 1777
5 31 41 79 239 271 1777
5 31 41 79 239 271 1777
5 31 41 79 239 257 271 1777 3 827 975 948 383
5 31 41 79 239 257 271 1777 3 827 975 948 383
pi
mi
ri
|B7,mi |
1
2
3
4
2
5
17
337
2
3
3
6
0
0
1
5
23
5 17
5 17
23 5 17 337
pi
mi
ri
|B8,mi |
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2
3
7
59
41
586 919
151
25 025 941
31
3
5
5
5
6
10
15
15
30
0
0
1
2
1
4
8
13
29
27
32 72 59
32 72 59
32 72 59
215 41
34 72 59 586 919
27 34 72 59 151 25 025 941
27 34 72 59 151 25 025 941
215 38 72 31 41 59 151 586 919 25 025 941 38 457 989
pi
mi
ri
|B9,mi |
1
2
3
4
5
2
31
74 933
2927
4957
2
4
6
12
12
0
1
1
3
11
24
28 31
24 74 933
28 31 2927 4957 74 933
28 31 2927 4957 74 933
pi
mi
ri
|B10,mi |
1
2
3
4
5
3
17
257
7
71
4
4
4
8
8
0
1
2
3
7
3 17 257
3 17 257
3 17 257
33 7 17 71 257 3391
33 7 17 71 257 3391
371
Finally, we give the coefficients of the system of equations (3.5) (see Tables 815). It
is necessary because in Lemma 2.3 we prove only the existence of these coefficients; that
is, with the same set Sk (N ) we can find the different k-step Fibonacci-like sequence
Sk (x0 , x1 , . . . , xk1 ).
Table 8. Coefficients of (3.5) for k = 4.
i
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
0
1
2
0
0
1
0
0
21
0
35
5
0
1
4
1305
421
128
0
9
7
7
0
2
124
64
22
44
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
10
11
12
13
14
15
19 247
25 767
2901
8709
1
46
66
70
1
11
52
64
10 164
752
3340
6542
12 571
7342
5671
770
151
302
603
5420
22
5
25
11
75 748
105 421
65 611
100 766
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
Ai,4
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
2
1
1
39
7
13
0
62
26
10
34
2
14
1
149
29
28
14
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
Ai,4
Ai,5
0
1
4
3
0
1
8
0
18
31
21
0
8
16
0
11
3
23
51
60
120
0
37
65
25
43
35
49
56
29
3
62
126
93
45
79
1147
1159
353
940
46
92
44
123
123
187
116
206
1
1 671 520 683 283
1 187 982 745 969
2 373 684 950 413
1 575 934 864 371
2 981 147 295 654
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
Ai,4
Ai,5
Ai,6
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
2
4
0
2
0
9
1
0
13
9
1
2
115
115
189
0
85
J. SIURYS
372
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
Ai,4
Ai,5
Ai,6
Ai,7
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
2
6
2
4
0
5
35
11
0
51
40
15
30
0
9
0
14
1
2
3
3
0
506 111
249 334
146 730
293 460
0
8526
85 280
511 720
92
80
9
17
18
127
14
96
14 176 025
6 652 214
1 932 056
15 861 862
16 528 118
23 725 749
3 798 202
7 596 404
1
12
17
13
12
12
15
20
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
Ai,4
Ai,5
Ai,6
Ai,7
Ai,8
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
27
23
23
0
16
1
1
33 332
0
72 006
63 225
18 734
37 468
2
0
24 967
143
286
571
0
1286
2185
2886
92
20
1
1095
4380
3835
405
1364
3240
2547
1996
Ai,0
Ai,1
Ai,2
Ai,3
Ai,4
Ai,5
Ai,6
Ai,7
Ai,8
Ai,9
0
1
1
2
0
2
2
1
0
1
8
0
4
16
15
0
16
13
9
0
4
8
0
193
1
2
0
241
193
129
1
5
6
0
3
4
1
1
3
1
1
47
23
11
10
67
33
0
69
48
References
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373
9. T. D. Noe and J. V. Post, Primes in Fibonacci n-step and Lucas n-step sequences, J. Integer Seq. 8
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13. J. Siurys,
A tribonacci-like sequence of composite numbers, Fibonacci Quart. 49 (2011) 298302.
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04.3.7.
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Jonas Siurys
Department of Mathematics and
Informatics
Vilnius University
Naugarduko 24, Vilnius LT-03225
Lithuania
jonas.siurys@gmail.com