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Erdős problem 649

Let P(m)P(m) denote the greatest prime factor of mm. Is it true that, for any two primes p,qp,q, there exists some integer nn such that P(n)=pP(n)=p and P(n+1)=qP(n+1)=q?

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FormalConjectures/ErdosProblems/

649.lean

Retained formal statement1 of 6

Let P(m)P(m) denote the greatest prime factor of mm. Is it true that, for any two primes p,qp,q, there exists some integer nn such that P(n)=pP(n)=p and P(n+1)=qP(n+1)=q?

In fact, the answer to this question as written is easily seen to be no, since there are no solutions to 2k≡−1(mod7)2^k\equiv -1\pmod{7}, and hence this fails with p=2p=2 and q=7q=7. It is possible that Erdős meant to exclude such obstructions, by amending this to 'odd primes' or 'all sufficiently large primes' or such.

FormalConjectures/ErdosProblems/649.leanErdos649.erdos_6491 lineExact file
False ↔ ∀ (p q : ℕ), Nat.Prime p → Nat.Prime q → ∃ n, n.maxPrimeFac = p ∧ (n + 1).maxPrimeFac = q
SolvedProof has a holelean4external proof

The proof uses `sorry`: part of the argument is written but not proved. Lean accepts the file; it does not accept the theorem.