REVIEW 5 minor 75 references
Some of Erd\H os' unconventional problems in number theory, thirty-four years later
T0 review · 0 major / 5 minor · reviewed 2026-08-14 · deepseek-v4-flash
Pith's one-line read Tenenbaum surveys progress on Erdős' problems about divisors, sets of multiples, and prime factors, and proves that the distribution of τ+(n)/τ(n) is continuous at 1.
desk verdict A genuine but small new result inside a useful survey; the proof of Theorem 1 is too sketchy to verify from the page alone, but the paper deserves referee time. read the letter →
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
The reading
Extended reading notes
Core claim
The paper's strongest mathematical assertion is Theorem 1: 'The distribution function ν is continuous at z = 1.' Here ν(z) is the limiting distribution of τ+(n)/τ(n), where τ+(n) counts the number of dyadic intervals that contain at least one divisor of n. If true, this answers, for the endpoint z=1, a question about the discontinuity points of ν that the author reports as open.
Load-bearing premise
The proof of Theorem 1 relies on Lemma 48.1 from Hall and Tenenbaum's book Divisors (1988). The lemma asserts that the discrepancy of the sequence {(log m)/log 2 : m | (n/nε)} is at most ε on a subsequence of lower density 1 - ε/3. The proof also uses Theorem 51 of the same book, which provides two close divisors on a set of density close to 1. If either of these cited results is false or is misapplied here, the continuity conclusion would not follow. These lemmas are not restated in the paper, only cited.
Signed reviews
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. This paper is a historical survey of Erdős's 1979 article [24] on unconventional problems in number theory, thirty-four years after its publication. The author updates the status of each problem, describes descendants and posterity, and includes two original results: Theorem 1 proves that the limiting distribution ν(z) of τ_+(n)/τ(n) is continuous at z = 1, and Theorem 2 gives a direct proof that an integer sequence with logarithmic density 1 has a set of multiples with natural density 1. The survey covers close divisors, the Erdős–Hooley Delta function, Behrend sequences, divisor statistics, and problems on largest prime factors of consecutive integers, with extensive references.
Significance. If correct, Theorem 1 answers the endpoint part of an open problem raised in the paper, namely the determination of discontinuity points of ν. Theorem 2 provides an elementary self-contained proof of a statement that follows from the Davenport–Erdős theorem, and the proof is interesting in its own right. As a survey, the paper is authoritative and unusually informative: it is written by a leading contributor to the subject and includes many recent results with precise statements. The author is careful to point out limitations, notably in footnote 3, where he notes that Theorem 1 does not yield a new proof of Erdős's conjecture (9) because a refinement of (9) was used. The survey statements appear accurate, and the proofs of the two theorems are plausible; Theorem 2's proof is self-contained.
minor comments (5)
- [Proof of Theorem 1] The proof relies on Theorem 51 and Lemma 48.1 of [46] without stating them; please include their precise statements or at least a clear description so that the proof can be checked without the book. Also fix the notation '2εd' to '2^ε d' and 'T ε' to 'T_ε'.
- [Proof of Theorem 1] In the same proof, specify that the discrepancy in Lemma 48.1 refers to the fractional parts {(log m)/log 2} modulo 1, since the argument depends on distances to integers.
- [Proof of Theorem 1] The assertion 'τ(n_ε) ≤ log T_ε holds on a sequence of lower density 1 − ε/3' is stated without proof or reference; please add a brief justification or a citation to a standard result on smooth parts of integers.
- [Footnote 3] Footnote 3 correctly notes that Theorem 1 does not provide a new proof of (9) because a refinement of (9) was used; this circularity is acknowledged, but it would help to also mention this dependency near the statement of Theorem 1 so readers are not misled.
- [Throughout] There are numerous OCR/typographical errors (e.g., '3 ω (n)' for '3^{ω(n)}', 'greaterorequalslant' for '≥', 'd, d, d' for the three density symbols); a careful proofreading pass would improve readability.
Assumptions & free parameters
assumptions (4)
- standard math Davenport-Erdős theorem: for any integer sequence A, the natural density and logarithmic density of the set of multiples M(A) are equal.
- standard math Existence and basic properties of the distribution function ν of τ+(n)/τ(n), established in Hall-Tenenbaum's Divisors (1988).
- standard math Mertens' theorem on the product over primes ≤ y of (1 - 1/p).
- standard math Erdős-Kac theorem on the Gaussian distribution of ω(n).
Cite this review
Pith. "Pith review of Some of Erd\H os' unconventional problems in number theory, thirty-four years later." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/QVT35H4T
@misc{pith2026190800488,
author = {Pith},
title = {Pith review of: Some of Erd\H os' unconventional problems in number theory, thirty-four years later},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/QVT35H4T}},
note = {Machine review of arXiv:1908.00488}
}
read the original abstract
We give an historical account, including recent progress, on some problems of Erd\H os in number theory.
Reference graph
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