Erdős Problem #342

The problem

With $a_1=1$ and $a_2=2$ let $a_{n+1}$ for $n\geq 2$ be the least integer $>a_n$ which can be expressed uniquely as $a_i+a_j$ for $i<j\leq n$.

What can be said about this sequence? Do infinitely many pairs $a,a+2$ occur? Does this sequence eventually have periodic differences? Is the density $0$?

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/342, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [ErGr80,p.53]. Current status there: open.

AI contributions

As recorded in Terence Tao's wiki AI contributions to Erdős problems (data as of 30 Jun 2026). 🟢 full, 🟡 partial, ⚪ unverified, 🔴 incorrect.

Caveats

The wiki's classifications are provisional and are not a benchmark. Many Erdős problems have never had a thorough literature review, so a result that looks new may later turn out to be known; some problems were also stated ambiguously or incorrectly. See the problem page for the full discussion.

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