Erdős Problem #460

The problem

Let $a_0=0$ and $a_1=1$, and in general define $a_k$ to be the least integer $>a_{k-1}$ for which $(n-a_k,n-a_i)=1$ for all $0\leq i<k$. Does

$$\sum_{0<a_i< n}\frac{1}{a_i}\to \infty$$

as $n\to \infty$? What about if we restrict the sum to those $i$ such that $n-a_j$ is divisible by some prime $\leq a_j$, or the complement of such $i$?

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/460, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [Er77c,p.64][ErGr80,p.91]. 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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