Erdős Problem #851

The problem

Let $\epsilon>0$. Is there some $r\ll_\epsilon 1$ such that the density of integers of the form $2^k+n$, where $k\geq 0$ and $n$ has at most $r$ prime divisors, is at least $1-\epsilon$?

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/851, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [Er85c,p.75]. Current status there: proved.

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.

∎