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Problem #489: Let $A\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ be a set such that $\lvert...

Let $A\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ be a set such that $\lvert A\cap [1,x]\rvert=o(x^{1/2})$. Let\[B=\{ n\geq 1 : a\nmid n\textrm{ for all }a\in A\}.\]If...

Problem Statement

Let $A\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ be a set such that $\lvert A\cap [1,x]\rvert=o(x^{1/2})$. Let\[B=\{ n\geq 1 : a\nmid n\textrm{ for all }a\in A\}.\]If $B=\{b_1<b_2<\cdots\}$ then is it true that\[\lim \frac{1}{x}\sum_{b_i<x}(b_{i+1}-b_i)^2\]exists (and is finite)?
Categories: Number Theory

Progress

For example, when $A=\{p^2: p\textrm{ prime}\}$ then $B$ is the set of squarefree numbers, and the existence of this limit was proved by Erdős.

See also [208].

Source: erdosproblems.com/489 | Last verified: January 15, 2026

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