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Source. Theorem 1, p. 1 of the arXiv PDF; proof pp. 2--3. Proposition 1, p. 1; proof pp. 3--4. The proof of Theorem 1 uses the quoted Lemma 1 (Weyl–van der Corput, p. 2). Read on the rendered pages.

Statement

For a real number λ≥0\lambda\ge0 put

Sλ=∑n≥0[nλ]n!,S_\lambda=\sum_{n\ge0}\frac{[n^\lambda]}{n!},

[⋅][\cdot] the integer part. Then the set

{1,e}∪{Sλ:λ∈(0,∞)∖Z}\{1,e\}\cup\{S_\lambda:\lambda\in(0,\infty)\setminus\mathbb{Z}\}

is Q\mathbb{Q}-linearly independent.

The paper presents this as an explicit set of uncountably many Q\mathbb{Q}-linearly independent real numbers (p. 1). Integer values of λ\lambda are excluded; for λ=1\lambda=1, for instance, the series is ∑n≥11/(n−1)!=e\sum_{n\ge1}1/(n-1)!=e.

Proposition 1 (p. 1). The map λ↦Sλ\lambda\mapsto S_\lambda is injective, monotone and continuous from the right. Its image has the cardinality of the continuum, has Hausdorff dimension 00, and is totally disconnected.

Proof structure

Theorem 1 (pp. 2--3). It suffices to show that, for nonzero integers a1,…,aka_1,\ldots,a_k and exponents 0≤λ1<⋯<λk0\le\lambda_1<\cdots<\lambda_k none of which is an integer ≥2\ge2, at least one of them nonzero, the number ∑n≥0(a1[nλ1]+⋯+ak[nλk])/n!\sum_{n\ge0}\big(a_1[n^{\lambda_1}]+\cdots+a_k[n^{\lambda_k}]\big)/n! is irrational. If it equals p/qp/q, then for n≥qn\ge q the scaled tail is an integer; truncating it at ν=[λk]+1\nu=[\lambda_k]+1 and dropping the integer parts costs O(1/n)O(1/n), giving formula (1) (p. 3): the distance to the nearest integer of a finite sum f(n)f(n) is ≪1/n\ll1/n. If λk<1\lambda_k<1 this is contradicted directly. If λk>1\lambda_k>1, the non-integrality of λk\lambda_k gives K∈NK\in\mathbb{N} such that f(K+1)(t)f^{(K+1)}(t) and f(K+2)(t)f^{(K+2)}(t) do not change sign for t>t0t>t_0, f(K)(t)/t→0f^{(K)}(t)/t\to0 and 1/(tf(K+1)(t))→01/(tf^{(K+1)}(t))\to0 as t→∞t\to\infty, so f(n)f(n) is equidistributed modulo 11 (Lemma 1 and Hlawka's book), which contradicts (1).

Proposition 1 (pp. 3--4). Injectivity: for λ2>λ1\lambda_2>\lambda_1 and large nn the integer parts differ by at least 11. Right continuity: a tail bound on St−SλS_t-S_\lambda for tt slightly above λ\lambda. Total disconnectedness follows from Theorem 1, since an interval of positive length in the image would contain infinitely many rationals. Hausdorff dimension 00: the partial sums up to NN take at most Nt+2N^{t+2} values on [t,t+1][t,t+1], and the tail is below N−AN^{-A} for any fixed AA.

Where scrutiny would begin

Recorded for a future review; none has been made. The proof treats the cases λk<1\lambda_k<1 and λk>1\lambda_k>1; the reduction admits λk=1\lambda_k=1 (an integer below 22), which is not treated separately in the text.

Bears on. No catalog problem directly.