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Research notes on every problem, and a library of the papers behind them. Built from the open erdos repository.

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Claim. For p=2p=2 and every 1≤a≤2561\le a\le256 the exponents kk with 2k∣a1!+⋯+an!2^k\mid a_1!+\cdots+a_n! for some a=a1<⋯<ana=a_1<\cdots<a_n are bounded, the first question of Problem 404 at these pairs, and the largest such exponent f(a,2)f(a,2) is computed exactly; in particular f(2,2)=254f(2,2)=254, the value of Lin's upper bound on his page, and the largest value in the range is f(34,2)=18444f(34,2)=18444. Kenta Kitamura, under the forum name KentaKitamura, announced the repository KitaKen1/erdos-404-p2-landscape in the site's discussion thread on 7 July 2026; its README (linked at the commit of that day, data status 6 July 2026) is the write-up. Each value is certified from both sides: an explicit increasing list whose factorial sum is divisible by 2f(a,2)2^{f(a,2)}, and an exhaustive search showing that no list reaches 2f(a,2)+12^{f(a,2)+1}. The search is finite because, by Legendre's formula, v2(n!)≥K+1v_2(n!)\ge K+1 for all nn beyond a point, after which every factorial vanishes modulo 2K+12^{K+1}; the candidate terms are therefore bounded, and a dynamic program over the reachable residues of partial sums modulo 2K+12^{K+1} decides whether 00 is reached. For odd aa the value freezes at f(a,2)=v2(a!)f(a,2)=v_2(a!), since every later factorial is divisible by a higher power of 22 than a!a!; for even aa the values vary widely. Three values carry Lean 4 certificates: the file S404_lean4web_2_2.lean (the formalization link) proves f(2,2)=254f(2,2)=254 from both sides, the lower bound from the 119119-term witness and the upper bound by running the finite search inside the kernel with decide, in core Lean without Mathlib and, as its header says, with no axiom beyond propext; companion files prove f(4,2)=6f(4,2)=6 and f(5,2)=3f(5,2)=3. This corpus has not built them, so they give no formalized evidence. The post and the README say the repository, the Lean files and the post were prepared with assistance from Codex 5.5 (xhigh reasoning), ChatGPT 5.5 Pro and Claude Code (Fable 5); the human submitter is the claimant, with the systems named as the submitter names them.

Submission note. Posted to the site's forum by Kenta Kitamura on 7 July 2026:

I made an attempt repository for exact values in the p=2p=2 column of Problem #404: f(a,2)(1≤a≤256).f(a,2)\quad(1\le a\le256). Repository: https://github.com/KitaKen1/erdos-404-p2-landscape Visual table: https://kitaken1.github.io/erdos-404-p2-landscape/

In particular: f(2,2)=254.f(2,2)=254. This is worth singling out because the Problem #404 page records Lin's upper bound f(2,2)≤254f(2,2)\le254; the repository gives the matching lower-bound witness and a two-sided Lean/lean4web check. Lean4web for f(2,2)=254f(2,2)=254: https://live.lean-lang.org/#url=https%3A%2F%2Fraw.githubusercontent.com%2FKitaKen1%2Ferdos-404-p2-landscape%2Fmain%2Flean%2FS404_lean4web_2_2.lean

Here v2(m)v_2(m) denotes the exponent of 22 in mm. The lower-bound side is just an explicit increasing list whose factorial sum is divisible by the claimed power of 22. The upper-bound side is finite: by Legendre's formula,$v_2(n!)=\lfloor n/2\rfloor+\lfloor n/4\rfloor+\lfloor n/8\rfloor+\cdots,$ so to rule out exponent K+1K+1, search modulo 2K+12^{K+1}, and once v2(n!)≥K+1v_2(n!)\ge K+1, all later factorials are 00 modulo 2K+12^{K+1}.

For odd aa, this immediately freezes the value at f(a,2)=v2(a!)f(a,2)=v_2(a!). For even aa, cancellations make the values much wilder.

The repository also records a few observations from the table. For example, the largest value found in 1≤a≤2561\le a\le256 is f(34,2)=18444.f(34,2)=18444.

AI usage: the repository, Lean files, and this comment were prepared with assistance from Codex 5.5 (xhigh reasoning), ChatGPT 5.5 Pro, and Claude Code (Fable 5).

Covers. The first question for p=2p=2 and each 1≤a≤2561\le a\le256: a finite bound exists, with f(a,2)f(a,2) computed exactly, for example f(2,2)=254f(2,2)=254, f(4,2)=6f(4,2)=6, f(5,2)=3f(5,2)=3 and f(34,2)=18444f(34,2)=18444. Not covered: a>256a>256, odd primes (the odd-prime rows are on the companion page), the behavior of ff in general, and the third question.

Depends on. No page of this wiki.

Standing. Claimed: a research note in a public repository, unrefereed, not cited by the site's commentary, with Lean certificates this corpus has not built; the site labels the problem OPEN. The claim stays claimed.