Counting composites with two strong liars
- Eric Bach,
- University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Open access
Abstract
The strong probable primality test is an important practical tool for discovering prime numbers. Its effectiveness derives from the following fact: For any odd composite number n, if a base a is chosen at random, the algorithm is unlikely to claim that n is prime. If this does happen we call a a liar. In 1986, Erdos and Pomerance computed the normal and average number of liars, over all n ≤ x. We continue this theme and use a variety of techniques to count n ≤ x with exactly two strong liars, those being the n for which the strong test is maximally effective. We evaluate this count asymptotically and give an improved algorithm to determine it exactly. We also provide asymptotic counts for the restricted case in which n has two prime factors, and for the n with exactly two Euler liars.
Scholarship
Output type
Original language
EnglishPages from-to (Number of pages)
Pages 3069-3089 (21 pages)Journal (Volume, Issue Number)
Mathematics of Computation (Volume 84, Issue 296)Publication milestones
- Published - 2015
Publication status
ISSN
0025-5718Publication IDs
- Scopus: 85000613382
