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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. Write τ⊥(n)\tau_\perp(n) for the number of indices ii with (di,di+1)=1(d_i,d_{i+1})=1 among the divisors 1=d1<⋯<dτ(n)=n1=d_1<\cdots<d_{\tau(n)}=n, the function of Problem 1100 (the paper calls it f(n)f(n)). P. Erdős and G. Tenenbaum, Sur les fonctions arithmétiques liées aux diviseurs consécutifs, J. Number Theory 31 (1989), no. 3, 285--311, prove two bounds that settle the problem's first two questions. Its Corollaire 2 gives the normal order

(log⁡n)log⁡3−1+o(1)<τ⊥(n)<(log⁡n)log⁡2−12+o(1)(\log n)^{\log3-1+o(1)}<\tau_\perp(n)<(\log n)^{\log2-\frac12+o(1)}

for almost all nn, the lower bound from Théorème 3 of the paper and the upper bound from the authors' earlier work; since ω(n)∼log⁡log⁡n\omega(n)\sim\log\log n for almost all nn, the ratio τ⊥(n)/ω(n)\tau_\perp(n)/\omega(n) tends to infinity on a set of density one, which answers the first question in the affirmative. Its Théorème 4 gives the maximal order

max⁡n≤xτ⊥(n)≥exp⁡(((log⁡2)2+o(1))log⁡x(log⁡log⁡x)2)(x≥3),\max_{n\le x}\tau_\perp(n) \ge\exp\Bigl(\bigl((\log2)^2+o(1)\bigr)\frac{\log x}{(\log\log x)^2}\Bigr) \qquad(x\ge3),

a bound Erdős had stated in 1985 [Er85] with a sketch; since log⁡x/(log⁡log⁡x)2\log x/(\log\log x)^2 is not (log⁡x)o(1)(\log x)^{o(1)}, there are infinitely many nn with τ⊥(n)≥exp⁡((log⁡n)1−o(1))\tau_\perp(n)\ge\exp((\log n)^{1-o(1)}), and the second question, whether τ⊥(n)<exp⁡((log⁡n)o(1))\tau_\perp(n)<\exp((\log n)^{o(1)}) for all nn, has the answer no. The paper also makes the Erdős--Simonovits upper bound for the squarefree extremal function explicit: its Théorème 1, which it says develops an unpublished argument of Erdős and Simonovits, gives τ⊥(n)≪τ(n)1−c\tau_\perp(n)\ll\tau(n)^{1-c} for squarefree nn with c=53−log⁡3/log⁡2=0.0817…c=\tfrac53-\log3/\log2=0.0817\ldots, that is g(k)≤(3⋅2−2/3+o(1))k=(1.8898…)kg(k)\le(3\cdot2^{-2/3}+o(1))^k=(1.8898\ldots)^k, while its Théorème 2 shows τ⊥(n)/τ(n)≥1/(2Ω(n))\tau_\perp(n)/\tau(n)\ge1/(2\Omega(n)) for infinitely many nn.

Covers. The first question (yes: τ⊥(n)/ω(n)→∞\tau_\perp(n)/\omega(n)\to\infty for almost all nn) and the second question (no: the bound exp⁡((log⁡n)o(1))\exp((\log n)^{o(1)}) fails for infinitely many nn). The claim value is answered because the claim answers the first question yes and the second no. The third question, the growth of g(k)g(k), is not determined: the paper's explicit constant bounds g(k)1/kg(k)^{1/k} above by 3⋅2−2/33\cdot2^{-2/3} and leaves the gap to the lower bounds, for which see the consequence g(k)≥Fk+1g(k)\ge F_{k+1} of Chevyrev, Searles and Slinko's theorem drawn on the problem page and Ross's pending golden-ratio bound. The maximal-order question Erdős asked in [Er85], display (27), whether τ⊥(n)<exp⁡(ϵlog⁡n/log⁡log⁡n)\tau_\perp(n)<\exp(\epsilon\log n/\log\log n) for every ϵ>0\epsilon>0 and large nn, is not in the site's statement and is not covered; it is the subject of Korsky's pending claim.

Acceptance. Refereed: the paper appeared in the Journal of Number Theory, volume 31, issue 3 (March 1989), communicated by R. L. Graham and received 10 December 1987; the Crossref record of its DOI gives these data. Read depth: the introduction's numbered theorems, from the author-archive scan (second link); the proofs are not checked. The site's problem page (last edited 19 October 2025) does not cite the paper and lists the problem as open.