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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. Theorem 3 (p. 6) of P. Erdős, Some problems and results on the irrationality of the sum of infinite series, J. Math. Sci. 10 (1975), 1--7, states that if nk>0n_k>0 and nk≡0(mod22k)n_k\equiv0\pmod{2^{2^k}} for every kk, then

∑k≥11nk\sum_{k\ge1}\frac{1}{n_k}

is irrational; the paper notes that the sequence nkn_k is not assumed monotone. On pp. 2--3 Erdős recalls the property PP he and Straus considered, that a sequence n1<n2<⋯n_1<n_2<\cdots has property PP when ∑k1/mk\sum_k1/m_k is irrational for every choice of positive integers mkm_k divisible by nkn_k, which is the notion of an irrationality sequence in Problem 262 with mk=tkakm_k=t_ka_k; he writes that they wondered whether nk=22kn_k=2^{2^k} has property PP and that he will prove this conjecture, which Theorem 3 does. So an=22na_n=2^{2^n} is an irrationality sequence, with lim sup⁡(log⁡2log⁡2an)/n=1\limsup(\log_2\log_2a_n)/n=1. The proof reorders the mkm_k into a monotone sequence, reduces by Theorem 1 to the case lim sup⁡mk1/2k<∞\limsup m_k^{1/2^k}<\infty, and uses that at least two of m1,…,mkm_1,\ldots,m_k are divisible by 22k−12^{2^{k-1}}, so the least common multiple NkN_k of m1,…,mkm_1,\ldots,m_k is at most 2−2k−12^{-2^{k-1}} times their product; along a subsequence where mkm_k is nearly as large as the growth allows, the product times the tail tends to 00, which rationality forbids. The paper adds that property PP is of interest only when lim⁡nk1/2k<∞\lim n_k^{1/2^k}<\infty, and that Erdős did not know whether a sequence with property PP can grow slowly, the problem's question. The source card is erdos_1976_problems_results_irrationality_sum_infinite_series, and the result page is Theorem 3.

Covers. The attained half of the answer: an irrationality sequence can grow as slowly as 22n2^{2^n}, so lim sup⁡(log⁡2log⁡2an)/n=1\limsup(\log_2\log_2a_n)/n=1 is attained. Not covered: the lower bound, that no irrationality sequence has lim sup⁡(log⁡2log⁡2an)/n<1\limsup(\log_2\log_2a_n)/n<1, which is Hančl's theorem on its claim page.

Acceptance. Refereed: the Journal of Mathematical Sciences, volume 10 (1975), pp. 1--7. The site's remarks credit this paper with the example, but the SOLVED (LEAN) label credits Hančl with the answer, so no reviewed evidence is listed. The proof is not checked here.

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