The board / number theory / #281
Erdős Problem #281
PROVED LEANdatabase updated 2026-01-19
The statement as posed is true, and a proof exists. A solution has also been checked by machine, in Lean.
What the community database records, not our verdict. erdosproblems.com no longer shows statuses (why).
Choices of congruence classes \(a_i \pmod{n_i}\).
The integers avoiding all congruences \(a_i \pmod{n_i}\).
The integers avoiding the first \(k\) congruences \(a_i \pmod{n_i}\).
Let \(n_1<n_2<\cdots\) be an infinite sequence such that, for any choice of congruence classes \(a_i\pmod{n_i}\), the set of integers not satisfying any of the congruences \(a_i\pmod{n_i}\) has density \(0\). Is it true that for every \(\epsilon>0\) there exists some \(k\) such that, for every choice of congruence classes \(a_i\), the density of integers not satisfying any of the congruences \(a_i\pmod{n_i}\) for \(1\leq i\leq k\) is less than \(\epsilon\)? The answer is yes; the linked Lean proof formalizes Somani's argument.
Statement as formalized in Formal Conjectures (Google DeepMind, Apache-2.0) · their label: research solved. The authoritative wording is on erdosproblems.com/281.Prizenone
Topicsnumber theory, covering systems
Statement in LeanFormal Conjectures
Solution in Leanyes
Original pageerdosproblems.com/281
Attempts
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