MathDB
RMM 2013 Problem 1

Source:

March 2, 2013
floor functionmodular arithmeticquadraticsnumber theory

Problem Statement

For a positive integer aa, define a sequence of integers x1,x2,x_1,x_2,\ldots by letting x1=ax_1=a and xn+1=2xn+1x_{n+1}=2x_n+1 for n1n\geq 1. Let yn=2xn1y_n=2^{x_n}-1. Determine the largest possible kk such that, for some positive integer aa, the numbers y1,,yky_1,\ldots,y_k are all prime.