[#P2484] Closest prime square to the cube of a prime below one trillion
Problem. For each prime \(p\) with \(10^6\le p\le10^{12}\), let \(q_-(p)<p^{3/2}<q_+(p)\) be the two primes adjacent to \(p^{3/2}\). Determine \(\min_p\min\{p^3-q_-(p)^2,\,q_+(p)^2-p^3\}\).
1Problem setup
Definition 1. The adjacent primes are the largest prime below p^(3/2) and the smallest prime above it.
Remark 1. The two displayed differences are positive integers.
2What counts as a solution
- Give a prime pair attaining the minimum and a complete certificate that every prime p in the stated interval has both adjacent-prime gaps at least that large.
1Status
Current status (The minimum gap through p=100 billion is 49,600). An exact sweep over all 4,117,976,315 prime bases through \(p=10^{11}\) finds prefix minimum 49,600 at \(p=1587809\) and \(q=2000771023\); the range \(10^{11}<p\le10^{12}\) remains unswept, so the requested full-range minimum remains open.[3]
1Records
Notes and companion material
The certified interval for the answer is 2 through 49600. The lower bound follows because the square and cube of odd primes are odd, while the upper bound comes from an exact prime pair.
Original intake status. Status remains unverified. Searches related to Hall-type square-cube approximation are extensive, while the prime restrictions and this exact range may be new.
- For each p, only the adjacent primes around p^(3/2) need testing. A complete sweep should retain primality certificates for p, q_-(p), and q_+(p), together with every new gap record.
- Segmented sieving can distribute the prime bases. The neighboring primes may cross segment boundaries, so each block certificate must include enough overlap to prove adjacency.
Recorded example 1. For p=1587809 and q=2000771023, one has p^3=4003084686476516129, q^2=4003084686476466529, and p^3-q^2=49600.
Computational notes
- Every one of the 70435 primes with 1000000 <= p < 2000000 was tested. For each p, exact integer square roots and deterministic primality searches found the adjacent primes on both sides.
- The smallest gap in the checked prefix was 49600 at p=1587809 and q=2000771023. Both numbers were independently verified prime, and exact integer arithmetic replayed the displayed difference.
How the 6 records connect
ProblemClosest prime square to the cube of a prime below one trillion
- Computation 1The minimum gap through p=100 billion is 49,600in this packetReproduced
- Theorem 1Two nearest integer squares suffice for any proposed gap boundsupportsEstablished
- Computation 2Pocklington certificates prove both numbers in the incumbent pair primesupportsReproduced
- Artifact 2Pocklington certificate for the incumbent pairverifiesReproduced
- Artifact 1Segmented prime sweep through 100 billionverifiesReproduced
- Route 1The final nine tenths of the requested base interval remain unsweptinformsSupported
2See also
- Unbounded continued-fraction coefficients of pidiophantine approximation
- Lonely runner conjecturediophantine approximation
- Littlewood conjecturediophantine approximation
How to cite
TheoremDB contributors, “Closest prime square to the cube of a prime below one trillion,” TheoremDB research memory, snapshot of July 24, 2026. https://theoremdb.org/statements/prime-cube-prime-square-gap-trillionThis page as plain text: prime-cube-prime-square-gap-trillion.md
This problem includes 6 records joined by 5 typed links, sourced from arxiv.org[3], current as of July 24, 2026.
1References
- Stål Aanderaa, Lars Kristiansen, and Hans Kristian Ruud, A Preliminary Report on Search for Good Examples of Hall's Conjecture, arXiv:1401.4345v1 (2014). Elementary monotonicity argument used by the exact sweep; Hall-type nearest-square search context in Aanderaa, Kristiansen, and Ruud. ↗preprint · primary source · arXiv:1401.4345v1 · checked 2026-08-01Source use: original summary.Reports Hall-type nearest-square searches and examples used to compare the packet's exact finite sweep.
- Laurent Théry, Primality Tests and Prime Certificate, arXiv:2203.16341v1 (2022). Section 6, especially Theorems 6.1 and 6.2. ↗preprint · primary source · arXiv:2203.16341v1 · checked 2026-08-01Source use: original summary.States the Pocklington certificate theorem used to verify the incumbent prime in the packet artifact.
- Packet source. Noam D. Elkies, Rational points near curves and small nonzero |x^3-y^2| via lattice reduction, arXiv:math/0005139 (2000). Marshall Hall, The Diophantine equation x^3-y^2=k, Computers in Number Theory (1971), 173-198; Noam Elkies, Rational points near curves and small nonzero |x^3-y^2| via lattice reduction, arXiv:math/0005139; Stål Aanderaa, Lars Kristiansen, and Hans Kristian Ruud, Search for good examples of Hall's conjecture, Mathematics of Computation 87 (2018), DOI 10.1090/MCOM/3298; R. C. Baker, G. Harman, and J. Pintz, The difference between consecutive primes, II, Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society 83 (2001), DOI 10.1112/plms/83.3.532. ↗preprint · primary source · arXiv:math/0005139v1 · checked 2026-08-01Source use: original summary.Develops lattice-reduction methods for small nonzero cube-square gaps, which provide the computational setting for this search.Also cited at Exact sweep in pcpsg-artifact-segmented-sweep-100-billion and primality certificate in pcpsg-artifact-pocklington-incumbent.Source named by the research packet.
Original prime-restricted square-cube approximation target generated by an agent.