Twin Primes: Occur in Pairs, 90k+11/13/17/19 Proven?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the occurrence of twin primes, specifically examining whether they can be expressed in the form of 90k + 11, 13, 17, 19, and whether this set is infinite or finite. Participants explore various patterns and constraints related to twin primes, including mathematical proofs and counterexamples.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that twin primes may occur in pairs of the form 90k + 11, 13, 17, 19, while questioning if this has been proven and if the set of k's is infinite.
  • Others suggest that a broader check might include other pairs, such as 5, 7, 11, 13, and note that the only case where a number ending in 5 could appear is in single digits.
  • A participant identifies 1481, 1483, 1487, 1489 as a counterexample to the proposed forms, asserting that they fit the form 30k + 11, 13, 17, 19, and provides reasoning based on modular arithmetic.
  • Another participant mentions that out of 165 occurrences of twin prime pairs in a specific range, 60 fit the 90k + 11, 13, 17, 19 form, which is slightly more than expected from the 30k + 11, 13, 17, 19 constraint.
  • Further contributions discuss the implications of the observed occurrences and suggest that the 30k + 11, 13, 17, 19 prime sets may fall into classes based on the congruence of k mod 3, questioning whether they have been shown to be asymptotically equal in size.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the forms of twin primes and their distributions. There is no consensus on the proofs or the implications of the findings discussed.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes limitations related to assumptions about the distribution of primes and the implications of modular constraints, which remain unresolved.

mathman
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Twin primes may occur in pairs - i.e. 11, 13, 17, 19. A cursory check seems to indicate that they have to be of the form 90k + 11, 13, 17, 19. Has this ever been proven? If so has it ever been proven that the set of k's is infinite or is it finite?
 
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A less cursory check might throw up 5,7,11,13.
 
Sorry - I meant after the single digits. The case you described is the only one where a number ending in 5 could appear.
 
1481, 1483, 1487, 1489 is the first counterexample. (1491 = 41 + 90 * 16)

However what is true is that they are all of the form:
30k + 11, 13, 17, 19.

This can easily be proven by supposing we have primes n+11,n+13,n+17,n+19 (with n non-negative).

n must be even because otherwise n+11 is even and therefore not prime. So 2|n.

If [itex]n \equiv 1\pmod 3[/itex], then 3 divides n+17 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 2\pmod 3[/itex], then 3 divides n+11 which is a contradiction.
Thus 3|n.

If [itex]n \equiv 1\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+19 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 2\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+13 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 3\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+17 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 4\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+11 which is a contradiction.
Thus 5|n.

We now have 2*3*5=30|n.
 
rasmhop said:
1481, 1483, 1487, 1489 is the first counterexample. (1491 = 41 + 90 * 16)

However what is true is that they are all of the form:
30k + 11, 13, 17, 19.

This can easily be proven by supposing we have primes n+11,n+13,n+17,n+19 (with n non-negative).

n must be even because otherwise n+11 is even and therefore not prime. So 2|n.

If [itex]n \equiv 1\pmod 3[/itex], then 3 divides n+17 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 2\pmod 3[/itex], then 3 divides n+11 which is a contradiction.
Thus 3|n.

If [itex]n \equiv 1\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+19 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 2\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+13 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 3\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+17 which is a contradiction.
If [itex]n \equiv 4\pmod 5[/itex], then 5 divides n+11 which is a contradiction.
Thus 5|n.

We now have 2*3*5=30|n.
What about the twin primes 29 and 31?
 
Of 165 occurences of twin prime pairs taken from primes in the range 10-1000000 there are 60 of the form 90k+11,13,17,19. That's slightly more than you would predict from the 30k+11,13,17,19 constraint mentioned in rasmhop's post, but not surprisingly so.
 
Last edited:
ramsey2879 said:
What about the twin primes 29 and 31?
mathman was talking about sequences of 4 primes with consecutive differences of 2,4 and 2.
 
Martin Rattigan said:
Of 165 occurences of twin prime pairs taken from primes in the range 10-1000000 there are 60 of the form 90k+11,13,17,19. That's slightly more than you would predict from the 30k+11,13,17,19 constraint mentioned in rasmhop's post, but not surprisingly so.

Agreed. But of the 28387 up to 10^9 only 9339 are of that form, reversing that trend. :approve:
 
CRGreathouse said:
Agreed. But of the 28387 up to 10^9 only 9339 are of that form, reversing that trend. :approve:

This seems to imply that the 30k + 11, 13, 17, 19 prime sets fall into 3 classes depending on congruence of k mod 3. Have they been shown to be asymptotically equal in size?
 

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