Tuesday, September 22, 2015

A problem regarding polynomials with prime values



The problem is as follows:




Prove that there is no non-constant polynomial P(x) with integer coefficients such that P(n) is a prime number for all positive integers n.





I cannot solve it. I can't even find the exact definition of a non-constant polynomial. Any help would be appreciated.


Answer



There are still some gaps, but I'd suggest something like the following. There must be quite a few other approaches, I'd expect, and I hope others will provide some of these.



Suppose a formula exists that produces primes for all positive integers, then P(1) is prime, say p. Moreover, P(1+np)0(mod p) for all natural numbers n. Since these values must all be prime, P(1+np)=p. There are infinitely many positive integers n and therefore this is only possible if P(n)=p for all nN, which is a constant polynomial.


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