Let $\phi$ denote Euler’s totient function. A century-old conjecture of Carmichael asserts that for every $n$, the equation $\phi \left(n\right)=\phi \left(m\right)$ has a solution $m\ne n$. This suggests defining $F\left(n\right)$ as the number of solutions $m$ to the equation $\phi \left(n\right)=\phi \left(m\right)$. (So Carmichael’s conjecture asserts that $F\left(n\right)\ge 2$ always.) Results on $F$ are scattered throughout the literature. For example, Sierpiński conjectured, and Ford proved, that the range of $F$ contains every natural number $k\ge 2$. Also, the maximal order of $F$ has been investigated by Erdős and Pomerance. In...

Let $(𝒪,\Sigma ,F_{\infty })$ be an arithmetic ring of Krull dimension at most 1, $𝒮=\mathrm{Spec}𝒪$ and $(\pi :𝒳\to 𝒮;{\sigma }_1,...,{\sigma }_n)$ an $n$-pointed stable curve of genus $g$. Write $𝒰=𝒳\setminus {\cup }_j{\sigma }_j\left(𝒮\right)$. The invertible sheaf ${\omega }_{𝒳/𝒮}({\sigma }_1+\cdots +{\sigma }_n)$ inherits a hermitian structure ${\parallel ·\parallel }_{\mathrm{hyp}}$ from the dual of the hyperbolic metric on the Riemann surface ${𝒰}_{\infty }$. In this article we prove an arithmetic Riemann-Roch type theorem that computes the arithmetic self-intersection of ${\omega }_{𝒳/𝒮}{({\sigma }_1+...+{\sigma }_n)}_{\mathrm{hyp}}$. The theorem is applied to modular curves $X\left(\Gamma \right)$, $\Gamma ={\Gamma }_0\left(p\right)$ or ${\Gamma }_1\left(p\right)$, $p\ge 11$ prime, with sections given by the cusps. We show $Z^{\text{'}}(Y\left(\Gamma \right),1)\sim e^a{\pi }^b{\Gamma }_2{(1/2)}^{c}L(0,{ℳ}_{\Gamma })$, with $p\equiv 11mod12$ when $\Gamma ={\Gamma }_0\left(p\right)$. Here $Z\left(Y\right(\Gamma ),s)$ is the Selberg zeta...

An asymptotic approximation of Wallis’ sequence W(n) = Πk=1n 4k 2/(4k 2 − 1) obtained on the base of Stirling’s factorial formula is presented. As a consequence, several accurate new estimates of Wallis’ ratios w(n) = Πk=1n(2k−1)/(2k) are given. Also, an asymptotic approximation of π in terms of Wallis’ sequence W(n) is obtained, together with several double inequalities such as, for example, $W\left(n\right)·(a_n+b_n)<\pi <W\left(n\right)·(a_n+b_n^{\text{'}})$ with $a_n=2+\frac{1}{2n+1}+\frac{2}{3{(2n+1)}^2}-\frac{1}{3n{(2n+1)}^{\text{'}}}{b}_n=\frac{2}{33{(n+1)}^{2^{\text{'}}}}{b}_n^{\text{'}}\frac{1}{13n^{2^{\text{'}}}}n\in \mathbb{N}$ .