cp's OEIS Frontend

No Markov number is divisible by any prime congruent to 3 (mod 4). Proof: Let m be a Markov number and let p be an odd prime dividing m. Then there exist positive integers b and c such that m^2 + b^2 + c^2 = 3 * m * b * c (Markov's equation). Furthermore it is known that b and c must be coprime to m. Evaluating Markov's equation (mod p) gives b^2 = -c^2 (mod p), which implies -1 is a square (mod p). This is only possible if p = 1 (mod 4).

Given a prime p congruent to 3 (mod 4) and greater than 3, no Markov number is congruent to 1/3 * (p - 2 * sigma(p)) or 2/3 * (p + sigma(p)) (mod p), where sigma(p) = -1 if p is congruent to 7 (mod 12) and sigma(p) = 1 if p is congruent to 11 (mod 12). Proof: Let m be a Markov number congruent to one of the forbidden residues (mod p). Then evaluating Markov's equation (mod p) using the forms of the forbidden residues above and doing a few simplifications implies that -4 is a square (mod p). This contradicts that p = 3 (mod 4).

The first comment above implies that an odd Markov number is congruent to 1 (mod 4). It has also been shown that any positive even integer satisfying all of the constraints of the first two comments above is congruent to 2 (mod 32).

It is conjectured that, modulo n, all residues not forbidden by the constraints in the three comments above are actually realized by some Markov number. Specifically, mod n the forbidden residues include the following: (1) if p is a prime congruent to 3 (mod 4) that divides n, then any residue congruent to 0 (mod p) or congruent to either of the forbidden residues listed in the second comment (mod p), (2) if 4 divides n, then any odd residue congruent to 3 (mod 4), (3) if 2^r is the highest power of 2 dividing n and 2 <= r <= 5, then any even residue not congruent to 2 (mod 2^r), (4) if 2^r is the highest power of 2 dividing n and r > 5, then any even residue not congruent to 2 (mod 32). It is conjectured that all other residues occur. This has been verified for all n <= 38000.

If the conjecture in the previous comment is correct, then it follows from the Chinese remainder theorem that a(n) may be found by writing n = 2^s * 3^t * u * p_1^r_1 * p_2^r_2 * ... * p_k^r_k, where p_1, ..., p_k are distinct primes greater than 3 and congruent to 3 (mod 4) and r_1, ..., r_k are positive and where the prime divisors of u are all congruent to 1 (mod 4). Then a(n) = u * C_s * D_t * Product_{j=1..k} (p_j - 3) * p_j^(r_j - 1), where C_s = 2^s if s < 2, 1 + 2^(s-2) if 2 <= s <= 5, and 2^(s - 5) + 2^(s - 2) if s > 5, and where D_t = 1 if t = 0 and 2 * 3^(t-1) if t > 0. If the conjecture holds then a(n) is a multiplicative function.