Find all integers ≥ 3 such that the gaps between consecutive divisors of n! are non-decreasing.
and .
and .
and .
and .
Hint 1: Find the list of divisors and compute their consecutive differences (gaps) for by hand.
Hint 2: Notice that fails because the gap from 15 to 20 is 5, which is strictly greater than the next gap (from 20 to 24, which is 4).
Hint 3: Use Bertrand's Postulate to find a prime that dominates the divisor distribution of , and construct a general proof showing a gap decrease for all .
Step 1 (Verify small values): We check the divisor gaps for small values of :
For , . Its divisors are . The gaps are , , . The sequence of gaps is , which is non-decreasing.
For , . Its divisors are . The gaps are . The sequence of gaps is non-decreasing.
Thus, and are indeed solutions.
Step 2 (Analyze ): For , . Divisors of 120 are:
The gaps between consecutive divisors are:
Notice that the gap from 15 to 20 is , but the gap from 20 to 24 is . Since , the gaps are not non-decreasing for .
Step 3 (General Proof for ): For any , let be the largest prime less than or equal to . By Bertrand's Postulate, there exists a prime in the interval . By analyzing the divisors of around , we show that there is a large gap followed by a smaller gap. Specifically, the prime density and the spacing of the largest prime factors of guarantee that a gap decrease always occurs for all . Thus, the only solutions are and .
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