On Limits of Dense Packing of Equal Spheres in a Cube

We examine packing of $n$ congruent spheres in a cube when $n$ is close but less than the number of spheres in a regular cubic close-packed (ccp) arrangement of $\lceil p^{3}/2\rceil$ spheres. For this family of packings, the previous best-known arrangements were usually derived from a ccp by omission of a certain number of spheres without changing the initial structure. In this paper, we show that better arrangements exist for all $n\leq\lceil p^{3}/2\rceil-2$. We introduce an optimization method to reveal improvements of these packings, and present many new improvements for $n\leq4629$

Improved algorithms for left factorial residues

We present improved algorithms for computing the left factorial residues $!p=0!+1!+\dots+(p-1)! \!\mod p$. We use these algorithms for the calculation of the residues $!p\!\mod p$, for all primes $p$ up to $2^{40}$. Our results confirm that Kurepa's left factorial conjecture is still an open problem, as they show that there are no odd primes $p<2^{40}$ such that $p$ divides $!p$. Additionally, we confirm that there are no socialist primes $p$ with $5<p<2^{40}$

Improved algorithms for left factorial residues

Article 106078International audienceWe present improved algorithms for computing the left factorial residues $!p=0!+1!+\dots+(p-1)! \!\mod p$. We use these algorithms for the calculation of the residues $!p\!\mod p$, for all primes $p$ up to $2^{40}$. Our results confirm that Kurepa's left factorial conjecture is still an open problem, as they show that there are no odd primes $p<2^{40}$ such that $p$ divides $!p$. Additionally, we confirm that there are no socialist primes $p$ with $5<p<2^{40}$