Sociable number

Sociable number

Sociable numbers are generalizations of the concepts of amicable numbers and perfect numbers. A set of sociable numbers is a kind of aliquot sequence, or a sequence of numbers each of whose numbers is the sum of the factors of the preceding number, excluding the preceding number itself. For the sequence to be sociable, the sequence must be cyclic, eventually returning to its starting point.

The period of the sequence, or order of the set of sociable numbers, is the number of numbers in this cycle.

If the period of the sequence is 1, the number is a sociable number of order 1, or a perfect number—for example, the proper divisors of 6 are 1, 2, and 3, whose sum is again 6. A pair of amicable numbers is a set of sociable numbers of order 2. There are no known sociable numbers of order 3.

It is an open question whether all numbers are either sociable or end up at a prime (and hence 1), or whether conversely there exists a number whose aliquot sequence never terminates.

An example with period 4::The sum of the proper divisors of 1264460 (22 * 5 * 17 * 3719) is:::1 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 10 + 17 + 20 + 34 + 68 + 85 + 170 + 340 + 3719 + 7438 + 14876 + 18595 + 37190 + 63223 + 74380 + 126446 + 252892 + 316115 + 632230 = 1547860

:The sum of the proper divisors of 1547860 (22 * 5 * 193 * 401) is:::1 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 10 + 20 + 193 + 386 + 401 + 772 + 802 + 965 + 1604 + 1930 + 2005 + 3860 + 4010 + 8020 + 77393 + 154786 + 309572 + 386965 + 773930 = 1727636

:The sum of the proper divisors of 1727636 (22 * 521 * 829) is:::1 + 2 + 4 + 521 + 829 + 1042 + 1658 + 2084 + 3316 + 431909 + 863818 = 1305184

:The sum of the proper divisors of 1305184 (25 * 40787) is:::1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32 + 40787 + 81574 + 163148 + 326296 + 652592 = 1264460.

External links

* [http://djm.cc/sociable.txt A list of known sociable numbers]
* [http://amicable.homepage.dk/tables.htm Extensive tables of perfect, amicable and sociable numbers]
*

References

* P. Poulet, #4865, L'intermediare des math. 25 (1918), pp. 100-101.
* H. Cohen, "On amicable and sociable numbers," Math. Comp. 24 (1970), pp. 423-429


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