self number

In number theory, a self number or Devlali number in a given number base $b$ is a natural number that cannot be written as the sum of any other natural number $n$ and the individual digits of $n$ . 20 is a self number (in base 10), because no such combination can be found (all $n < 15$ give a result less than 20; all other $n$ give a result greater than 20). 21 is not, because it can be written as 15 + 1 + 5 using n = 15. These numbers were first described in 1949 by the Indian mathematician D. R. Kaprekar.{{Cite web |title=Self Numbers |first=James P.|last= Curley|date=April 30, 2015|url=https://rstudio-pubs-static.s3.amazonaws.com/78731_1867e5c36d9345188bb65a8bd78b9db9.html#:~:text=The%20Indian%20mathematician%20D.R.%20Kaprekar%20first%20described%20%E2%80%98self-born%E2%80%99%20numbers%20or%20self-numbers%20in%20a%20small%20article%20in%201949. |access-date=2024-02-29}}

Definition and properties

Let $n$ be a natural number. We define the $b$ -self function for base $b > 1$ $F_b : \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$ to be the following:

: $F_{b}(n) = n + \sum_{i=0}^{k - 1} d_i.$

where $k = \lfloor \log_{b}{n} \rfloor + 1$ is the number of digits in the number in base $b$ , and

: $d_i = \frac{n \bmod{b^{i+1}} - n \bmod b^i}{b^i}$

is the value of each digit of the number. A natural number $n$ is a $b$ -self number if the preimage of $n$ for $F_b$ is the empty set.

In general, for even bases, all odd numbers below the base number are self numbers, since any number below such an odd number would have to also be a 1-digit number which when added to its digit would result in an even number. For odd bases, all odd numbers are self numbers.Sándor & Crstici (2004) p.384

The set of self numbers in a given base $b$ is infinite and has a positive asymptotic density: when $b$ is odd, this density is 1/2.Sándor & Crstici (2004) p.385

Self numbers in specific bases

For base 2 self numbers, see {{oeis|id=A010061}}. (written in base 10)

The first few base 10 self numbers are:

: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 20, 31, 42, 53, 64, 75, 86, 97, 108, 110, 121, 132, 143, 154, 165, 176, 187, 198, 209, 211, 222, 233, 244, 255, 266, 277, 288, 299, 310, 312, 323, 334, 345, 356, 367, 378, 389, 400, 411, 413, 424, 435, 446, 457, 468, 479, 490, ... {{OEIS|id=A003052}}

Self primes

A self prime is a self number that is prime.

The first few self primes in base 10 are

:3, 5, 7, 31, 53, 97, 211, 233, 277, 367, 389, 457, 479, 547, 569, 613, 659, 727, 839, 883, 929, 1021, 1087, 1109, 1223, 1289, 1447, 1559, 1627, 1693, 1783, 1873, ... {{OEIS|id=A006378}}

References

Kaprekar, D. R. The Mathematics of New Self-Numbers Devaiali (1963): 19 - 20.
{{cite journal |author=R. B. Patel |title=Some Tests for k-Self Numbers |journal=Math. Student |volume=56 |year=1991 |pages=206–210}}
{{cite journal |author=B. Recaman |title=Problem E2408 |journal=Amer. Math. Monthly |volume=81 |issue=4 |year=1974 |pages=407 |doi=10.2307/2319017|jstor=2319017 }}
{{cite book | last1=Sándor | first1=Jozsef | last2=Crstici | first2=Borislav | title=Handbook of number theory II | location=Dordrecht | publisher=Kluwer Academic | year=2004 | isbn=1-4020-2546-7 | pages=32–36 | zbl=1079.11001 }}
{{MathWorld|urlname=SelfNumber|title=Self Number}}

Category:Arithmetic dynamics

Category:Base-dependent integer sequences

Category:Inverse functions