Source labels openChecked July 26, 2026

Erdős Problem 1049

Let $t>1$ be a rational number. Is $\sum_{n=1}^\infty\frac{1}{t^n-1}=\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{\tau(n)}{t^n}$ irrational, where $\tau(n)$ counts the divisors of $n$ ?

Number theory AMS 11

Mathematical statement

Let $t>1$ be a rational number. Is $\sum_{n=1}^\infty\frac{1}{t^n-1}=\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{\tau(n)}{t^n}$ irrational, where $\tau(n)$ counts the divisors of $n$ ?

A conjecture of Chowla.

Statement source: Erdős Problems statement material

Statement terms: Source-specific

Source-specific terms. Therefore does not assert reuse rights beyond attributed display.

Statement artifacts, not proofs

These records expose exact Lean propositions and statement-only wrappers. Defining a proposition does not supply a proof of it. A placeholder-bearing target also contains no proof. Elaboration checks syntax and types; it does not certify that a formalization perfectly captures every nuance of the informal problem.

Pinned Lean formulation 1

erdos_1049

Canonical source

Complete statement target, proof intentionally absentLean 4

theorem erdos_1049 :    answer(sorry) ↔ ∀ t : ℚ, t > 1 → Irrational (∑' n : ℕ+, 1 / ((t : ℝ) ^ (n : ℕ) - 1)) := by  sorry

Statement source: Formal Conjectures
Lean version: v4.27.0
Placeholder: Present; no proof artifact
Source evidence: Pinned source index
Fidelity review: Community formulation

References

Pinned Formal Conjectures sourceformalization erdosproblems.com/1049background