A p-adic Valuation Calculus for Permutations with Restricted Cycle Lengths
Ahaan Kallat
math.CO
Oct 29, 2026 · v1
math.NT
TL;DR
Part of the paper's divisibility and valuation results is formalized in Lean 4 with Mathlib, with the sources provided as ancillary files (anc/lean).
Abstract
Let a_A(n) be the number of permutations of {1,...,n} all of whose cycle lengths lie in a set A. We develop a valuation calculus for these numbers. Mobius inversion writes the exponential generating function as an Euler product, and at a prime p the factors with non-p-integral exponents, the blocks, determine a finite knapsack problem. Its optimal value gives a lower bound for v_p(a_A(n)), and the bound is attained exactly when one residue modulo p, the sum of the terms of the optimal choices, does not vanish. For a fixed set A and prime p the bounds and residues for all n <= N cost O(N^2) operations. When one block is strictly the most efficient, the valuation inside each residue class is that of a locally analytic p-adic function. We use the calculus to determine the 2-adic and 3-adic valuations for cycle lengths at most 3, 4 and 5, to prove the divisibility conjectures recorded in A378495, A079128, A193437 and A193438 and the 3-adic statements recorded in A057693 and A070945, and to treat 99 OEIS sequences in all. We also prove sharp divisibility and gcd theorems, show that at n = 111 the gcd of the counts over all sets of excluded cycle lengths containing {1,2,3} is one third of the gcd over the sets {1,2,3,k}, and determine eventual divisibility and tail gcds modulo composite integers. Part of the paper is formalized in Lean 4.
Problem
The work studies the p-adic valuations and divisibility properties of a_A(n), the number of permutations of {1,...,n} whose cycle lengths all lie in a set A. Several OEIS entries record divisibility conjectures about such counts.
Approach
Möbius inversion writes the exponential generating function as an Euler product of binomial series. At each prime p, the factors with non-p-integral exponents (blocks) define a finite knapsack problem, and its optimal value bounds v_p(a_A(n)) from below. Recurrences, conjugation by q-cycles, and shift congruences give further divisibility and gcd theorems. Part of the results is formalized in Lean 4 with Mathlib (toolchain v4.31.0).
Results
The knapsack bound is attained exactly when a single residue modulo p is nonzero, and the bounds and residues for all n <= N can be computed in O(N^2) operations. The method proves the conjectures in A378495, A079128, A193437 and A193438 and treats 99 OEIS sequences in total. It also yields sharp gcd theorems, including a gcd discrepancy by a factor of 3 at n = 111.