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Project Euler Problem 399: Squarefree Fibonacci Numbers

The first 15 Fibonacci numbers are: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610. A Fibonacci number F(n) is squarefree if it is not divisible by any perfect square other than 1. Among...

Source sync Apr 19, 2026
Problem #0399
Level Level 19
Solved By 678
Languages C++, Python
Answer 1508395636674243,6.5e27330467
Length 609 words
modular_arithmeticsequencenumber_theory

Problem Statement

This archive keeps the full statement, math, and original media on the page.

The first \(15\) Fibonacci numbers are:

\(1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,233,377,610\).

It can be seen that \(8\) and \(144\) are not squarefree: \(8\) is divisible by \(4\) and \(144\) is divisible by \(4\) and by \(9\).

So the first \(13\) squarefree Fibonacci numbers are:

\(1,1,2,3,5,13,21,34,55,89,233,377\) and \(610\).

The \(200\)th squarefree Fibonacci number is:

\(971183874599339129547649988289594072811608739584170445\).

The last sixteen digits of this number are: \(1608739584170445\) and in scientific notation this number can be written as \(9.7\mathrm e53\).

Find the \(100\,000\,000\)th squarefree Fibonacci number.

Give as your answer its last sixteen digits followed by a comma followed by the number in scientific notation (rounded to one digit after the decimal point).

For the \(200\)th squarefree number the answer would have been: 1608739584170445,9.7e53

Note:

For this problem, assume that for every prime \(p\), the first fibonacci number divisible by \(p\) is not divisible by \(p^2\) (this is part of Wall’s conjecture). This has been verified for primes \(\le 3 \cdot 10^{15}\), but has not been proven in general.

If it happens that the conjecture is false, then the accepted answer to this problem isn’t guaranteed to be the \(100\,000\,000\)th squarefree Fibonacci number, rather it represents only a lower bound for that number.

Project Euler Problem 399: Squarefree Fibonacci Numbers

Key Mathematical Concepts

Rank of Apparition (Entry Point)

For a prime p, the rank of apparition alpha(p) is the smallest positive index k such that p | F(k). Key properties:

  • p | F(n) if and only if alpha(p) | n
  • alpha(2) = 3, alpha(3) = 4, alpha(5) = 5, alpha(7) = 8, …
  • alpha(p) divides p - 1 if p = 1 or 4 (mod 5), and divides 2(p + 1) if p = 2 or 3 (mod 5)

Wall’s Conjecture

Wall’s conjecture (assumed true for this problem): For every prime p, p^2 does not divide F(alpha(p)). Equivalently, alpha(p^2) = p * alpha(p).

This has been verified for all primes up to 3 * 10^15, but remains unproven in general.

When is F(n) NOT squarefree?

Under Wall’s conjecture:

  • p^2 | F(n) if and only if p * alpha(p) | n
  • F(n) is NOT squarefree if and only if there exists some prime p such that p * alpha(p) | n

Density of Squarefree Fibonacci Numbers

The proportion of squarefree Fibonacci numbers is:

Product over all primes p of (1 - 1/(p * alpha(p)))

This product converges to approximately 0.7647, which is higher than the density of squarefree integers (6/pi^2 ~ 0.6079).

Editorial

The largest prime we need to consider: if p * alpha(p) <= N, we need to include p. Since alpha(p) >= 1, we need primes up to N. But alpha(p) grows, so in practice we only need primes up to about sqrt(N) or a bit more (since alpha(p) >= p-1 for some primes, p * alpha(p) grows fast). Actually alpha(p) can be as small as (p-1)/2 for some primes, so we need primes up to roughly sqrt(2*N). Once we find the index k of the 10^8-th squarefree Fibonacci number. We generate primes up to a bound B using a sieve of Eratosthenes. We then iterate over each prime p, compute alpha(p) by finding the Fibonacci sequence mod p until hitting 0. Finally, in a boolean sieve array, mark all multiples of q(p) as “non-squarefree”.

Pseudocode

Generate primes up to a bound B using a sieve of Eratosthenes
For each prime p, compute alpha(p) by finding the Fibonacci sequence mod p until hitting 0
Compute q(p) = p * alpha(p)
In a boolean sieve array, mark all multiples of q(p) as "non-squarefree"
Compute F(k) mod 10^16 using matrix exponentiation or the doubling method
Compute log10(F(k)) = k * log10(phi) - 0.5 * log10(5) for large k (Binet's formula approximation)
Format the output

Correctness

Theorem. The method described above computes exactly the quantity requested in the problem statement.

Proof. The preceding analysis identifies the admissible objects and derives the formula, recurrence, or exhaustive search carried out by the algorithm. The computation evaluates exactly that specification, so every valid contribution is included once and no invalid contribution is counted. Therefore the returned value is the required answer. \square

Complexity

  • Sieve of Eratosthenes: O(N log log N)
  • Computing alpha(p) for each prime: O(alpha(p)) per prime, total O(N) across all primes
  • Marking multiples: O(N/q(p)) per prime, total O(N * sum(1/q(p))) = O(N log log N)
  • Fast Fibonacci: O(log k) with k ~ 1.3 * 10^8
  • Total: O(N log log N) time, O(N) space

References

Answer

1508395636674243,6.5e27330467\boxed{1508395636674243,6.5e27330467}

Code

Each problem page includes the exact C++ and Python source files from the local archive.

C++ project_euler/problem_399/solution.cpp
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

// Sieve of Eratosthenes
vector<int> sieve_primes(int limit) {
    vector<bool> is_prime(limit + 1, true);
    is_prime[0] = is_prime[1] = false;
    for (int i = 2; (long long)i * i <= limit; i++) {
        if (is_prime[i]) {
            for (int j = i * i; j <= limit; j += i)
                is_prime[j] = false;
        }
    }
    vector<int> primes;
    for (int i = 2; i <= limit; i++)
        if (is_prime[i]) primes.push_back(i);
    return primes;
}

// Rank of apparition: smallest k > 0 with F(k) = 0 (mod p)
int rank_of_apparition(int p) {
    long long a = 0, b = 1;
    for (int k = 1; k <= 6 * p + 10; k++) {
        long long c = (a + b) % p;
        a = b;
        b = c;
        if (a == 0) return k;
    }
    return -1; // Should not happen
}

// Modular multiplication avoiding overflow for 64-bit
// For mod up to 10^16, we need 128-bit multiplication
typedef unsigned long long ull;
typedef __int128 lll;

ull mulmod(ull a, ull b, ull mod) {
    return (lll)a * b % mod;
}

ull addmod(ull a, ull b, ull mod) {
    return (a + b) % mod;
}

// Compute (F(n), F(n+1)) mod m using the doubling method
pair<ull, ull> fib_mod(long long n, ull mod) {
    if (n == 0) return {0, 1};
    auto [a, b] = fib_mod(n >> 1, mod);
    // F(2k) = F(k) * (2*F(k+1) - F(k))
    // F(2k+1) = F(k)^2 + F(k+1)^2
    ull c = mulmod(a, (2 * b % mod - a + mod) % mod, mod);
    ull d = addmod(mulmod(a, a, mod), mulmod(b, b, mod), mod);
    if (n & 1)
        return {d, addmod(c, d, mod)};
    else
        return {c, d};
}

int main() {
    ios_base::sync_with_stdio(false);
    cin.tie(NULL);

    const int TARGET = 100000000; // 10^8
    // Estimate sieve size: ~76.47% of Fibonacci numbers are squarefree
    const int N = (int)(TARGET / 0.76) + 5000;

    printf("Sieve size N = %d\n", N);
    printf("Target: %d-th squarefree Fibonacci number\n", TARGET);

    // Step 1: Generate primes up to N/2
    int prime_limit = N / 2 + 1;
    printf("Generating primes up to %d...\n", prime_limit);
    vector<int> primes = sieve_primes(prime_limit);
    printf("Found %zu primes\n", primes.size());

    // Step 2: Sieve non-squarefree indices
    vector<bool> not_sqfree(N + 1, false);

    printf("Computing ranks of apparition and sieving...\n");
    int primes_used = 0;
    for (int p : primes) {
        int alpha = rank_of_apparition(p);
        long long q = (long long)p * alpha;
        if (q > N) continue;
        primes_used++;
        for (long long j = q; j <= N; j += q)
            not_sqfree[j] = true;
    }
    printf("Primes contributing to sieve: %d\n", primes_used);

    // Step 3: Find the TARGET-th squarefree index
    int count = 0;
    int target_index = -1;
    for (int i = 1; i <= N; i++) {
        if (!not_sqfree[i]) {
            count++;
            if (count == TARGET) {
                target_index = i;
                break;
            }
        }
    }

    if (target_index == -1) {
        printf("ERROR: Sieve too small! Found only %d squarefree Fibonacci numbers.\n", count);
        return 1;
    }

    printf("The %d-th squarefree Fibonacci number is F(%d)\n", TARGET, target_index);

    // Step 4: Compute F(target_index) mod 10^16
    ull MOD = 10000000000000000ULL; // 10^16
    auto [fib_val, _] = fib_mod(target_index, MOD);
    printf("Last 16 digits: %016llu\n", fib_val);

    // Step 5: Compute scientific notation via log10
    // F(n) ~ phi^n / sqrt(5) for large n
    double log10_phi = log10((1.0 + sqrt(5.0)) / 2.0);
    double log10_val = target_index * log10_phi - 0.5 * log10(5.0);
    int exponent = (int)log10_val;
    double mantissa = pow(10.0, log10_val - exponent);
    // Round mantissa to 1 decimal place
    mantissa = round(mantissa * 10.0) / 10.0;
    if (mantissa >= 10.0) {
        mantissa /= 10.0;
        exponent++;
    }

    printf("Scientific notation: %.1fe%d\n", mantissa, exponent);
    printf("\nAnswer: %016llu,%.1fe%d\n", fib_val, mantissa, exponent);

    return 0;
}

/*
Compile and run:
    g++ -O2 -std=c++17 -o solution solution.cpp
    ./solution

Expected output:
    Answer: 1508395636674243,6.5e27330467

Complexity:
    - Time: O(N log log N) for sieve, O(N) for rank computations
    - Space: O(N) for boolean sieve
    - N ~ 1.32 * 10^8

Key insight (Wall's conjecture):
    p^2 | F(n) iff p * alpha(p) | n
    where alpha(p) = smallest k with p | F(k)
*/