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Another congruence for the Apéry numbers. (English) Zbl 0614.10011

In 1979 Apéry introduced the numbers \[ a_ n=\sum^{n}_{k=0}\left( \begin{matrix} n\\ k\end{matrix} \right)^ 2 \left( \begin{matrix} n+k\\ k\end{matrix} \right)^ 2 \] in his irrationality proofs for \(\zeta\) (3). Subsequently various writers discovered interesting congruence properties of these numbers (there are papers in J. Number Theory 12, 14, 16 and 21; see the citations of the present paper or Zbl 0425.10033; Zbl 0428.10008; Zbl 0482.10003; Zbl 0504.10007; Zbl 0571.10008). The author notes that the generating function for the \(a_ n\) satisfies a certain differential equation which is the symmetric square of a second order linear differential equation and that the function can be interpreted as a period of a family of K3 surfaces [see the author and C. A. M. Peters, J. Reine Angew. Math. 351, 42-54 (1984; Zbl 0541.14007)].
In the present note the author uses an ad hoc method to give a proof for a new congruence for the \(a_ n\) by relating the generating function for the \(a_ n\) to a certain modular form; however he remarks that the congruence must arise from the interplay between the numbers \(a_ n\) and the \(\zeta\)-function of a certain algebraic threefold and it is likely that a stronger congruence holds.

MSC:

11B37 Recurrences
11F33 Congruences for modular and \(p\)-adic modular forms
11A07 Congruences; primitive roots; residue systems
14J30 \(3\)-folds
11F11 Holomorphic modular forms of integral weight
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References:

[1] Beukers, F., Some congruences for the Apéry numbers, J. Number Theory, 21, 141-155 (1985) · Zbl 0571.10008
[2] Beukers, F., Irrationality proofs using modular forms, Journées arithmétiques Besançon (1985), Astérisque, to appear · Zbl 0613.10031
[3] Beauville, A., Les familles stables de courbes elliptiques sur \(P^2\) admettant quatre fibres singulières, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 294, 657 (1982) · Zbl 0504.14016
[4] Beukers, F.; Peters, C. A.M., A family of \(K3\) surfaces and ζ(3), J. Reine Angew. Math., 351, 42-54 (1984) · Zbl 0541.14007
[5] Chowla, S.; Cowles, J.; Cowles, M., Congruence properties of Apéry numbers, J. Number Theory, 12, 188-190 (1980) · Zbl 0428.10008
[6] Dwork, B., On Apéry’s differential operator, “Groupe d”étude d’analyse ultramétrique”, Paris (1980/1981)
[7] Fano, G., Uber lineare homogene Differentialgleichungen, Math. Anal., 53, 493-590 (1900) · JFM 31.0342.01
[8] Gessel, I., Some congruences for the Apéry numbers, J. Number Theory, 14, 362-368 (1982) · Zbl 0482.10003
[9] Koike, M., On McKay’s conjecture, Nagoya Math. J., 95, 85-89 (1984) · Zbl 0548.10018
[10] Ogg, A., (Modular Forms and Dirichlet Series (1969), Benjamin: Benjamin New York) · Zbl 0191.38101
[11] C. A. M. Peters\(K\); C. A. M. Peters\(K\) · Zbl 0612.14006
[12] van der Poorten, A. J., A proof that Euler missed… Apéry’s proof of the irrationality of ζ(3), Math. Intelligencer, 1, 195-203 (1979) · Zbl 0409.10028
[13] Rademacher, H., (Topics in Analytic Number Theory (1973), Springer: Springer New York/Berlin) · Zbl 0253.10002
[14] Stienstra, J.; Beukers, F., On the Picard-Fuchs equation and the formal Brauer group of certain elliptic \(K3\) surfaces, Math. Ann., 271, 269-304 (1985) · Zbl 0539.14006
[15] Shimura, G., Introduction to the arithmetic theory of automorphic forms (1971), Iwanami Shoten: Iwanami Shoten Princeton
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