
In
mathematics, an almost perfect number (sometimes also called slightly defective or least deficient number) is a
natural number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country").
Numbers used for counting are called '' cardinal ...
''n'' such that the
sum
Sum most commonly means the total of two or more numbers added together; see addition.
Sum can also refer to:
Mathematics
* Sum (category theory), the generic concept of summation in mathematics
* Sum, the result of summation, the additio ...
of all
divisor
In mathematics, a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer m that may be multiplied by some integer to produce n. In this case, one also says that n is a multiple of m. An integer n is divisible or evenly divisible by ...
s of ''n'' (the
sum-of-divisors function ''σ''(''n'')) is equal to 2''n'' − 1, the sum of all proper divisors of ''n'', ''s''(''n'') = ''σ''(''n'') − ''n'', then being equal to ''n'' − 1. The only known almost perfect numbers are
powers of 2 with non-negative exponents . Therefore the only known odd almost perfect number is 2
0 = 1, and the only known even almost perfect numbers are those of the form 2
''k'' for some positive number ''k''; however, it has not been shown that all almost perfect numbers are of this form. It is known that an odd almost perfect number greater than 1 would have at least six
prime factor
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
s.
If ''m'' is an odd almost perfect number then is a
Descartes number.
Moreover if ''a'' and ''b'' are positive odd integers such that