Suranyi’s theorem


Suranyi’s theorem states that every integer k can be expressed as the following sum:

k=±12±22±±m2

for some m+.
We prove this by inductionMathworldPlanetmath, taking the first four whole numbers as our cases:

0=12+22-32+42-52-62+72
1=12
2=-12-22-32+42
3=-12+22

Now it suffices to prove that if the theorem is true for k then it is also true for k+4.
As

(m+1)2-(m+2)2-(m+3)2+(m+4)2=4

it’s simple to finish the proof:
if k=±12±±m2 then

(k+4)=±12±±m2+(m+1)2-(m+2)2-(m+3)2+(m+4)2

and we are done.

Title Suranyi’s theorem
Canonical name SuranyisTheorem
Date of creation 2013-03-22 13:43:00
Last modified on 2013-03-22 13:43:00
Owner mathcam (2727)
Last modified by mathcam (2727)
Numerical id 10
Author mathcam (2727)
Entry type Theorem
Classification msc 11A99