An Asymptotic for E. P. Stein Numbers

Abstract

Epstein's put-or-take-a-square game is an impartial combinatorial game in which a player may, in each turn, add or subtract the largest square not exceeding the current integer. We study E. P. Stein numbers, the positions from which both legal moves lead directly to positive squares, and prove the following asymptotic formula for the counting function $S_2(X)$ of these positions: \[ S_2(X)=\frac{1}{π^2}X^{1/4}\log X+O(X^{1/4}). \]

arXiv comment18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table