Is $S_n=1!^{1!}+2!^{2!}+3!^{3!}+\cdots+n!^{n!}$ a perfect power if $n\geq2$

number theoryperfect-powers

Is $S_n=1!^{1!}+2!^{2!}+3!^{3!}+\cdots+n!^{n!}$ a perfect power when $n\geq2$?

I know that:

  • $S_n\equiv2\pmod{3}$ if $n\geq2$, so $1!^{1!}+2!^{2!}+3!^{3!}+\cdots+n!^{n!}$ is never a perfect square if $n\geq2$.

  • $S_n\equiv5\pmod{9}$ if $n\geq2$, so it is not a perfect cube if $n\geq2$.

  • The last 2 digits of $S_n$ is $37$ if $n\geq5$, so $S_n$ cannot be a perfect 5th power, since $37$ is not a 5th power residue $\pmod{100}$.

But can $S_n$ be a higher odd prime perfect power?

Best Answer

Per Sil's comment

There is no perfect power for $n\geq 12$ as $S_n\equiv 0\pmod {13}$ and $S_n\equiv 117 \pmod{13^2}$. So we need to "only" check $n\leq 11$.

it is sufficient to check $n \leq 11$. One can find small prime factors $p$ for $2 \leq n \leq 9$ and $n=11$ with the property that $p^2$ does not divide $S_n$. A direct PARI/GP computation for the case $n=10$ shows that $S_{10}$ is not square. Thus we can conclude that there is no perfect power for $n\ge 2$, and a possible prime (other than $S_2=5$) occurs only for $n=10$.