\documentclass[11pt,letterpaper]{amsart} \usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry} \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} \usepackage{lmodern,microtype,amsmath,amssymb,amsthm,mathtools} \usepackage{enumitem,booktabs} \usepackage[hidelinks]{hyperref} \numberwithin{equation}{section} \newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section] \newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma} \newtheorem{proposition}[theorem]{Proposition} \newtheorem{corollary}[theorem]{Corollary} \theoremstyle{definition} \newtheorem{definition}[theorem]{Definition} \newtheorem{example}[theorem]{Example} \theoremstyle{remark} \newtheorem{remark}[theorem]{Remark} \newcommand{\N}{\mathbb N} \newcommand{\Z}{\mathbb Z} \newcommand{\Q}{\mathbb Q} \newcommand{\R}{\mathbb R} \newcommand{\C}{\mathbb C} \newcommand{\eps}{\varepsilon} \DeclareMathOperator{\lcm}{lcm} \DeclareMathOperator{\supp}{supp} \DeclareMathOperator{\dist}{dist} \DeclareMathOperator{\diag}{diag} \newcommand{\e}{\mathrm e} \newcommand{\units}[1]{(\Z/#1\Z)^\times} \title[Distribution of factorial units]{Joint distribution of factorial units and valuations in translated intervals} \author{Will Howe} \email{howew@purdue.edu} \author{Grant Huffman} \email{huffma97@purdue.edu} \author{Jensen Kohlmeyer} \email{jenwin@purdue.edu} \author{Liam Kruer} \email{kruerl@purdue.edu} \thanks{Prepared with AI assistance from OpenAI Codex in mathematical exploration, checking, and manuscript preparation.} \date{November 7, 2026} \makeatletter \def\@setaddresses{\par\nobreak\bigskip {\footnotesize\noindent\textit{E-mail addresses:} \href{mailto:howew@purdue.edu}{\texttt{howew@purdue.edu}}, \href{mailto:huffma97@purdue.edu}{\texttt{huffma97@purdue.edu}},\par \noindent\href{mailto:jenwin@purdue.edu}{\texttt{jenwin@purdue.edu}}, \href{mailto:kruerl@purdue.edu}{\texttt{kruerl@purdue.edu}}\par}} \makeatother \begin{document} \begin{abstract} For every fixed finite set of primes, the corresponding prime valuations of factorials, reduced modulo arbitrary fixed integers, and the prime-free parts, reduced modulo arbitrary fixed prime powers, have a joint uniform distribution. We give a proof with a power-saving error on every interval of consecutive nonnegative integers, uniform in the interval's starting point. A fixed congruence on the index may be imposed independently. The resulting statement for the part of a factorial coprime to an arbitrary fixed modulus gives the densities and relative density asked for in Problems 2 and 3 of Hajdu and Papp. The proof uses a finite digit-window identity, a strict local character contraction, and a carry estimate followed by finite Fourier analysis. \end{abstract} \maketitle \section{Statement and scope} Write $\N_0=\{0,1,2,\ldots\}$ and $\e(x)=\exp(2\pi i x)$. For a prime $p$ and $n\in\N_0$, put \[ E_p(n)=v_p(n!),\qquad U_p(n)=\frac{n!}{p^{E_p(n)}}. \] Thus $E_p(0)=0$, $U_p(0)=1$, and $U_p(n)$ is a unit modulo every power of $p$. All parameters in the following theorems are fixed; only the length and starting point of the interval vary. \begin{theorem}\label{thm:local} Let $\mathcal P$ be a nonempty finite set of distinct primes. For each $p\in\mathcal P$, fix integers $r_p,b_p\geq1$. Fix also an integer $Q\geq1$. There are constants $C>0$ and $\delta>0$, depending only on these parameters, such that the following holds. For all $A\in\N_0$, $N\geq1$, all residues $a_p\pmod{r_p}$ and $c\pmod Q$, and all $z_p\in\units{p^{b_p}}$, \begin{align} &\#\{A\leq n1$, let \[ W_m(n)=\frac{n!}{\prod_{p\mid m}p^{E_p(n)}}. \] This integer is coprime to $m$. \begin{theorem}\label{thm:composite} Fix $m>1$, distinct primes $q_1,\ldots,q_t$, positive integers $r_1,\ldots,r_t$, and $Q\geq1$, allowing $t=0$. For every unit $z\pmod m$, residues $a_i\pmod{r_i}$, and $c\pmod Q$, \begin{align} &\#\{A\leq n0$ and the implied constant depend only on the fixed parameters. The estimate is uniform for $A\in\N_0$, $N\geq1$, and the displayed targets. \end{theorem} Taking $Q=1$ and, respectively, $t=0$ or arbitrary $t$ gives the densities asked for in Problems 2 and 3 of Hajdu and Papp \cite{HP}. Their Theorems 2.1 and 2.2 establish the single-prime case with valuation modulus a power of that prime, including an explicit gap bound; their Theorems 2.3 and 2.4 give finer results in a particular case modulo $8$. The distribution of the valuation coordinates alone was established by Berend and Kolesnik \cite{BK}. We include all ingredients needed for the joint unit and valuation statement here, without asserting priority for its special cases. \begin{corollary}\label{cor:gaps} Every set counted in Theorem~\ref{thm:composite} is infinite and relatively dense in $\N_0$: some integer $L\geq1$, depending only on the fixed parameters, has the property that every interval $[A,A+L)$, $A\in\N_0$, contains a member of the set. Its natural density is $(Q\varphi(m)\prod_i r_i)^{-1}$. \end{corollary} \begin{proof} Set $d=(Q\varphi(m)\prod_i r_i)^{-1}$. Choose $L$ so large that $CL^{1-\delta}0$, $\eta>0$, \begin{equation}\label{eq:fourier} \sup_{\xi\in\R}\left|p^{-k}\sum_{0\leq n0$, \begin{equation}\label{eq:jointchars} \sum_{A\leq n