Euler's "lucky" numbers are positiveintegersn such that for all integers k with 1 ≤ k < n, the polynomial k2 − k + n produces a prime number.
When k is equal to n, the value cannot be prime since n2 − n + n = n2 is divisible by n. Since the polynomial can be written as k(k−1) + n, using the integers k with −(n−1) < k ≤ 0 produces the same set of numbers as 1 ≤ k < n. These polynomials are all members of the larger set of prime generating polynomials.
Leonhard Euler published the polynomial k2 − k + 41 which produces prime numbers for all integer values of k from 1 to 40. Only 6 lucky numbers of Euler exist, namely 2, 3, 5, 11, 17 and 41 (sequence A014556 in the OEIS).[1] Note that these numbers are all prime numbers.
Euler's lucky numbers are unrelated to the "lucky numbers" defined by a sieve algorithm. In fact, the only number which is both lucky and Euler-lucky is 3, since all other Euler-lucky numbers are congruent to 2 modulo 3, but no lucky numbers are congruent to 2 modulo 3.
