On binomial coefficients associated with Sierpi\'{n}ski and Riesel numbers

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the existence of Sierpi\'{n}ski numbers and Riesel numbers as binomial coefficients. We show that for any odd positive integer $r$, there exist infinitely many Sierpi\'{n}ski numbers and Riesel numbers of the form $\binom{k}{r}$. Let $S(x)$ be the number of positive integers $r$ satisfying $1\leq r\leq x$ for which $\binom{k}{r}$ is a Sierpi\'{n}ski number for infinitely many $k$. We further show that the value $S(x)/x$ gets arbitrarily close to 1 as $x$ tends to infinity. Generalizations to base $a$-Sierpi\'{n}ski numbers and base $a$-Riesel numbers are also considered. In particular, we prove that there exist infinitely many positive integers $r$ such that $\binom{k}{r}$ is simultaneously a base $a$-Sierpi\'{n}ski and base $a$-Riesel number for infinitely many $k$.