A Deterministic Fractal Set Derived from the Sequence of Prime Numbers

Abstract

We introduce a novel deterministic fractal set PF in the unit interval whose construction is driven by the sequence of prime numbers modulo 16. At each step of the recursive construction, two subintervals are retained based on the residues of consecutive primes, yielding a Cantor-like set with a uniform contraction ratio of 1/16 and a branching number of 2. We prove that PF is a non-empty, compact, nowhere dense set of Lebesgue measure zero. Its Hausdorff dimension and box-counting dimension are both equal to 1 4 . The dimension is universal in the sense that it does not depend on the specific choice of the residue sequence, but only on the branching number and the contraction ratio. A generalization to arbitrary bases and branching numbers is also provided. This construction establishes a rigorous link between number theory and fractal geometry, offering a deterministic fractal whose structure is entirely encoded by the distribution of primes.