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A PROOF OF THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE
SHAN-GUANG TAN
Abstract. The Goldbach conjecture was proved in this paper. The proof
was by contradiction based on the fundamental theorem of arithmetic and the
theory of Linear Algebra. First, by an assumption, the Goldbach conjecture
was converted into a group of linear equations. Then, by investigating solutions
to the group of linear equations, reductions to absurdity were derived to prove
the assumption false. Hence, the Goldbach conjecture was proved that even
numbers greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
Introduction
Goldbachs conjecture is one of the oldest unsolved problems in number the-
ory and in all of mathematics. It states: Every even number greater than 2 is a
Goldbach number, a number that can be expressed as the sum of two primes[1-7].
For small values of even numbers N, the Goldbach conjecture has been veried for
N 1.609 10
18
and some higher small ranges up to 4 10
18
by T. Oliveira e
Silva[1].
Considerable work has been done on the weak Goldbach conjecture[1].
The strong Goldbach conjecture is much more dicult. Chen Jingrun showed in
1973 using the methods of sieve theory that every suciently large even number can
be written as the sum of either two primes, or a prime and a semiprime (the product
of two primes)[1,4]. In 1975, Hugh Montgomery and Robert Charles Vaughan
showed that most even numbers were expressible as the sum of two primes.
More precisely, they showed that there existed positive constants c and C such that
for all suciently large numbers N, every even number less than N is the sum of
two primes, with at most CN
1c
exceptions. In particular, the set of even integers
which are not the sum of two primes has density zero[1,5]. Linnik proved in 1951 the
existence of a constant K such that every suciently large even number is the sum
of two primes and at most K powers of 2. Roger Heath-Brown and Jan-Christoph
Schlage-Puchta in 2002 found that K=13 works[1,6]. This was improved to K=8
by Pintz and Ruzsa[1,7].
The Goldbach conjecture was proved in this paper. The proof was by contra-
diction based on the fundamental theorem of arithmetic and the theory of Linear
Algebra. First, by an assumption, the Goldbach conjecture was converted into a
group of linear equations. Then, by investigating solutions to the group of lin-
ear equations, reductions to absurdity were derived to prove the assumption false.
Hence, the Goldbach conjecture was proved that even numbers greater than 2 can
be expressed as the sum of two primes.
Date: September 22, 2011 and, in revised form, January 22, 2012.
2010 Mathematics Subject Classication. Primary 11A41, 11A99.
Key words and phrases. number theory, Goldbach conjecture.
1
2 SHAN-GUANG TAN
.
1. Lemmas of linear equations
Denition 1.1. Let an even number N = 2n and Q
r
= {q
1
, q
2
, , q
r
} denote a
set of odd primes where r 2 and
3 q
1
< q
2
< < q
r1
<

2n < q
r
< n.
Let dene a group of linear equations in the matrix form
(1.1) Ax = b
where
A =
_

_
1 0 a
1,j1
0
0 1 a
2,j2
0

0 0 a
r,jr
1
_

_
, b = 2n
_

_
1
1

1
_

_
, x =
_

_
x
1
x
2

x
r
_

_
where there is only one non-diagonal and non-zero element a
i,ji
in every row of the
matrix A. For i = 1, 2, , r and j
i
= i, a
i,ji
is a positive odd integer, a
i,ji
and n
have no common prime factor, and q
i
is not a prime factor of a
i,ji
or n.
Let A
1
and A

denote the inverse and adjoint matrix of A, respectively.

Lemma 1.2. By Denition (1.1) and with det(A) = 1, solutions to Equation (1.1)
are not primes.
Proof. When det(A) = 1, there is A
1
= A

. Thus, solutions to Equation (1.1)

should be
(1.2) x
i
= 2n
r

j=1
a

i,j
where a

i,j
is the element of the matrix A

for i, j = 1, 2, , r.
Since a

i,j
is an integer, x
i
is not a prime for i = 1, 2, , r.
The proof of the lemma is completed.
Lemma 1.3. By Denition (1.1) and with det(A) = 1, when n , at least one
of x
i
for i = 1, 2, , r in solutions to Equation (1.1) is not an integer.
Proof. By exchanging its rows and columns, the matrix A can be written in one of
three forms.
The rst form of A is
(1.3) A =
_

_
1 0 0 0 0 a
1,r
a
2,1
1 0 0 0 0
0 a
3,2
1 0 0 0
0 0
.
.
.
.
.
. 0 0
0 0 0
.
.
.
.
.
. 0
0 0 0 0 a
r,r1
1
_

_
.
A PROOF OF THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 3
The second form of A is
(1.4) A =
_

_
A
s
0 0 0 0
a
s+1,js+1
1 0 0 0
a
s+2,js+2
1 0 0

.
.
. 0
a
r,jr
1
_

_
where A
s
is a sub-matrix of A and similar to the form (1.3). Thus, we can only
investigate the rst form of A.
The third form of A is
A =
_

_
A
1
0 0 0
0 A
2
0 0
0 0
.
.
. 0
0 0 0 A
m
_

_
where any one of A
1
, A
2
, , A
m
is a sub-matrix of A and similar to the form (1.3)
or (1.4). Thus, we can only investigate the rst form of A.
Without lose of generality, let denote
(1.5) a
1
= a
2,1
, a
2
= a
3,2
, , a
r
= a
1,r
where a
i
>

2n1
4
for i = 1, 2, , r since q
r1
<

2n and the following equation

a
min
q
r
+ q
r1
= 2n
where a
i
a
min
, and since there is at most one prime which is a prime factor of
the number n and greater than

n between q
r1
and q
r
, we have
a
min
=
2n
q
r

q
r1
q
r
>

2n 1
4
.
Then, we obtain
(1.6) det(A) = 1 + (1)
r+1
a
2,1
a
3,2
a
r,r1
a
1,r
= 1 + (1)
r+1
a
1
a
2
a
r1
a
r
and
(1.7) A

= B =
_

_
1 b
1,2
b
1,r
b
2,1
1 b
2,r

.
.
.
b
r,1
b
r,2
1
_

_
where
(1.8)
b
i,i
= 1, i = 1, 2, , r,
b
i,j
= (1)
i+j

i1
k=j
a
k
, j < i = 2, 3, , r,
b
i,j
= (1)
i+j+r

i1
k=1
a
k

r
k=j
a
k
, i < j = 2, 3, , r.
According to Expression (1.8), we have
max{|b
i,j
|, j = 1, 2, , r} = |b
i,i+1
|, i = 1, 2, , r 1,
max{|b
r,j
|, j = 1, 2, , r} = |b
r,1
|
4 SHAN-GUANG TAN
and
bi,j
bi,i+1
= (1)
i+j+1 1

j1
k=i+1
a
k
, i = 1, 2, , r 1, j > i,
bi,j
bi,i+1
= (1)
i+j+1 1

i1
k=j+1
a
k

r
k=i+1
a
k
, i = 1, 2, , r 1, j i,
br,j
br,r+1
=
br,j
br,1
= (1)
j+1 1

j1
k=1
a
k
, j = 2, 3, , r.
Thus, solutions to Equation (1.1) should be
(1.9) x
i
= 2n

r
j=1
b
i,j
1 + (1)
r+1
a
1
a
2
a
r
, i = 1, 2, , r.
The ratio of x
i
to x
k
in Solution (1.9) is
(1.10)
x
i
x
k
=

r
j=1
b
i,j

r
j=1
b
k,j
, i, k = 1, 2, , r, i = k.
Let dene
(1.11)
c
i,i
= a
i
, i = 1, 2, , r,
c
i,j
= a
i
b
i,j
= (1)
i+j

i
k=j
a
k
, j < i = 2, 3, , r,
c
i,j
= a
i
b
i,j
= (1)
i+j+r

i
k=1
a
k

r
k=j
a
k
, i < j = 2, 3, , r.
According to Expression (1.11), we have
(1.12)
max{|c
i,j
|, j = 1, 2, , r} = |c
i,i+1
| =

r
k=1
a
k
, i = 1, 2, , r 1,
max{|c
r,j
|, j = 1, 2, , r} = |c
r,1
| =

r
k=1
a
k
and
(1.13)
ci,j
ci,i+1
= (1)
i+j+1 1

j1
k=i+1
a
k
, i = 1, 2, , r 1, j > i,
ci,j
ci,i+1
= (1)
i+j+1 1

i1
k=j+1
a
k

r
k=i+1
a
k
, i = 1, 2, , r 1, j i,
cr,j
cr,r+1
=
cr,j
cr,1
= (1)
j+1 1

j1
k=1
a
k
, j = 2, 3, , r.
Thus, solutions to Equation (1.1) can be written
(1.14) x
i
=
2n
a
i

r
j=1
c
i,j
1 + (1)
r+1
a
1
a
2
a
r
, i = 1, 2, , r.
The ratio of x
i
to x
k
in Solution (1.14) can be written
(1.15)
x
i
x
k
=
a
k
a
i

r
j=1
c
i,j

r
j=1
c
k,j
, i, k = 1, 2, , r, i = k.
By using Expression (1.15) and substituting
x
r
=
a
1
a
r

r
j=1
c
r,j

r
j=1
c
1,j
x
1
into the rst equation of the group of linear equations (1.1) in the form (1.3), we
obtain
(1 + a
1

r
j=1
c
r,j

r
j=1
c
1,j
)x
1
= 2n.
When n , since a
i
>

2n1
4
for i = 1, 2, , r, there are
lim
n

2n 1
4
and lim
n
1
a
i
= 0, i = 1, 2, , r.
A PROOF OF THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 5
According to Expressions (1.12-1.13), we obtain
lim
n
c
r,j
c
r,1
= 0, j = 2, 3, , r,
lim
n
c
i,j
c
i,i+1
= 0, i = 1, 2, , r 1, j = i + 1
and
(1.16) lim
n

r
j=1
c
i,j

r
j=1
c
k,j
=
c
i,i+1
c
k,k+1
lim
n

r
j=1
ci,j
ci,i+1

r
j=1
c
k,j
c
k,k+1
= 1
where i, k = 1, 2, , r.
Thus, when n , we have
lim
n
x
1
=
2n
1 + a
1
and similarly for i = 1, 2, , r
(1.17) lim
n
x
i
=
2n
1 + a
i
where x
i
can not be an integer since a
i
is a positive integer and x
i
should not be a
prime factor of n.
Hence, when n , no group of primes q
i
for i = 1, 2, , r can satisfy
Equation (1.1) and at least one of x
i
for i = 1, 2, , r in solutions to Equation
(1.1) is not an integer.
The proof of the lemma is completed.
Lemma 1.4. By Denition (1.1) and with det(A) = 1, when x
i
is the solution
to Equation (1.1) and corresponding to the prime q
ji
for i = 1, 2, , r, for any
positive number n, at least an inequality of x
i
and q
ji
can be obtained as following
(1.18) |x
i
q
ji
|
2
1 + a
i
>
6
2n + 3
, 1 i r.
The inequality shows at least one of x
i
for i = 1, 2, , r in solutions to Equation
(1.1) is not an integer.
On the other hand, for any given small positive value , a positive number n

can be found to obtain at least an inequality |x

i
q
ji
| > when n n

.
Proof. Let consider the value
i
= |x
i
q
ji
| for i = 1, 2, , r.
When n , by Lemma (1.3) and Expression (1.17), we have
lim
n
|x
i
q
ji
| = |
2n
1 + a
i
q
ji
|
= |
2n (a
i
q
ji
+ q
ji+1
) + q
ji+1
q
ji
1 + a
i
|
=
|q
ji+1
q
ji
|
1 + a
i

2
1 + a
i
>
6
2n + 3
where |q
ji+1
q
ji
| 2, a
i
<
2n
3
and in the assumption of a
i
q
ji
+q
ji+1
= 2n for the
(i + 1)th equation of the group of linear equations (1.1) in the form (1.3) when x
i
is considered.
Thus, when n , we obtain
(1.19)
i
= lim
n
|x
i
q
ji
|
2
1 + a
i
>
6
2n + 3
.
6 SHAN-GUANG TAN
Then, for any positive number n < , by Lemma (1.3) and Expression (1.16),
we always can choose a pair of indexes i and k to have

r
j=1
c
i,j

r
j=1
c
k,j
= 1 (a
1
i+1
a
1
k+1
) = 1 (n
1
)
and
|q
ji+1
q
ji
+ a
i
q
ji
(n
1
)| 2
where (n
1
) is a positive small value and dependent of the value n
1
.
Thus, by Lemma (1.3) and Expression (1.17), we have
|x
i
q
ji
| = |
2n
1 + a
i
a
i
(n
1
)
q
ji
|
= |
2n (a
i
q
ji
+ q
ji+1
) + q
ji+1
q
ji
+ a
i
q
ji
(n
1
)
1 + a
i
a
i
(n
1
)
|
=
|q
ji+1
q
ji
+ a
i
q
ji
(n
1
)|
1 + a
i
a
i
(n
1
)

2
1 + a
i
a
i
(n
1
)
>
6
2n + 3
where |q
ji+1
q
ji
+a
i
q
ji
(n
1
)| 2, a
i
<
2n
3
and in the assumption of a
i
q
ji
+q
ji+1
=
2n for the (i +1)th equation of the group of linear equations (1.1) in the form (1.3)
when x
i
is considered.
Therefore, for any positive number n < , we obtain at least an inequality of
x
i
and q
ji
for 1 i r as following
(1.20)
i
= |x
i
q
ji
|
2
1 + a
i
a
i
(n
1
)
>
6
2n + 3
.
On the other hand, for any given small positive value , we always can choose a
positive number n

to make
6
2n

+ 3
.
Thus, for n n

, we obtain at least an inequality of x

i
and q
ji
for 1 i r as
following
|x
i
q
ji
|
2
1 + a
i
a
i
(n
1
)
>
6
2n + 3

6
2n

+ 3
.
Hence, for any positive number n, at least an inequality (1.18) of x
i
and q
ji
can
be obtained by inequalities (1.19-1.20). Also, for any given small positive value ,
a positive number n

can be found to obtain at least an inequality |x

i
q
ji
| >
when n n

.
The proof of the lemma is completed.
2. Proof of the Goldbach conjecture
Theorem 2.1. Every even number greater than 2 is a Goldbach number, a number
that can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
A PROOF OF THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 7
Proof. Let consider any even number N = 2n greater than 2. When n is a prime
p, we have
N = p + p,
that is, N can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
Otherwise, n should be a composite number. Let a set of primes P = {p
1
, p
2
, , p
l
}
denote all odd primes smaller than or equal to n where
3 = p
1
< p
2
< < p
l
n.
We can form a group of equations
(2.1)
p
1
+ c
1
= 2n,
p
2
+ c
2
= 2n,
,
p
l
+ c
l
= 2n
where for i = 1, 2, , l, c
i
is an odd number.
By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, n can be written
n = 2
0
p
1
i1
p
2
i2
p
s
is
, 1 i
1
< i
2
< < i
s
< l
where
0
is a non-negative integer and
1
,
2

s
are positive integers. Thus, for
i = i
1
, i
2
, , i
s
,c
i
must be a composite number and the corresponding equation
can be removed from the group of equations (2.1).
Hence, let P
s
and Q denote two subsets of P where
P
s
= {p
i1
, p
i2
, , p
is
} P,
Q = P P
s
= {q
1
, q
2
, , q
m
} P,
3 q
1
< q
2
< < q
m
< n.
Also, we can form a group of equations
(2.2)
q
1
+ d
1
= 2n,
q
2
+ d
2
= 2n,
,
q
m
+ d
m
= 2n
where d
i
is an odd number for i = 1, 2, , m. It is obvious that d
i
and n have no
common prime factor and q
i
is not a prime factor of d
i
or n.
Assume that all of odd numbers d
i
for i = 1, 2, , m are composite numbers.
By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, for i = 1, 2, , m, d
i
can be written
(2.3) d
i
= q
i,1
i,1
q
i,2
i,2
q
i,m
i
i,mi
where m
i
is the sum of dierent prime factors of d
i
and
i,1
,
i,2

i,mi
are positive
integers. It is obvious that q
i,1
, q
i,2
q
i,mi
Q.
Let Q
r
= {q
1
, q
2
, , q
r
} Q denote a set of primes which satisfy
3 q
1
< q
2
< < q
r1
<

2n < q
r
< n
and q
r
be smaller than or equal to the maximum prime of q
i,mi
for i = 1, 2, , m.
When q
j
Q
r
is equal to q
i,k
which is a prime factor of d
i
, let denote
a
i,j
= d
i
/q
j
= q
i,1
i,1
q
i,2
i,2
q

i,k
1
i,k
q
i,m
i
i,mi
.
8 SHAN-GUANG TAN
Thus, we can form a group of linear equations
(2.4)
x
1
+ a
1,j1
x
j1
= 2n,
x
2
+ a
2,j2
x
j2
= 2n,
,
x
r
+ a
r,jr
x
jr
= 2n
or in the matrix form as Equation (1.1).
When all of odd numbers d
i
for i = 1, 2, , m are composite numbers, Equation
(1.1) can be solved and solutions to Equation (1.1) should satisfy
(2.5) x
i
= q
i
, i = 1, 2, , r.
Now, let investigate solutions to Equation (1.1) to verify whether the assumption
that all of odd numbers d
i
for i = 1, 2, , m are composite numbers, is true or
false.
When rank(A) = r = 1, since q
1
is not a prime factor of d
1
, d
1
must be a prime
p and satises
N = q
1
+ p,
that is, N can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
When det(A) = 1, by Lemma (1.2), all of x
i
for i = 1, 2, , r are not primes.
Hence, solutions x
i
can not satisfy Equation (2.5) and at least one of d
i
for i =
1, 2, , r is a prime p and satises
N = q
i
+ p,
that is, N can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
Then, in the case of det(A) = 1, for any positive number n or for n n

where n

is a positive number, it can be proved by lemmas (1.3-1.4) or veried[1] by Lemma

(1.4) that at least one of x
i
for i = 1, 2, , r in solutions to Equation (1.1) is not
an integer. Hence, solutions x
i
can not satisfy Equation (2.5) and at least one of
d
i
for i = 1, 2, , r is a prime p and satises
N = q
i
+ p,
that is, N can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
In the above investigation of the solutions to a group of linear equations, reduc-
tions to absurdity are derived and the assumption that all of odd numbers d
i
for
i = 1, 2, , m are composite numbers, is proved false. Hence, it is proved that
even numbers greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.
This completes the proof of the theorem and the Goldbach conjecture is proved.

References
1. Wapedia - Wiki, Goldbachs conjecture.
2. Weisstein, Eric W., Goldbach Number. MathWorld.
3. Weisstein, Eric W., Goldbach Conjecture. MathWorld.
4. J. R. Chen, On the representation of a larger even integer as the sum of a prime and the
product of at most two primes. Sci. Sinica 16 (1973), pp. 157-176.
5. H. L. Montgomery, R. C. Vaughan, The exceptional set in Goldbachs problem. Collection of
articles in memory of Jurii Vladimirovich Linnik. Acta arithmetica 27 (1975): pp. 353-370.
6. D. R. Heath-Brown, J. C. Puchta, Integers represented as a sum of primes and powers of
two. The Asian Journal of Mathematics, 6 (2002), no. 3, pp. 535-565.
7. J. Pintz, I. Z. Ruzsa, On Linniks approximation to Goldbachs problem. I, Acta Arithmetica,
109(2003), pp. 169-194.
A PROOF OF THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 9
Institute of Chemical Processing Machinery, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027,
CHINA
Current address: Institute of Chemical Processing Machinery, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou,
310027, CHINA
E-mail address: tanshanguang@163.com