Analysis and Computer Implementation
Given a number k > n, we know that it is not prime if k mod n and n are not relatively prime. The fraction of numbers that the wheel sieve eliminates is 1 - phi (n) / n, which is also the efficiency of the sieve. From the properties of phi, it can easily be seen that the most efficient sieve smaller than x is the one where and . It can also be demonstrated that this efficiency rises very slowly for large n.
To be of maximum use on a computer, we want the numbers that are smaller than n and relatively prime to it as a set. Using a few observations, the set can easily be generated :
- Start with, which is the set for .
- Let be the set where k has been added to each element of .
- Then where represents the operation of removing all multiples of x.
- 1 and will be the two smallest of when removing the need to compute prime numbers separately
- The set is symmetrical around, reducing storage requirements.
Read more about this topic: Wheel Factorization
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