The Tu–Deng Conjecture holds Almost Surely

Abstract

The Tu–Deng Conjecture is concerned with the sum of digits $w(n)$ of $n$ in base $2$ (the Hamming weight of the binary expansion of $n$) and states the following: assume that $k$ is a positive integer and
$1\leqslant t<2^k-1$. Then
\[\Bigl \lvert\Bigl\{(a,b)\in\bigl\{0,\ldots,2^k-2\bigr\}^2:a+b\equiv t\bmod 2^k-1, w(a)+w(b)<k\Bigr\}\Bigr \rvert\leqslant 2^{k-1}.\]
We prove that the Tu–Deng Conjecture holds almost surely in the following sense: the proportion of $t\in[1,2^k-2]$ such that the above inequality holds approaches $1$ as $k\rightarrow\infty$.

Moreover, we prove that the Tu–Deng Conjecture implies a conjecture due to T. W. Cusick concerning the sum of digits of $n$ and $n+t$.