Greetings,
I'm a happy user of Derive XM v3.14 and am curious about the NEXT_PRIME(m,n)
function. How does the "probabilistic Monte Carlo primality test" work, and
after testing n times, what is the confidence level that the identified
number is prime?
I read somewhere (MMA documentation if memory serves) that the Rabin-Miller
algorithm is shown to be valid only for primes less than some (large) finite
number, and although I don't have any idea why this assertion is true, it
prompts the question: Is there any size limit to primes discovered with the
probabilistic Monte Carlo primality test method, beyond which the method may
not reliably produce primes? I've used Derive to find primes thousands of
digits in length and they seem to act like primes when I use them, but I'm
effectively taking their primality on faith. Of course, Derive has never
let me down.
Thanks for your time and attention,
John Feth
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