Congruence properties of the binary partition function

Abstract

We denote by b(n) the number of ways of expressing the positive integer n as the sum of powers of 2 and we call b(n) ‘the binary partition function’. This function has been studied by Euler (1), Tanturri (2–4), Mahler (5), de Bruijn(6) and Pennington (7). Euler and Tanturri were primarily concerned with deriving formulae for the precise calculation of b(n), whereas Mahler deduced an asymptotic formula for log b(n) from his analysis of the functions satisfying a certain class of functional equations. De Bruijn and Pennington extended Mahler's work and obtained more precise results.