An update on the Linnik--Goldbach problem

We consider the Linnik--Goldbach problem of writing all large even integers as the sum of two primes and a fixed number of powers of 2.

We show that, under the generalised Riemann hypothesis, one can use 6 powers of two.

In addition, we discuss refinements to the unconditional case and to the related problem of Romanov in expressing a positive proportion of odd numbers as the sum of a prime and a power of 2.