TITLE: Prime factors of $n^2+1$
QUESTION [7 upvotes]: I know it is unknown if there are infinitely many primes of the form $n^2+1$. Is it known if there is a positive integer $k$ such that $|\{n\in\mathbb{Z}:n^2+1 \text{ has at most k prime factors}\}|=\infty$?

REPLY [18 votes]: Yes, Iwaniec, "Almost-primes represented by quadratic polynomials", Inventiones Math., 47:171–188, 1978, proves that there exist inﬁnitely many 
integers $n$ such that $n^2 + 1$ is either prime or the product of two 
primes.

REPLY [4 votes]: Please see  Iwaniec, "Almost-primes represented by quadratic polynomials", Inventiones Math