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Bounded Gaps Between Primes
Bounded Gaps Between Primes
Yitang Zhang
Abstract
It is proved that
lim inf (pn+1 pn ) < 7 107 ,
n
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Notation and sketch of the proof
3. Lemmas
4. Upper bound for S1
5. Lower bound for S2
6. Combinatorial arguments
7. The dispersion method
8. Evaluation of S3 (r, a)
9. Evaluation of S2 (r, a)
10. A truncation of the sum of S1 (r, a)
11. Estimation of R1 (r, a; k): The Type I case
12. Estimation of R1 (r, a; k): The Type II case
13. The Type III estimate: Initial steps
14. The Type III estimate: Completion
References
1
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44
48
55
1. Introduction
Let pn denote the n-th prime. It is conjectured that
lim inf (pn+1 pn ) = 2.
n
While a proof of this conjecture seems to be out of reach by present methods, recently
Goldston, Pintz and Yildirim [6] have made significant progress toward the weaker conjecture
lim inf (pn+1 pn ) < .
(1.1)
n
In particular, they prove that if the primes have level of distribution = 1/2 + $ for an
(arbitrarily small) $ > 0, then (1.1) will be valid (see [6, Theorem 1]). Since the result
= 1/2 is known (the Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem), the gap between their result and
(1.1) would appear to be, as said in [6], within a hairs breadth. Until very recently, the
best result on the small gaps between consecutive primes was due to Goldston, Pintz and
Yildirim [7] that gives
pn+1 pn
lim inf
< .
(1.2)
n
log pn (log log pn )2
One may ask whether the methods in [6], combined with the ideas in Bombieri, Friedlander and Iwaniec [1]-[3] which are employed to derive some stronger versions of the
Bombieri- Vinogradov theorem, would be good enough for proving (1.1) (see Question 1
on [6, p.822]).
In this paper we give an affirmative answer to the above question. We adopt the
following notation of [6]. Let
H = {h1 , h2 , ..., hk0 }
(1.3)
be a set composed of distinct non-negative integers. We say that H is admissible if
p (H) < p for every prime p, where p (H) denotes the number of distinct residue classes
modulo p occupied by the hi .
Theorem 1. Suppose that H is admissible with k0 3.5 106 . Then there are
infinitely many positive integers n such that the k0 -tuple
{n + h1 , n + h2 , ..., n + hk0 }
(1.4)
(1.5)
The bound (1.5) results from the fact that the set H is admissible if it is composed of
k0 distinct primes, each of which is greater than k0 , and the inequality
(7 107 ) (3.5 106 ) > 3.5 106 .
2
This result is, of course, not optimal. The condition k0 3.5 106 is also crude and
there are certain ways to relax it. To replace the right side of (1.5) by a value as small as
possible is an open problem that will not be discussed in this paper.
We adopt the following conventions throughout our presentation. The set H given by
(1.3) is assumed to be admissible and fixed. We write p for p (H); similar abbreviations
will be used in the sequel. Every quantity depending on H alone is regarded as a constant.
For example, the absolutely convergent product
k0
Y
p
1
1
S=
1
p
p
p
3
is a constant. A statement is valid for any sufficiently small and for any sufficiently large
A whenever they are involved. The meanings of sufficiently small and sufficiently large
may vary from one line to the next. Constants implied in O or , unless specified, will
depend on H, and A at most.
We first recall the underlying idea in the proof of [6, Theorem 1] which consists in
evaluating and comparing the sums
X
S1 =
(n)2
(2.1)
nx
and
S2 =
k0
XX
nx
(n + hi ) (n)2 ,
(2.2)
i=1
(2.3)
This implies, for sufficiently large x, that there is a n x such that the tuple (1.4)
contains at least two primes.
In [6] the function (n) mainly takes the form
k +l
X
D 0 0
1
(d) log
,
(n) =
(k0 + l0 )!
d
l0 > 0,
d|P (n)
dD
Let
(; d, c) =
X
nx
nc(d)
(n)
1 X
(n) for (d, c) = 1,
(d) nx
(n,d)=1
and
Ci (d) = {c : 1 c d, (c, d) = 1, P (c hi ) 0(mod d)} for 1 i k0 .
(2.4)
cCi (d)
(2.5)
and k0 is sufficiently large in terms of $, then, with an appropriate choice of l0 , one can
prove that
k0 T2 LT1 Lk0 +2l0 +1 .
(2.6)
In this situation the error E can be efficiently bounded if the primes have level of distribution > 1/2 + 2$, but one is unable to prove it by present methods. On the other
hand, for D = x1/4 , the Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem is good enough for bounding E,
but the relation (2.6) can not be valid, even if a more general form of (n) is considered
(see Soundararajan [12]).
Our first observation is that, in the sums T1 and T2 , the contributions from the terms
with d having a large prime divisor are relatively small. Thus, if we impose the constraint
d|P in (2.4), where P is the product of the primes less than a small power of x, the
resulting main term is still Lk0 +2l0 +1 with D given by (2.5).
Our second observation, which is the most novel part of the proof, is that with D
given by (2.5) and with the constraint d|P imposed in (2.4), the resulting error
X X
X
3 (d)k0 1 (d)
|(; d, c)|
(2.7)
1ik0 d<D2
d|P
cCi (d)
can be efficiently bounded. This is originally due to the simple fact that if d|P and d is
not too small, say d > x1/2 , then d can be factored as
d = rq
(2.8)
with the range for r flexibly chosen (see Lemma 4 below). Thus, roughly speaking, the
characteristic function of the set {d : x1/2 < d < D2 , d|P} may be treated as a well
factorable function (see Iwaniec [10]). The factorization (2.8) is crucial for bounding the
error terms.
It suffices to prove Theorem 1 with
k0 = 3.5 106
5
1
.
1168
D
log
y
k0 +l0
if y < D,
and
g(y) = 0 if y D,
where
l0 = 180.
Write
D1 = x$ ,
P=
p,
(2.9)
p<D1
D0 = exp{L1/k0 },
P0 =
p.
(2.10)
pD0
In the case d|P and d is not too small, the factor q in (2.8) may be chosen such that
(q, P0 ) = 1. This will considerably simplify the argument.
We choose
X
(n) =
(d)g(d).
(2.11)
d|(P (n),P)
In the proof of Theorem 1, the main terms are not difficult to handle, since we deal
with a fixed H. This is quite different from [6] and [7], in which various sets H are involved
in the argument to derive results like (1.2).
By Cauchys inequality, the error (2.7) is efficiently bounded via the following
Theorem 2. For 1 i k0 we have
X X
|(; d, c)| xLA .
d<D2
(2.12)
cCi (d)
d|P
The proof of Theorem 2 is described as follows. First, applying combinatorial arguments (see Lemma 6 below), we reduce the proof to estimating the sum of |(; d, c)|
with certain Dirichlet convolutions . There are three types of the convolutions involved
in the argument. Write
x1 = x3/8+8$ ,
x2 = x1/24$ .
(2.13)
In the first two types the function is of the form = such that the following hold.
(A1 ) = ((m)) is supported on [M, j1 M ), j1 19, (m) j1 (m)L.
6
(A3 ) j1 + j2 20,
(n)
X
1
(n) 20 (q)N L200A .
(r)
(n,qr)=1
[M N, 20 M N ) [x, 2x).
We say that is of Type I if x1 < N x2 ; we say that is of Type II if x2 < N < 2x1/2 .
In the Type I and II estimates we combine the dispersion method in [1] with the
factorization (2.8) (here r is close to N in the logarithmic scale). Due to the fact that
the modulo d is at most slightly greater than x1/2 in the logarithmic scale, after reducing
the problem to estimating certain incomplete Kloosterman sums, we need only to save a
small power of x from the trivial estimates; a variant of Weils bound for Kloosterman
sums (see Lemma 11 below) will fulfill it. Here the condition N > x1 , which may be
slightly relaxed, is essential.
We say that is of Type III if it is of the form = N1 N2 N3 such that
satisfies (A1 ) with j1 17, and such that the following hold.
(A4 ) N3 N2 N1 ,
M N 1 x1 .
20
(A5 ) [M N1 N2 N3 , M N1 N2 N3 ) [x, 2x).
The Type III estimate essentially relies on the Birch-Bombieri result in the appendix
to [5] (see Lemma 12 below), which is employed by Friedlander and Iwaniec [5] and by
Heath-Brown [9] to study the distribution of 3 (n) in arithmetic progressions. This result
in turn relies on Delignes proof of the Riemann Hypothesis for varieties over finite fields
(the Weil Conjecture) [4]. We estimate each (; d, c) directly. However, if one applies
the method in [5] alone, efficient estimates will be valid only for M N1 x3/85$/2 .
Our argument is carried out by combining the method in [5] with the factorization (2.8)
( here r is relatively small); the latter will allow us to save a factor r1/2 .
In our presentation, all the (m) and (n) are real numbers.
3. Lemmas
In this section we introduce a number of prerequisite results, some of which are quoted
from the literature directly. Results given here may not be in the strongest forms, but
they are adequate for the proofs of Theorem 1 and Theorem 2.
Lemma 1. Let %1 (d) and %2 (d) be the multiplicative functions supported on square-free
integers such that
%1 (p) = p ,
%2 (p) = p 1.
7
Let
T1 =
and
T2 =
T2
d1
(d0 d1 d2 )
d2
g(d0 d1 )g(d0 d2 ).
2l0
1
S(log D)k0 +2l0 + o(Lk0 +2l0 )
=
(k0 + 2l0 )! l0
(3.1)
1
2l0 + 2
S(log D)k0 +2l0 +1 + o(Lk0 +2l0 +1 ).
=
(k0 + 2l0 + 1)! l0 + 1
(3.2)
T1
and
We have
Proof. The sum T1 is the same as the sum TR (l1 , l2 ; H1 , H2 ) in [6, (7.6)] with
H1 = H2 = H (k1 = k2 = k0 ),
l1 = l2 = l0 ,
R = D,
so (3.1) follows from [6, Lemma 3]; the sum T2 is the same as the sum TR (l1 , l2 ; H1 , H2 , h0 )
in [6, (9.12)] with
H1 = H2 = H,
l1 = l2 = l0 ,
h0 H,
R = D,
X (r)%1 (r)
g(dr)
r
(r,d)=1
and
A2 (d) =
X (r)%2 (r)
g(dr).
(r)
(r,d)=1
l +1
D 0
2 (d)
A2 (d) =
S log
+ O(Ll0 + ),
(l0 + 1)!
d
(3.3)
(3.4)
where 1 (d) and 2 (d) are the multiplicative functions supported on square-free integers
such that
1
1
p
p 1
,
2 (p) = 1
.
1 (p) = 1
p
p1
8
Proof. Recall that D0 is given by (2.10). Since %1 (r) k0 (r), we have trivially
2k +l
A1 (d) 1 + log(D/d) 0 0 ,
so we may assume D/d > exp{(log D0 )2 } without loss of generality. Write s = + it. For
> 0 we have
X (r)%1 (r)
= 1 (d, s)G1 (s)(1 + s)k0
r1+s
(r,d)=1
where
1 (d, s) =
Y
p|d
It follows that
p
1 1+s
p
1
k0
Y
1
p
1 1+s
.
G1 (s) =
1 1+s
p
p
p
1
A1 (d) =
2i
Z
(1/L)
Note that G1 (s) is analytic and bounded for 1/3. We split the line of integration
into two parts according to |t| D0 and |t| > D0 . By a well-known result on the zero-free
region for (s), we can move the line segment { = 1/L, |t| D0 } to
= (log D0 )1 , |t| D0 ,
where > 0 is a certain constant, and apply some standard estimates to deduce that
Z
1
1 (d, s)G1 (s) (D/d)s ds
+ O(LA ).
A1 (d) =
k
k
+l
+1
0
0
0
2i |s|=1/L (1 + s)
s
Note that 1 (d, 0) = 1 (d) and
1 (d, s) 1 (d) = 1 (d, s)1 (d)
X (l)%1 (l)
l|d
(1 ls ).
(d)S
Ll0 1+ .
1
l0 +1
2i |s|=1/L (1 + s)k0 sk0 +l0 +1
2i
s
|s|=1/L
9
Y
p|d
p 1
1
(p 1)ps
1
,
1k0
Y
p 1
1
G2 (s) =
1
1 1+s
,
(p 1)ps
p
p
and G2 (0) = S. 2
Lemma 3. We have
X %1 (d)1 (d)
d<x1/4
and
(1 + 4$)k0 1
S (log D)k0 + O(Lk0 1 )
k0 !
X %2 (d)2 (d)
(1 + 4$)1k0 1
=
S (log D)k0 1 + O(Lk0 2 ),
(d)
(k
1)!
0
1/4
(3.5)
(3.6)
d<x
X
%1 (d)1 (d)
d1+s
d=1
= B1 (s)(1 + s)k0 ,
where
Y
B1 (s) =
1+
p
p
(p p )ps
1
1
p1+s
k0
.
d<x
Note that B1 (s) is analytic and bounded for 1/3. Moving the path of integration
to [1/3 iD0 , 1/3 + iD0 ], we see that the right side above is equal to
Z
1
B1 (s)(1 + s)k0 xs/4
ds + O(D01 LB ).
2i |s|=1/L
s
Since, by Cauchys integral formula, B1 (s) B1 (0) 1/L for |s| = 1/L, and
k
Y p
1 0
B1 (0) =
1
= S1 ,
p
p
p
p
10
it follows that
k
X %1 (d)1 (d)
1 1 L 0
S
=
+ O(Lk0 1 ).
d
k
!
4
0
1/4
d<x
X
%2 (d)2 (d)
(d)ps
d=1
= B2 (s)(1 + s)k0 1
with
B2 (s) =
Y
p
p 1
1+
(p p )ps
1
k0 1
1
p1+s
and B2 (0) = S . 2
1
(3.7)
Y
d
=
pj
(d, P0 ) j=1
n 2.
(d, P0 )
n
Y
pj < R
and
(d, P0 )
j=1
0 +1
nY
pj R .
j=1
r = (d, P0 )
n
Y
pj ,
q=
n
Y
pj ,
j=n0 +1
j=1
c 7 (a, b)
such that c(mod qr) is a common solution to c a(mod r) and c b(mod q).
Proof. By the Chinese remainder theorem. 2
The next lemma is a special case of the combinatorial identity due to Heath-Brown[8].
Lemma 6 Suppose that x1/10 x < x1/10 . For n < 2x we have
10
X
X
X
j1 10
(n) =
(1)
(m1 )...(mj )
j m ,...,m x
n ...n m ...m
j=1
1
log n1 .
j =n
f (y) = 1 if
f (y) = 0 if
y
/ [(1 M )M, (1 + M ) M ],
and
f (j) (y) M j(1) ,
j 1,
ma(d)
f (y)e(yz) dy.
f (z) =
Lemma 8. Suppose that 1 N < N 0 < 2x, N 0 N > x d and (c, d) = 1. Then for
j, 1 we have
X
N 0 N j 1
j (n)
L
,
(d)
0
N nN
nc(d)
12
(3.8)
Proof. We may assume N H without loss of generality. Write {y} = y [y] and
assume [1/H, 1/2]. Note that {c
n/d} if and only if bn c(mod d) for some
b (0, d], and 1 {c
n/d} if and only if bn c(mod d) for some b (0, d], Thus,
the number of the n satisfying n N , (n, d) = 1 and ||c
n/d|| is bounded by
X
(q) d N 1+ .
qdN
qc(d)
I = [, 0 ] or I = [1 0 , 1 ]
I = [1 1/H, 1),
with 1/H < 0 1/2, 0 2, the contribution from the terms on the left side of
(3.8) with {c
n/d} I is d N 1+ . This completes the proof. 2
Lemma 10. Suppose that = ((n)) satisfies (A2 ) and R x N . Then for any q
we have
2
X
X
X X
1
(q)B N 2 L100A .
(n)
%2 (r)
(n)
(r)
rR
l( mod r)
(n,qr)=1
nl(r)
(n,q)=1
Proof. Since the inner sum is (r)1 N 2 LB by Lemma 8, the assertion follows by
Cauchys inequality and [1, Theorem 0]. 2
Lemma 11 Suppose that N 1, d1 d2 > 10 and |(d1 )| = |(d2 )| = 1. Then we have,
for any c1 , c2 and l,
X
c1 n
c2 (n + l)
(c1 , d1 )(c2 , d2 )(d1 , d2 )2 N
e
+
(d1 d2 )1/2+ +
.
(3.9)
d
d
d
1
2
1 d2
nN
(n,d1 )=1
(n+l,d2 )=1
X
nd
(n,d1 )=1
(n+l,d2 )=1
c1 n
c2 (n + l) mn
e
+
+
.
d1
d2
d
We claim that
|K(d1 , c1 ; d2 , c2 ; l, m)| d0 |S(m, b1 ; t1 )S(m, b2 ; t2 )|
(3.10)
(3.11)
(mod d)
and
l t1 t2 l0 + d0 t1 l2
(mod d2 ).
a2 t1 t22 c2 (mod d0 ),
b1 d20 t2 c1 (mod t1 ),
b2 d20 t1 c2 (mod t2 ),
+
di
d0
ti
(mod 1)
we have
c1 n
c2 (n + l)
a1 n
0 + a2 (n0 + l0 ) b1 n
1 b2 (n2 + l2 )
+
+
+
d1
d2
d0
t1
t2
(mod 1).
Hence,
c1 n
c2 (n + l) mn
+
+
d1
d2
d
a1 n
0 + a2 (n0 + l0 ) + mn0 b1 n
1 + mn1 b2 (n2 + l2 ) + m(n2 + l2 ) ml2
+
+
(mod 1).
d0
t1
t2
t2
From this we deduce, by the Chinese remainder theorem, that
X
K(d1 , c1 ; d2 , c2 ; l, m) = et2 (ml2 )S(m, b1 ; t1 )S(m, b2 ; t2 )
ed0 a1 n
+ a2 (n + l0 ) + mn ,
nd0
(n,d0 )=1
(n+l0 ,d0 )=1
c
(n
+
l)
1
2
(c1 , d1 )(c2 , d2 )d0 .
e
+
d
d
1
2
kn<k+d
(n,d1 =1
(n+l,d2 )=1
14
with
u(m) min
N 1
d
,
,
.
d |m| m2
(3.12)
By (3.10) and Weils bound for Kloosterman sums, we find that the left side of (3.9) is
X
1/2+
1/2
1/2
.
d0 |u(0)|(b1 , t1 )(b2 , t2 ) + (t1 t2 )
|u(m)|(m, b1 , t1 ) (m, b2 , t2 )
m6=0
1/2+
ed1 (c1 n
) d1
nN
(n,d1 )=1
(c1 , d1 )N
.
d1
(3.13)
This estimate is well-known (see [2, Lemma 6], for example), and it will find application
somewhere.
Lemma 12. Let
T (k; m1 , m2 ; q) =
X0
eq lt1 (l + k)t2 + m1 t1 m2 t2 ,
where
X0
15
d1 |P d2 |P
By the Chinese remainder theorem, for any square-free d, there are exactly %1 (d) distinct
residue classes (mod d) such that P (n) 0(mod d) if and only if n lies in one of these
classes, so the innermost sum above is equal to
%1 ([d1 , d2 ])
x + O(%1 ([d1 , d2 ])).
[d1 , d2 ]
It follows that
S1 = T1 x + O(D2+ ),
where
T1 =
(4.1)
d1 |P d2 |P
(4.2)
d0 |P d1 |P d2 |P
d0 x
31 =
X
x1/4 <d0 <D
In the case d0 > x1/4 , d0 d1 < D, d0 d2 < D and |(d1 d2 )| = 1, the conditions di |P, i = 1, 2
are redundant. Hence,
T1 = 2 + 32 ,
16
where
2 =
d0 x
d0 |P
32 =
It follows that
|T1 T1 | |1 | + |2 | + |3 |,
where
X
3 =
(4.3)
It follows that
1 =
X
d0
x1/4
(4.4)
(q,d0 )=1
The contribution from the terms with q D0 above is D01 LB . Thus, substituting
d0 q = d, we deduce that
1 =
X
d<x1/4 D0
%1 (d) (d)
A1 (d)2 + O(D01 LB ),
d
where
(d) =
(4.5)
X (q)%1 (q)
.
q
d q=d
0
d0 <x1/4
q<D0
(4.6)
and
%1 (d)
Lk0 +1/k0 1 ,
d
X
x1/4 d<x1/4 D
(4.7)
the contribution from the terms on the right side of (4.5) with x1/4 d < x1/4 D0 is
o(Lk0 +2l0 ). On the other hand, assuming |(d)| = 1 and noting that
X (q)%1 (q)
q
q|d
= 1 (d)1 ,
(4.8)
(4.9)
dx
1
S(log D)k0 +2l0 + o(Lk0 +2l0 ),
2
k0 !(l0 !)
(4.10)
where
1 = (1 + 4$)k0 .
Next we estimate 2 . Similar to (4.4), we have
2 =
where
A1 (d) =
X (r)%1 (r)g(dr)
.
r
(r,d)=1
r|P
X
d<x1/4 D0
%1 (d) (d) 2
A1 (d) + O(D01 LB ).
d
d|P
18
(4.11)
A1 (d) =
(r,d)=1
q|(r,P )
q|P
where
Y
P =
p.
D1 p<D
Noting that
1 (q) = 1 + O(D11 ) if q|P
and q < D,
(4.12)
l
1
D 0 X %1 (q)
S1 (d) log
+ O(Ll0 1+ ).
l0 !
d
q
(4.13)
q|P
q<D
If q|P and q < D, then q has at most 292 prime factors. In addition, by the prime
number theorem we have
X 1
= log 293 + O(LA ).
(4.14)
p
D p<D
1
It follows that
X %1 (q)
q|P
1+
292
X
((log 293)k0 )
=1
+ O(LA ) = 2 + O(LA ),
say.
q<D
l
D 0
2
+ O(Ll0 1+ ).
S1 (d) log
l0 !
d
Combining this with (4.11), in a way similar to the proof of (4.9) we deduce that
2l
X %1 (d)1 (d)
22
D 0
2
|2 |
S
log
+ o(Lk0 +2l0 ).
(l0 !)2
d
d
1/4
d<x
1 22
S(log D)k0 +2l0 + o(Lk0 +2l0 ).
k0 !(l0 !)2
19
(4.15)
3 =
x1/4 <d<D
where
%1 (d)(d)
A1 (d)2 ,
d
(4.16)
X (q)%1 (q)
.
q
d q=d
(d)
=
x1/4 <d0
d0 -P
By (4.6) and (4.7), we find that the contribution from the terms with x1/4 < d x1/4 D0
in (4.16) is o(Lk0 +2l0 ).
Now assume that x1/4 D0 < d < D, |(d)| = 1 and d - P. Noting that the conditions
d0 |d and x1/4 < d0 together imply d0 - P, by (4.8) we obtain
(d)
=
X (q)%1 (q)
= 1 (d)1 + O k0 +1 (d)D01 .
q
d q=d
0
x1/4 <d0
(d)
log
+
O
(d)D
(d)A
L
+ O(L2l0 1+ ).
1
k
+1
1 (d) =
0
0
(l0 !)2
d
2
X
x1/4 D0 <d<D
d-P
%1 (d)1 (d)
d
D
log
d
2l0
+ o(Lk0 +2l0 ).
(4.17)
1
d
d
d<D
p|(d,P )
D1
d<D/p
(log 293)1 1
S (log D)k0 + o(Lk0 )
(k0 1)!
(log 293)1
S(log D)k0 +2l0 + o(Lk0 +2l0 ).
(k0 1)!(l0 !)2
20
(4.18)
Since
1
k0 + 2l0
2l0
1
,
=
2
k0 !(l0 !)
(k0 + 2l0 )!
k0
l0
|T1 T1 |
S(log D)k0 +2l0 + o(Lk0 +2l0 ),
(k0 + 2l0 )! l0
where
1 = 1 (1 +
22
(4.19)
k0 + 2l0
+ (log 293)k0 )
.
k0
(4.20)
22
2
1
((log 293)k0 )292
(185100)584
<
+ (log 293)k0 < 2
292!
292
k0 + 2l0
2k 2l0
1
(26500)360 .
< 0 <
k0
(2l0 )!
180
It follows that
log 1 < 3500000 log
293
+ 584 log(185100) + 360 log(26500) < 1200.
292
This gives
1 < exp{1200}.
21
(4.21)
nx
P (nhi )0([d1 ,d2 ])
d1 |P d2 |P
Now assume |(d)| = 1. To handle the innermost sum we first note that the condition
P (n hi ) 0 (mod d) and (n, d) = 1
is equivalent to n c(mod d) for some c Ci (d). Further, for any p, the quantity |Ci (p)|
is equal to the number of distinct residue classes (mod p) occupied by the hi hj with
hj 6 hi (mod p), so |Ci (p)| = p 1. This implies |Ci (d)| = %2 (d) by Lemma 5. Thus the
innermost sum above is equal to
X
nx
nc([d1 ,d2 ])
(n) =
%2 ([d1 , d2 ]) X
(n) +
([d1 , d2 ]) nx
(; [d1 , d2 ], c).
Since the number of the pairs {d1 , d2 } such that [d1 , d2 ] = d is equal to 3 (d), it follows
that
X
X
(n) + O(Ei ),
(5.2)
(n)(n hi )2 = T2
nx
nx
where
T2 =
d1 |P d2 |P
3 (d)%2 (d)
d<D2
d|P
|(; d, c)|.
cCi (d)
22
(5.3)
(5.4)
d0 |P d1 |P d2 |P
In a way much similar to the proof of (4.19), from the second assertions of Lemma 2 and
Lemma 3 we deduce that
2
2l0 + 2
|T2 T2 | <
S(log D)k0 +2l0 +1 + o(Lk0 +2l0 +1 ),
(5.5)
(k0 + 2l0 + 1)! l0 + 1
where
2 = 1 (1 + 4$)(1 +
22
k0 + 2l0 + 1
+ (log 293)k0 )
.
k0 1
(5.6)
k0 (1 2 )
2l0 + 2
4(1 + 1 )
2l0
,
=
(k0 + 2l0 + 1)! l0 + 1
(1 + 4$)(k0 + 2l0 )! l0
.
(k0 + 2l0 )! l0
l0 + 1 k0 + 2l0 + 1
1 + 4$
Note that
2
k0 (k0 + 2l0 + 1)(1 + 4$)
=
< 108 .
1
(2l0 + 1)(2l0 + 2)
23
Thus, by (4.21), both of the constants 1 and 2 are extremely small. It follows by simple
computation that
> 0.
(5.8)
Finally, from (5.7) and (5.8) we deduce (2.3), whence Theorem 1 follows.
Remark. The bounds (4.19) and (5.5) are crude and there may be some ways to
improve them considerably. It is even possible to evaluate T1 and T2 directly. Thus one
might be able to show that (2.3) holds with a considerably smaller k0 .
6. Combinatorial arguments
The rest of this paper is devoted to proving Theorem 2. In this and the next six
sections we assume that 1 i k0 . Write
D2 = x1/2 .
On the left side of (2.12), the contribution from the terms with d D2 is xLA by the
Bombieri-Vinogradov Theorem. Recalling that D1 and P0 are given by (2.9) and (2.10)
respectively, by trivial estimation, for D2 < d < D2 we may also impose the constraint
(d, P0 ) < D1 , and replace (n) by (n). Thus Theorem 2 follows from the following
X
X
|(; d, c)| xLA .
(6.1)
D2 <d<D2 cCi (d)
d|P
(d,P0 )<D1
The aim of this section is to reduce the proof of (6.1) to showing that
X
X
|(; d, c)| xL41A
D2
<d<D2
(6.2)
cCi (d)
d|P
(d,P0 )<D1
10
X
j=1
(1)
j1
10
j M
(6.3)
(6.4)
24
Let 2 have the same expression as 1 but with the constraint (6.4) replaced by
[Mj ...M1 Nj ...N1 , 20 Mj ...M1 Nj ...N1 ) [x, 2x).
(6.5)
Further, let
3 =
10
X
j1
(1)
j=1
10
(log N1 )
j
M
with Mj , ..., M1 , Nj , ..., N1 satisfying (6.3) and (6.5). Since (2 3 )(n) 20 (n)L2A ,
by Lemma 8 we have
X
X
|(2 3 ; d, c)| xLA .
D2 <d<D2 cCi (d)
d|P
(d,P0 )<D1
1
,
10
0 j ... 1 ,
log 2
.
L
1
25
3
+ 8$.
8
Write
= j + ... + 1 + j + ... + 4
(the partial sum j + ... + 4 is void if j = 3). In the case + 1 3/8 + 8$, is
obviously of Type III. Further, if has a partial sum, say 0 , satisfying
5
3
+ 8$ < 0 + 1 < 8$,
8
8
then is of Type I or II. For example, if
3
1
+ 8$ < j + ... + 1 + 1 ,
8
2
we choose = (Mj ) ... (M1 ) (N1 ); if
1
5
< j + ... + 1 + 1 < 8$,
2
8
we choose = (Mj ) ... (M1 ) (N1 ).
It now suffices to assume that
5
+ 1 8$,
8
and every partial sum 0 of satisfies either
(6.8)
3
5
+ 8$
or
0 + 1 8$.
8
8
Let 10 be the smallest partial sum of such that 10 + 1 5/8 8$ (the existence of 10
follows from (6.8), and there may be more than one choice of 10 ), and let be a positive
term in 10 . Since 10 is also a partial sum of , we must have
0 + 1
10 + 1 3/8 + 8$,
so that
1
16$.
4
This implies that must be one of the t , t 4 (that arises only if j 4). In particular
we have 4 1/4 16$. Now, the conditions
1
log 2
16$ 4 3 2 1 ,
4 + 3 + 2 + 1 < 1 +
4
L
together imply that
1
1 log 2
32$ 3 + 4 < +
.
2
2
2L
It follows that is of Type I or II by choosing = N3 N4 .
It should be remarked, by the Siegel-Walfisz theorem, that for all the choices of
above the Siegel-Walfisz assumption in (A2 ) holds. Noting that the sum in (6.6) contains
O(L40A ) terms, by the above discussion we conclude that (6.2) implies (6.1).
26
(7.1)
R = x3$ N
(7.2)
(n)
na(r)
nb(q)
(n,qr)=1
aCi (r)
X
1
(n).
(qr)
X
(; r, a; q, b) xL43A ,
(7.3)
qQ
bCi (q)
q|P
(q,rP0 )=1
x$ R < R < R
(7.4)
1 1/2
x
< QR < x1/2+2$ ,
2
(7.5)
|(r)| = 1,
27
a Ci (r).
(7.6)
q|P,
b Ci (q),
(q, rP0 ) = 1,
and
c(r, a; q, b) = 0
otherwise.
(m,r)=1
where
X X
D(r, a; m) =
(q,m)=1
X
c(r, a; q, b)
(n)
(n,qr)=1
mna(r)
mnb(q)
X
1
(n) .
(qr)
f (m)D(r, a; m)2 ,
(7.8)
(m,r)=1
f (m)
(m,r)=1
S2 (r, a) =
X X
(q,m)=1
c(r, a; q, b)
2
(n)
mna(r)
mnb(q)
X X X X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
(q2 r)
q1
q2
b1
b2
X X
X
(n1 )(n2 )
f (m),
n1
(7.7)
28
mn1 a(r)
mn1 b1 (q1 )
(m,q2 )=1
S3 (r, a) =
X X X X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
(q1 r)(q2 r)
q1
q2
b1
b2
X
X
X
(n1 )(n2 )
(n1 ,q1 r)=1 (n2 ,q2 r)=1
f (m).
(m,q1 q2 r)=1
(7.9)
on assuming A B. Here we have omitted the constraints given in (7.6) for notational
simplicity, so they have to be remembered in the sequel.
8. Evaluation of S3(r, a)
In this section we evaluate S3 (r, a). We shall make frequent use of the trivial bound
f(z) M.
(8.1)
f (m) =
(q1 q2 r)
f (0) + O(x ).
q1 q2 r
(8.2)
This yields
S3 (r, a) =f(0)
In view of (2.10), if (q1 q2 , P0 ) = 1, then either (q1 , q2 ) = 1 or (q1 , q2 ) > D0 . Thus, on the
right side above, the contribution from the terms with (q1 , q2 ) > 1 is, by (8.1) and trivial
estimation,
xN D01 R2 LB .
It follows that
S3 (r, a) = f(0)X(r, a) + O(xN D01 R2 LB ),
(8.3)
where
X(r, a) =
XX
q1
b1
X
(q2 ,q1 )=1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
b2
q1 q2 r(r)
29
(n1 )(n2 ).
9. Evaluation of S2(r, a)
The aim of this section is to show that
S2 (r, a) = f(0)X(r, a) + O(xN D1 R2 LB ).
0
(9.1)
b1 (mod q1 ).
n(q1 r)
It follows that the contribution from the terms with (q1 , q2 ) > 1 in S2 (r, a) is
xN D01 R2 LB ,
so that,
S2 (r, a) =
XX
q1
b1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
X
(q2 ,q1 )=1
n1
b2
(n1 )(n2 )
(q2 r)
X
(9.2)
mn1 a(r)
mn1 b1 (q1 )
(m,q2 )=1
Note that the innermost sum in (9.2) is void unless (n1 , q1 r) = 1. For |(q1 q2 r)| = 1 and
(q2 , P0 ) = 1 we have
q2
= 1 + O( (q2 )D01 ),
(q2 )
and, by Lemma 8,
X
X
X
20 (q2 )xLB
20 (n)
f (m)
(n1 )
.
q
rD
1
0
n<2x
(n1 ,q1 r)=1
mn1 a(r)
mn1 b1 (q1 )
(m,q2 )>1
n(q1 r)
(n,q2 )>1
Thus the relation (9.2) remains valid if the constraint (m, q2 ) = 1 in the innermost sum
is removed and the denominator (q2 r) is replaced by q2 (r). Namely we have
X X X X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
S2 (r, a) =
q2 (r)
q1
b1 (q2 ,q1 )=1 b2
X X
X
(9.3)
f (m) + O(xN D01 R2 LB ).
(n1 )(n2 )
n1
mn1 a(r)
mn1 b1 (q1 )
30
1 X h
f
eq1 r (h) + O(x2 ),
f (m) =
q1 r
q1 r
|h|<H2
where
H2 = 4QRM 1+2 ,
and (modq1 r) is a common solution to
n1 a(mod r),
n1 b1 (mod q1 ).
(9.4)
(9.5)
where
R2 (r, a) =
XX
q1
b1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
(n1 )
b2
X
1|h|<H2
q1 q2 r(r)
h
f
eq1 r (h).
q1 r
(n2 )
The proof of (9.1) is now reduced to estimating R2 (r, a). First we note that the second
inequality in (7.5) implies
H2 x1/2+2$+2 N < 2x2$+2 ,
(9.6)
since M 1 x1 N (here and in what follows, we use the second inequality in (7.5) only).
This implies that R2 (r, a) = 0 if is of Type I.
Now assume that is of of Type II. Noting that
aq1 n1 b1 rn1
+
q1 r
r
q1
(mod 1)
by (9.4), we have
R2 (r, a) N 1+ R2
|R (r, a; n)|,
nN
(n,r)=1
where
X X c(r, a; q, b)
R (r, a; n) =
q
b
(q,n)=1
1|h|<H2
31
h
ahqn
bhrn
f
e
.
qr
r
q
(9.7)
X X X X c(r, a; q, b)c(r, a; q 0 , b0 )
qq 0
(q,n)=1 b (q 0 ,n)=1 b0
0
0 0
0 0
X
X
h
h
a(h
q
h
q
)
n
bhrn
b
h
rn
f 0 e
+
.
qr
qr
r
q
q0
0
1|h|<H2 1|h |<H2
|R (r, a; n)|2
X X X X |c(r, a; q, b)c(r, a; q 0 , b0 )|
q
nN
(n,r)=1
q0
qq 0
b0
(9.8)
0
|W(r, a; q, b; q , b ; h, h )|,
where
0
W(r, a; q, b; q , b ; h, h ) =
X
nN
(n,qq 0 r)=1
a(h0 q0 h
q )
n bhrn b0 h0 rn
e
+
.
r
q
q0
(9.9)
It follows that, on the right side of (9.8), the contribution from the terms with h0 q = hq 0
is
X X
N Q2
(hq) x3$+ N.
(9.10)
1h<H2 q<2Q
Now assume that c(r, a; q, b)c(r, a; q 0 , b0 ) 6= 0, 1 |h| < H2 , 1 |h0 | < H2 and
h0 q 6= hq 0 . Letting d = [q, q 0 ]r, we have
r b0 h
r
c
a(h0 q0 h
q ) bh
+ 0
r
q
q
d
(mod 1)
32
(c, d)N
.
d
(9.11)
Since N > x2 , by the first inequality in (7.4), (7.2) and (2.13) we have
R1 < x4$ N 1 < x1/2+8$ .
(9.12)
(9.13)
(mod r),
we have
(c, d) (c, r)[q, q 0 ] [q, q 0 ]H2 Q.
(9.14)
(9.15)
with R1 (r, a) to be specified below in (10.10). In view of (8.3) and (9.1), the proof of
(7.9) will be reduced to estimating R1 (r, a).
By definition we have
XXXX
S1 (r, a) =
c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
q1
q2
b1
b2
n1
n2 n1 (r)
(n1 )(n2 )
f (m).
(10.2)
mn1 a(r)
mn1 b1 (q1 )
mn2 b2 (q2 )
Let U(r, a; q0 ) denote the sum of the terms in (10.2) with (q1 , q2 ) = q0 . Clearly we
have U(r, a; q0 ) = 0 unless
q0 |P,
q0 < 2Q,
(q0 , rP0 ) = 1,
(10.3)
q0 >1
qj |P,
(qj , rP0 ) = 1,
bj Ci (qj )
and (q1 , q2 ) = q0 . Write q10 = q1 /q0 , q20 = q2 /q0 . By Lemma 5, there exist t1 , t2 Ci (q0 ),
b01 Ci (q10 ) and b02 Ci (q20 ) such that
bj b0j (mod qj0 ).
bj tj (mod q0 ),
Note that the conditions mn1 t1 (mod q0 ) and mn2 t2 (mod q0 ) together imply that
t2 n1 t1 n2 (mod q0 ).
(10.4)
Thus the innermost sum in (10.2) is void if (10.4) fails to hold for any t1 , t2 Ci (q0 ). On
the other hand, if (10.4) holds for some t1 , t2 Ci (q0 ), the innermost sum in (10.2) may
be rewritten as
X
f (m)
mn1 a1 (q0 r)
mn1 b01 (q10 )
mn2 b02 (q20 )
34
b2
n1 n2 n1 (r)
t1 Ci (q0 ) t2 Ci (q0 )
n1
n2 n1 (r)
t1 n2 t2 n1 (q0 )
mn1 a(r)
mn1 b1 (q1 )
mn2 b2 (q2 )
|(n1 )(n2 )|
mn1 a1 (q0 r)
where
X
J (n, q 0 ) =
1.
b0j Ci (q 0 )
b0j n(q 0 )
This yields, by summing over q1 and q2 with (q1 , q2 ) = q0 and changing the order of
summation,
X
X X
X
|(n1 )(n2 )|
U(r, a; q0 )
n1
t1 Ci (q0 ) t2 Ci (q0 )
n2 n1 (r)
t1 n2 t2 n1 (q0 )
(10.5)
mn1 a1 (q0 r)
where
X (n) =
q 0 Q/q0
We may assume that (n1 , q0 r) = 1, since the innermost sum in (10.5) is void otherwise.
Let a2 (mod q0 r) be a common solution to a2 a1 (mod r) and a2 t2 (mod q0 ). In the
case
n2 n1 (mod r), t1 n2 t2 n1 (mod q0 ),
the condition mn1 a1 (mod q0 r) is equivalent to mn2 a2 (mod q0 r). Thus the innermost sum in (10.5) is
X
X
f (m)X (mn1 )2 +
f (m)X (mn2 )2 .
mn1 a1 (q0 r)
Since
mn2 a2 (q0 r)
(
1
J (n, q 0 ) =
0
if q 0 |P (n hi ), (q 0 , n) = 1
otherwise,
it follows that
X (n)
X
q 0 |P (nhi )
(q 0 ,n)=1
35
|(q 0 )|.
(10.6)
nj
,
(nj , h hi )
hj =
h hi
.
(nj , h hi )
Noting that the conditions p|(mnj +h hi ) and p - nj together imply that p|(mnj +hj ),
by (10.6) we have
Y
X
X (mnj )
(mnj + hj )
(mnj + hj )k0 1 .
1k0
6=i
1k0
6=i
f (m)X (mnj )2
mnj aj (q0 r)
M LB
+ x/3
q0 r
(here the term x/3 is necessary when q0 r > x/4 M ). Combining these estimates with
(10.5) we deduce that
X
X
X
X
M LB
/3
+x
U(r, a; q0 )
|(n1 )|
|(n2 )|.
q0 r
t1 Ci (q0 ) t2 Ci (q0 )
n2 n1 (r)
t1 n2 t2 n1 (q0 )
N LB
+ x/3 .
q0 r
It follows that
2
U(r, a; q0 ) %2 (q0 )
xN LB x1+/2
+
+x N .
(q0 r)2
q0 r
where
H1 = 8Q2 RM 1+2
36
(10.7)
n1 b1 (mod q1 ),
n2 b2 (mod q2 ).
(10.8)
It follows that
U(r, a; 1) = f(0)X (r, a) + R1 (r, a) + O(1),
(10.9)
where
X (r, a) =
XX
q1
b1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
q1 q2 r
b2
(n1 )(n2 )
and
R1 (r, a) =
XX
q1
b1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
q1 q2 r
b2
(n1 )(n2 )
X
1|h|<H
h
f
eq1 q2 r (h).
q1 q 2 r
(10.10)
(10.11)
We have
X (r, a) X(r, a) =
XX
q1
b1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
X
(q2 ,q1 )=1
q1 q2 r
b2
V(r; q1 , q2 )
with
V(r; q1 , q2 ) =
(n1 )(n2 )
1
(r)
(n1 )(n2 )
37
X
rR
(r,q1 q2 )=1
%2 (r)|V(r; q1 , q2 )|.
(10.12)
Noting that
X X
V(r; q1 , q2 ) =
l mod r
nl(r)
(n,q1 )=1
1
(n)
(r)
X
(n,q1 r)=1
X
1
(n)
(n)
(r)
nl(r)
(n,q2 )=1
(n) ,
(n,q2 r)=1
by Cauchys inequality, the condition (A2 ) and Lemma 10, we find that the innermost
sum in (10.12) is
(q1 q2 )B N 2 L100A ,
whence (10.11) follows.
A combination of (8.3), (9.1) and (10.1) leads to
XX
XX
S1 (r.a) 2S2 (r, a) + S3 (r, a) =
R1 (r, a) + O(xN R1 L87A ). (10.13)
r
Note that
+
+
q1 q2 r
r
q1
q2
(mod 1)
1 X
R1 (r, a; k),
r
(10.14)
|k|<N/R
where
R1 (r, a; k) =
XX
q1
b1
X c(r, a; q1 , b1 )c(r, a; q2 , b2 )
X
(q2 ,q1 )=1
q 1 q2
b2
X
1|h|<H1
h
f
q 1 q2 r
(n,q1 r)=1
(n+kr,q2 )=1
with
(r, a; k; q1 , b1 ; q2 , b2 ; n) =
Recall that, in the Type I and II cases, we have reduced the proof of (6.2) to proving
(7.9) at the end of Section 7. Now, by (10.13) and (10.14), the proof of (7.9) is in turn
reduced to showing that
R1 (r, a; k) xL88A
for |k| < N R1 . In fact, we shall prove the sharper bound
R1 (r, a; k) x1$/2
38
(10.15)
(10.16)
if x1 < N x2
if x2 < N < 2x1/2 .
(10.17)
Thus, in order to prove (10.15), we need only to save a small power of x from the trivial
estimate.
The bounds (10.16) and (10.17) will find application in the next two sections.
c(q1 , b1 ),
for
R1 (r, a; k),
c(r, a; q1 , b1 ),
respectively, with the aim of proving (10.15). The variables r, a and k may also be
omitted somewhere else for notational simplicity. The proof is somewhat analogous to
the estimation of R2 (r, a) in Section 9; the main tool we need is Lemma 11.
Assume that x1 < N x2 and R is as in (7.1). We have
R1 N
X X |c(q1 , b1 )|
q1
q
b
1
39
X
nN
(n,q1 r)=1
|F(q1 , b1 ; n)|,
(11.1)
where
F(q1 , b1 ; n) =
X c(q2 , b2 ) h
f
e(h(q1 , b1 ; q2 , b2 ; n)).
q
q1 q 2 r
2
b
2
In what follows assume c(q1 , b1 ) 6= 0. To estimate the sum of |F(q1 , b1 ; n)| we observe
that, similar to (9.8),
M 2
|F(q1 , b1 ; n)|2
nN
(n,q1 r)=1
X X |c(q2 , b2 )c(q 0 , b0 )|
2 2
0
q2 q2
0
b
1|h|<H1
1|h0 |<H
b2
|G(h, h
(11.2)
where
G(h, h0 ; q1 , b1 , q2 , b2 ; q20 , b02 ) =
e h0 (q1 , b1 ; q20 , b02 ; n) h(q1 , b1 ; q2 , b2 ; n) .
nN
(n,q1 r)=1
(n+kr,q2 q20 )=1
The condition N x2 is essential for bounding the terms with h0 q2 = hq20 in (11.2).
By (7.5) we have
H1 Q1 x (QR)(M N )1 N x2$+ .
It follows that, on the right side of (11.2), the contribution from the terms with h0 q2 = hq20
is
X X
N Q2
(hq)B x2$+ N.
(11.3)
1h<H1 qQ
(mod 1).
r
q1
q20
q2
Letting d1 = q1 r and d2 = [q2 , q20 ], we may write
(h0 q20 h
q2 )a
q1 (h0 q20 h
q2 )b1 r
c1
+
r
q1
d1
for some c1 with
(c1 , r) = (h0 q20 h
q2 , r),
and
h0 b02 q1 r hb2 q1 r
c2
0
q2
q2
d2
40
(mod 1)
(mod 1)
c1 n
c2 (n + kr)
+
d1
d2
(mod 1).
(c1 , d1 )N
.
d1
(11.4)
(11.5)
(11.6)
(12.1)
nN
(n,r)=1
where
X X
K(n) =
(q1 ,n)=1
Let
X#
b1
X c(q1 , b1 )c(q2 , b2 )
X
(q2 ,q1 (n+kr))=1
q1 q2
b2
X
1|h|<H1
h
f
e(h(q1 , b1 ; q2 , b2 ; n)).
q1 q2 r
stand for a summation over the 8-tuples (q1 , b1 ; q2 , b2 ; q10 , b01 ; q20 , b02 ) with
(q1 , q2 ) = (q10 , q20 ) = 1.
X
nN
(n,r)=1
|K(n)|2
|M(h, h
where
M(h, h0 ; q1 , b1 ; q2 , b2 ; q10 , b01 ; q20 , b02 ) =
X0
nN
X0
Here
is restriction to (n, q1 q10 r) = (n + kr, q2 q20 ) = 1.
Similar to (9.9), we have
H1 Q2 x3$+ .
Hence, on the right side of (12.2), the contribution from the terms with h0 q1 q2 = hq10 q20 is
X X X
N Q4
(hqq 0 )B x3$+ N.
(12.3)
1h<H1 qQ q 0 Q
Note that the bounds (9.12) and (9.13) are valid in the present situation. Since R is
near to x1/2 in the logarithmic scale and Q is small, it can be shown via Lemma 11 that
the terms with h0 q1 q2 6= hq10 q20 on the right side of (12.2) make a small contribution in
comparison with (12.3). Assume that
c(q1 , b1 )c(q2 , b2 )c(q10 , b01 )c(q20 , b02 ) 6= 0,
h0 q1 q2 6= hq10 q20 .
We have
s
n t1 n
t2 (n + kr) t02 (n + kr)
t01 n
+
+ 0 +
+
r
q1
q1
q2
q20
(mod 1)
(12.4)
with
s a(h0 q10 q20 hq1 q2 )(mod r),
t1 b1 hq2 r(mod q1 ),
t2 b2 hq1 r(mod q2 ),
c1 n
c2 (n + kr)
+
d1
d2
(mod 1)
(c1 , d1 )(d1 , d2 )2 N
.
d1
(12.5)
43
which is sharper than the right side of (12.3). Combining these estimates with (12.2) we
obtain
X
|K(n)|2 x13$+ M.
nN
(n,r)=1
|K(n)| x1$ .
(12.6)
nN
(n,r)=1
x1/2
d
(13.1)
d|P,
(d, P0 ) < D1 ,
(13.2)
and
x
x1/416$ M x1/416$ .
(13.3)
M N1 N2
Let f be as in Lemma 7 with = and with N1 in place of M . Note that the
function N1 f is supported on [N1 , N1 ] [N1 , N1+ ] with N1 = (1 N1 )N1 . Letting
= N3 N2 f , we have
N3
d X
( )(n) x1/2 ,
(d)
(n,d)=1
and
X
( )(n) L
nc(d)
19 (l) + L
N1 qN1 1l<3x/q
lqc(d)
(q,d)=1
N1 qN1+ 1l<3x/q
lqc(d)
(q,d)=1
44
19 (l)
x1/2
.
d
It therefore suffices to prove (13.1) with replaced by . In fact, we shall prove the
sharper bound
x1$/3
( ; d, c)
(13.4)
d
In a way similar to the proof of (8.2) we obtain
X
f (n) =
(n,d)=1
(d)
f (0) + O(x ).
d
(n,d)=1
Here and in what follows, n ' N stands for N n < N . On the other hand, we have
X
X
X
X
X
(n) =
(m)
f (n1 ).
(m,d)=1 n3 'N3 n2 'N2
(n3 ,d)=1 (n2 ,d)=1
nc(d)
mn3 n2 n1 c(d)
|h|<H
where
H = dN11+2 .
It follows that
( ; d, c) =
1 X
d m'M
n3 'N3 n2 'N2
(m,d)=1 (n3 ,d)=1 (n2 ,d)=1
(m)
f(h/d)ed chmn3 n2 + O(d1 x3/4 ).
1|h|<H
45
(13.5)
On substituting d1 = d/(h, d) and applying Mobius inversion, the left side of (13.5)
may be rewritten as
X X
X
X
f(h/d1 )ed1 ahn3 n2
d1 |d 1h<H n3 'N3 n2 'N2
(h,d1 )=1 (n3 ,d)=1 (n2 ,d)=1
X X X
(b3 )(b2 )
d1 d2 =d b3 |d2 b2 |d2
f(h/d1 )ed1 ahb3 b2 n3 n2 ,
where
H = d1 N11+2 .
It therefore suffices to show that
X
X
X
1h<H
(h,d1 )=1
n3 'N30
(n3 ,d1 )=1
(13.6)
f(h/d1 )ed1 bhn3 n2 x1$/2+ M 1
(13.7)
n2 'N20
(n2 ,d1 )=1
(b, d1 ) = 1,
d1 N3
N30 N3 ,
d
d1 N2
N20 N2 ,
d
(13.8)
(13.9)
In view of (13.6), the left side of (13.7) is void if d1 N112 , so we may assume
d1 > N112 . By the trivial bound
f(z) N1 ,
(13.10)
and (3.13), we find that the left side of (13.7) is
1/2+
HN3 N1 d1
3/2+ 2
+ d1
N
d1
N1 N3 .
2
1
In the case d1 x5/126$ , the right side is x1$+3 M 1 by (A4) and (2.13). This leads
to (13.7). Thus we may further assume
d1 > x5/126$ .
(13.11)
We appeal to the Weyl shift and the factorization (2.8) with d1 in place of d. By
Lemma 4, we can choose a factor r of d1 such that
x44$ < r < x45$ .
46
(13.12)
Write
X
N (d1 , k) =
f(h/d1 )ed1 bh(n2 + hkr)n3 ,
1h<H n3 'N30
n2 'N20
(h,d1 )=1 (n3 ,d1 )=1 (n2 +hkr,d1 )=1
so that the left side of (13.7) is just N (d1 , 0). Assume k > 0. We have
N (d1 , k) N (d1 , 0) = Q1 (d1 , k) Q2 (d1 , k),
(13.13)
where
X
Qi (d1 , k) =
f(h/d1 )ed1 bhln3 ,
i = 1, 2,
1h<H n3 'N30
lIi (h)
(h,d1 )=1 (n3 ,d1 )=1 (l,d1 )=1
with
I1 (h) = N20 , N20 + hkr ,
I2 (h) = N20 , N20 + hkr .
1h<H/s
lIi (h)
n3 'N30
(n3 ,d1 )=1 (l,d1 )=1
The inner sum is void unless s < H. Since H 2 = o(d1 ) by (13.9) and (13.11), it follows,
by changing the order of summation, that
X X
X X
(h/t)et bhln3 ),
|Qi (d1 , k)|
f
st=d1 n3 'N30 lIi (H) hJi (s,l)
t>H (n3 ,d1 )=1 (l,d1 )=1
where Ji (s, l) is a certain interval of length < H and depending on s and l. Noting that,
by integration by parts,
d
f (z) min N12 , |z|2 N1 ,
dz
by partial summation and (13.10) we obtain
X
f(h/t)et bhln3 ) N11+ min H, ||bln3 /t||1 .
hJi (s,l)
It follows that
Qi (d1 , k) N11+
X X
min H, ||bln3 /t||1 .
Since H = o(N3 ) by (13.3) and (13.9), the innermost sum is N31+ by Lemma 9. In
view of (13.6), this leads to
Qi (d1 , k) d1+
(13.14)
1 krN3 .
47
(13.15)
which is x1/856$ by (13.2). By (A5) and the second inequality in (13.12), we see that
the right side of (13.14) is x1$+ M 1 if k < 2K. Hence, by (13.13), the proof of
(13.7) is reduced to showing that
1 X
N (d1 , k) x1$/2+ M 1 .
K kK
(13.16)
(mod d1 )
l( mod d1 )
(l+kr,d1 )=1
with
(l; d1 ) =
X0
f(h/d1 ).
2 l(d1 )
hn
X0
Here
is restriction to 1 h < H, (h, d1 ) = 1 and n2 ' N20 . It follows by Cauchys
inequality that
2
X
P 1 P2 ,
N
(d
,
k)
(14.1)
1
kK
where
P1 =
X
l( mod d1 )
|(l; d1 )| ,
P2 =
X
l( mod d1 )
kK
n'N30
(l+kr,d1 )=1 (n,d )=1
1
ed1
2
b(l + kr)n .
48
1m<2HN2
ml(d1 )
(14.2)
(14.3)
N30
x1/669$
r
by (13.8), (13.11), (13.3) and the second inequality in (13.12). Since
X
X
X
ed1 b(l + kr)n) =
ed1 b(l + kr)(nr + s)) + O(r),
n'N30
(n,d1 )=1
(14.4)
0s<r n'N30 /r
(s,r)=1 (nr+s,q)=1
it follows that
X
ed1 b(l + kr)n = U (l) + O(Kr),
kK
n'N30
(l+kr,d1 )=1 (n,d )=1
1
where
U (l) =
ed1 b(l + kr)(rn + s) .
0s<r
kK
n'N30 /r
(s,r)=1 (l+kr,d1 )=1 (nr+s,q)=1
Hence,
X
P2
|U (l)|2 + d1 (Kr)2 .
(14.5)
l( mod d1 )
The second term on the right side is admissible for (14.3) by the second inequality in
(13.12). On the other hand, we have
X
X X X
X
|U (l)|2 =
V (k2 k1 ; s1 , s2 ),
(14.6)
l( mod d1 )
where
V (k; s1 , s2 ) =
X0
n1 'N30 /r
n2 'N30 /r l( mod d1 )
(n1 r+s1 ,q)=1 (n2 r+s2 ,q)=1
49
ed1 bl(n1 r + s1 ) b(l + kr)(n2 r + s2 ) .
X0
Here
is restriction to (l, d1 ) = (l + kr, d1 ) = 1.
To handle the right side of (14.6) we first note that if l l1 r + l2 q(mod d1 ), then the
condition (l(l + kr), d1 ) = 1 is equivalent to (l1 (l1 + k), q) = (l2 , r) = 1. In this situation,
by the relation
1
r q
+
(mod 1)
d1
q r
we have
l(n1 r + s1 ) (l + kr)(n2 r + s2 )
d1
2
r l1 (n1 r + s1 ) r2 (l1 + k)(n2 r + s2 ) q 2 s1 s2 l2 (s2 s1 )
+
q
r
(mod 1).
Thus the innermost sum in the expression for V (k; s1 , s2 ) is, by the Chinese remainder
theorem, equal to
X
Cr (s2 s1 )
eq br2 l(n1 r + s1 ) br2 (l + k)(n2 r + s2 ) .
l( mod q)
(l(l+k),q)=1
It follows that
V (k; s1 , s2 ) = W (k; s1 , s2 )Cr (s2 s1 ),
(14.7)
where
W (k; s1 , s2 ) =
X0
eq br2 l(n1 r + s1 ) br2 (l + k)(n2 r + s2 ) .
n1 'N30 /r
n2 'N30 /r l( mod q)
(n1 r+s1 ,q)=1 (n2 r+s2 ,q)=1
X0
Here
is restriction to (l(l + k), q) = 1.
By virtue of (14.7), we estimate the contribution from the terms with k1 = k2 on the
right side of (14.6) as follows. For (n1 r + s1 , q) = (n2 r + s2 , q) = 1 we have
X
eq br2 l(n1 r + s1 ) br2 l(n2 r + s2 ) = Cq ((n1 n2 )r + s1 s2 ).
l( mod q)
On the other hand, since N30 x1/3 , by (13.11) and the second inequality in (13.12) we
have
N30
x1/12+6$ r1 .
(14.8)
d1
This implies N30 /r = o(q), so that
X
|Cq (nr + m)| q 1+
n'N30 /r
50
we deduce that
X
V (0; s1 , s2 ) d1+
1 N3 .
It follows that the contribution from the terms with k1 = k2 on the right side of (14.6) is
d1+
1 KN3 which is admissible for (14.3), since
K 1 N3 x1/2+48$ N11 x3/16+52$
by (13.15) and (13.2). The proof of (14.3) is therefore reduced to showing that
X X X
X
V (k2 k1 ; s1 , s2 ) d1 x3/16+52$+ K 2 .
k1 K k2 K 0s1 <r 0s2 <r
k2 6=k1 (s1 ,r)=1 (s2 ,r)=1
X0
n1 q
n2 q
l( mod q)
(n1 r+s1 ,q)=1 (n2 r+s2 ,q)=1
eq br2 l(n1 r + s1 ) br2 (l + k)(n2 r + s2 ) ,
where F (y) is a function of C 2 [0, 1] class such that
0 F (y) 1,
00
n0
n
y
,
q
q
F (y) = 1 if
00
n0
1
n
1
F (y) = 0 if y
/
, ,
+
,
q
2q
q
2q
F (y)e(my) dy
0
51
(14.9)
satisfies
1 1
q
,
,
.
r |m| m2
(14.10)
W (k; s1 ; s2 ) =
(14.11)
m1 = m2 =
where
X
Y (k; m1 , m2 ; s1 , s2 ) =
X0
eq (l, k; m1 , m2 ; n1 , n2 ; s1 , s2 )
n1 q
n2 q
l( mod q)
(n1 r+s1 ,q)=1 (n2 r+s2 ,q)=1
with
(l, k; m1 , m2 ; n1 , n2 ; s1 , s2 ) = br2 l(n1 r + s1 ) br2 (l + k)(n2 r + s2 ) + m1 n1 + m2 n2 .
Moreover, if nj r + sj tj (mod q), then nj r(tj sj )(mod q), so that
m1 n1 + m2 n2 r(m1 t1 + m2 t2 ) r(m1 s1 + m2 s2 ) (mod q).
Hence, on substituting nj r + sj = tj , we may rewrite Y (k; m1 , m2 ; s1 , s2 ) as
Y (k; m1 , m2 ; s1 , s2 ) = Z(k; m1 , m2 )eq r(m1 s1 + m2 s2 ) ,
(14.12)
where
Z(k; m1 , m2 ) =
X0
eq br2 lt1 br2 (l + k)t2 + r(m1 t1 + m2 t2 ) .
V (k; s1 , s2 ) =
m1 = m2 =
where
J(m1 , m2 ) =
eq r(m1 s1 + m2 s2 ) Cr (s2 s1 ).
so Lemma 12 gives
Z(k; m1 , m2 ) (k, q)1/2 q 3/2+ ,
the right side being independent of m1 and m2 . On the other hand, we have the following
estimate that will be proved later
(14.14)
m1 = m2 =
(k2 k1 , q)1/2 q K 2 ,
k1 K k2 K
k2 6=k1
d1 < x1/2+2$ ,
$
31
+ 36$ = 1 .
32
2
1 X
r m =
1
m2 = 0k<r
(m) L,
m=
and (m + k) (m) for 0 k < r, since r < q by (13.11) and the second inequality
in (13.12). Thus, in order to prove (14.14), it suffices to show that
X
|J(m1 , m2 + k)| r2+
(14.15)
0k<r
53
|t|<r
X
|t|<r
X
|Cr (t)|
r1 |r
X
sIt
s(s+t)0(r1 )
eq r(m1 + m2 )s ,
(14.16)
where It is a certain interval of length < r and depending on t. For any t and square-free
r1 , there are exactly (r1 /(t, r1 )) distinct residue classes (mod r1 ) such that
s(s + t) 0 (mod r1 )
if and only if s lies in one of these classes. On the other hand, if r = r1 r2 , then
X
eq r(m1 + m2 )s min r2 , ||
r2 (m1 + m2 )/q||1
sIt
sa(r1 )
for any a. Hence the inner sum on the right side of (14.16) is
X
(r)
min r2 , ||
r2 (m1 + m2 )q||1
r2 |r
this yields
J(m1 , m2 ) (r)2 r
min r2 , ||
r2 (m1 + m2 )/q||1 .
r2 |r
54
(mod 1),
(14.17)
+O
(mod 1).
q
q
r2
q
This yields
X
min r2 , ||
r2 (m + k)/q||1 r2 L
(14.18)
0k<r2
for any m. The estimate (14.15) follows from (14.17) and (14.18) immediately.
Acknowledgments. The author is grateful to the referees for carefully reading the
manuscript and making useful suggestions.
References
[1] E. Bombieri, J. B. Friedlander and H. Iwaniec, Primes in arithmetic progressions to
large moduli, Acta Math. 156(1986), 203-251.
[2] E. Bombieri, J. B. Friedlander and H. Iwaniec, Primes in arithmetic progressions to
large moduli II, Math. Ann. 277(1987), 361-393.
[3] E. Bombieri, J. B. Friedlander and H. Iwaniec, Primes in arithmetic progressions to
large moduli III, J. Am. Math. Soc. 2(1989), 215-224.
[4] P. Deligne, La conjecture de Weil I, Publ. Math. IHES. 43(1974), 273-307.
[5] J. B. Friedlander and H. Iwaniec, Incomplete Kloosterman sums and a divisor problem, Ann. Math. 121(1985), 319-350.
[6] D. A. Goldston, J. Pintz and C. Y. Yildirim, Primes in Tuples I, Ann. Math.
170(2009), 819-862.
[7] D. A. Goldston, J. Pintz and C. Y. Yildirim, Primes in Tuples II, Acta Math.
204(2010), 1-47.
[8] D. R. Heath-Brown, Prime numbers in short intervals and a generalized Vaughan
identity, Canad. J. Math. 34(1982), 1365-1377.
[9] D. R. Heath-Brown, The divisor function d3 (n) in arithmetic progressions, Acta
Arith. 47(1986), 29-56.
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307-320.
55
Yitang Zhang
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
E-mail: yitangz@unh.edu
56