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Articulo Riemann PDF
Articulo Riemann PDF
a Given Quantity.
(Ueber die Anzahl der Primzahlen unter
einer gegebenen Grösse.)
Bernhard Riemann
[Monatsberichte der Berliner Akademie,
November 1859.]
Translated by David R. Wilkins
I believe that I can best convey my thanks for the honour which the
Academy has to some degree conferred on me, through my admission as one
of its correspondents, if I speedily make use of the permission thereby received
to communicate an investigation into the accumulation of the prime numbers;
a topic which perhaps seems not wholly unworthy of such a communication,
given the interest which Gauss and Dirichlet have themselves shown in it
over a lengthy period.
For this investigation my point of departure is provided by the observation
of Euler that the product
Y 1 P1
= ,
1 ns
1− s
p
if one substitutes for p all prime numbers, and for n all whole numbers.
The function of the complex variable s which is represented by these two
expressions, wherever they converge, I denote by ζ(s). Both expressions
converge only when the real part of s is greater than 1; at the same time an
expression for the function can easily be found which always remains valid.
On making use of the equation
Z∞
Π(s − 1)
e−nx xs−1 dx =
ns
0
1
one first sees that
Z∞
xs−1 dx
Π(s − 1)ζ(s) = .
ex − 1
0
provided that, in the many-valued function (−x)s−1 = e(s−1) log(−x) , the log-
arithm of −x is determined so as to be real when x is negative. Hence
Z∞
(−x)s−1 dx
2 sin πs Π(s − 1)ζ(s) = i ,
∞
ex − 1
thus a relation between ζ(s) and ζ(1 − s), which, through the use of known
properties of the function Π, may be expressed as follows:
s
s
Π − 1 π − 2 ζ(s)
2
2
remains unchanged when s is replaced by 1 − s.
This property of the function induced me to introduce, in place of Π(s−1),
s X 1
the integral Π − 1 into the general term of the series , whereby one
2 ns
obtains a very convenient expression for the function ζ(s). In fact
∞
1 s
Z
− 2s s
s
Π − 1 π = e−nnπx x 2 −1 dx,
n 2
0
then ∞
s
Z
s s
Π − 1 π − 2 ζ(s) = ψ(x)x 2 −1 dx,
2
0
or since
1
− 12
2ψ(x) + 1 = x 2ψ + 1 , (Jacobi, Fund. S. 184)
x
Z∞ Z∞
s 1
s−3
− 2s s
−1
Π − 1 π ζ(s) = ψ(x)x 2 dx + ψ x 2 dx
2 x
1 1
Z1
s−3 s
+ 12 x 2 − x 2 −1 dx
0
∞
1 Z s 1+s
= + ψ(x) x 2 −1 + x− 2 dx.
s(s − 1)
1
1
I now set s = 2
+ ti and
s
s
Π (s − 1)π − 2 ζ(s) = ξ(t),
2
so that
Z∞
3
ξ(t) = 1
2
− (tt + 1
4
) ψ(x)x− 4 cos( 12 t log x) dx
1
or, in addition,
Z∞ 3
d(x 2 ψ 0 (x)) − 1
ξ(t) = 4 x 4 cos( 12 t log x) dx.
dx
1
3
This function is finite for all finite values of t, and allows itself to be
developed in powers of tt as a very rapidly converging series. Since, for
a value of s whose real part is greater than 1, log ζ(s) = − log(1 − p−s )
P
remains finite, and since the same holds for the logarithms of the other factors
of ξ(t), it follows that the function ξ(t) can only vanish if the imaginary part
of t lies between 12 i and − 12 i. The number of roots of ξ(t) = 0, whose real
parts lie between 0 and T is approximately
T T T
= log − ;
2π 2π 2π
R
because the integral d log ξ(t), taken in a positive sense around the region
consisting of the values of t whose imaginary parts lie between 12 i and − 12 i
and whose real parts lie between 0 and T , is (up to a fraction of the order
T
of magnitude of the quantity T1 ) equal to T log − T i; this integral
2π
however is equal to the number of roots of ξ(t) = 0 lying within in this
region, multiplied by 2πi. One now finds indeed approximately this number
of real roots within these limits, and it is very probable that all roots are
real. Certainly one would wish for a stricter proof here; I have meanwhile
temporarily put aside the search for this after some fleeting futile attempts,
as it appears unnecessary for the next objective of my investigation.
If one denotes by α all the roots of the equation ξ(α) = 0, one can express
log ξ(t) as
tt
log 1 −
P
+ log ξ(0);
αα
for, since the density of the roots of the quantity t grows with t only as
t
log , it follows that this expression converges and becomes for an infinite t
2π
only infinite as t log t; thus it differs from log ξ(t) by a function of tt, that
for a finite t remains continuous and finite and, when divided by tt, becomes
infinitely small for infinite t. This difference is consequently a constant, whose
value can be determined through setting t = 0.
With the assistance of these methods, the number of prime numbers that
are smaller than x can now be determined.
Let F (x) be equal to this number when x is not exactly equal to a prime
number; but let it be greater by 12 when x is a prime number, so that, for
any x at which there is a jump in the value in F (x),
F (x + 0) + F (x − 0)
F (x) = .
2
If in the identity
log ζ(s) = − log(1 − p−s ) = p−s + 1
p−2s + 1
p−3s + · · ·
P P P P
2 3
4
one now replaces
Z∞ Z∞
−s −s−1 −2s
p by s x ds, p by s x−s−1 ds, . . . ,
p p2
one obtains ∞
log ζ(s) Z
= f (x)x−s−1 dx,
s
1
if one denotes
1 1
F (x) + 12 F (x 2 ) + 13 F (x 3 ) + · · ·
by f (x).
This equation is valid for each complex value a + bi of s for which a > 1.
If, though, the equation
Z∞
g(s) = h(x)x−s d log x
0
holds within this range, then, by making use of Fourier ’s theorem, one can
express the function h in terms of the function g. The equation decomposes,
if h(x) is real and
g(a + bi) = g1 (b) + ig2 (b),
into the two following:
Z∞
g1 (b) = h(x)x−a cos(b log x) d log x,
0
Z∞
ig2 (b) = −i h(x)x−a sin(b log x) d log x.
0
and integrates them from −∞ to +∞, then one obtains πh(y)y −α on the
right hand side in both, on account of Fourier ’s theorems; thus, if one adds
both equations and multiplies them by iy α , one obtains
a+∞i
Z
2πih(y) = g(s)y s ds,
a−∞i
5
where the integration is carried out so that the real part of s remains constant.
For a value of y at which there is a jump in the value of h(y), the integral
takes on the mean of the values of the function h on either side of the jump.
From the manner in which the function f was defined, we see that it has the
same property, and hence in full generality
a+∞i
1 Z log ζ(s) s
f (y) = y ds.
2πi s
a−∞i
(s − 12 )2
!
s s
log π − log(s − 1) − log Π + α log 1 +
P
+ log ξ(0)
2 2 αα
found earlier; however the integrals of the individual terms of this expression
do not converge, when extended to infinity, for which reason it is appropriate
to convert the previous equation by means of integration by parts into
a+∞i
log ζ(s)
1 1 Z d
f (x) = − s xs ds
2πi log x ds
a−∞i
Since
n=m
!
s s s
X
− log Π = lim log 1 + − log m ,
2 n=1 2n 2
it then follows that all the terms of the expression for f (x), with the exception
of
a+∞i
1 1 Z
1
log ξ(0)xs ds = log ξ(0),
2πi log x ss
a−∞i
6
But now !!
1 s
d log 1 −
s β 1
= ,
dβ (β − s)β
and, if the real part of s is larger than the real part of β,
a+∞i x
1 Z xs ds xβ Z β−1
− = = x dx,
2πi (β − s)β β ∞
a−∞i
or
Zx
= xβ−1 dx,
0
a+∞i !
1 Z 1 s
= − log 1 − xs ds
2πi s β
a−∞i
Zx
xβ−1
= dx + const.
∞
log x
7
Through the insertion of these values in the expression for f (x) one ob-
tains
Z∞
Pα 1
+αi
1
−αi
1 dx
f (x) = Li(x) − Li x 2 + Li x 2 + + log ξ(0),
x
x2 − 1 x log x
if in α one substitutes for α all positive roots (or roots having a positive
P
(s − 12 )2
!
1P
a+bi d log 1 +
1 Z s αα
xs ds
2πi ds
a−bi
expression for f (x) or, up to a part diminishing very rapidly with growing x,
1
1 P cos(α log x)x− 2
−2 α
log x log x
gives an approximating expression for the density of the prime number +
half the density of the squares of the prime numbers + a third of the density
of the cubes of the prime numbers etc. at the magnitude x.
8
The known approximating expression F (x) = Li(x) is therefore valid up
1
to quantities of the order x 2 and gives somewhat too large a value; because
the non-periodic terms in the expression for F (x) are, apart from quantities
that do not grow infinite with x:
1 1 1 1 1
Li(x) − 21 Li(x 2 ) − 13 Li(x 3 ) − 15 Li(x 5 ) + 16 Li(x 6 ) − 17 Li(x 7 ) + · · ·