Prime Counting Functions of Sorted Arrays

Research Question:

Suppose an m x n array of integers is filled with mn consecutive natural numbers. Examine

properties of the locations of primes within the array. Investigate R(a) and C(a), which is the

expected number of primes in row a or column a, counting from the top or the left.

a) Find a function to which R(a) is asymptotic.

b) For which a is C(a) nonzero?

c) How do the sizes of the nonzero C(a) compare to each other?

Hypothesis:

R is monotonic decreasing with respect to both a and b. C takes on two constant values, one of

which is zero. R is monotonic decreasing, and is asymptotic to n/log(a).

Background:

Dirichlet’s Theorem states that for any two relatively prime integers a and b, there are infinitely

many primes in the arithmetic sequence starting with a with common difference b. The typical

way to prove this statement is by showing that L(1, χ) is nonzero for all nontrivial χ, where L is

the Dirichlet L-function. This requires some calculus and analytic number theory. Dirichlet’s

Theorem allows us to prove statements like there are infinitely primes ending in 3 (direct

application with a = 3, b = 10). However, Dirichlet’s Theorem does not tell us anything about the

density of primes within the sequence. For example, we know that there are an infinite number of

primes ending in 3; however, we don’t know where those primes are: they could be all be greater

than 1000, given only Dirichlet’s Theorem. This problem, then, attempts to fill the gaps left by

Dirichlet’s Theorem.

Rationale:
The proof of Dirichlet’s Theorem involves the Dirichlet L-function, while the generalized

Riemann Hypothesis involves the study of these L-functions. As its name suggests, the all-

important Riemann Hypothesis is a general case of the generalized Riemann Hypothesis, so the

study of one of these L-functions other than the extensively studied Riemann zeta function may

provide insight into the true character of these L-functions and which properties of the Riemann

zeta function generalize to all L-functions. Due to the Dirichlet L-function’s close relation with

our topic of investigation, the function is worth further investigation. Study of these L-functions

is a part of complex analysis, whereas the original problem statement was pure number theory,

demonstrating the complex connections between various seemingly unrelated fields of

mathematics.

Basis of Hypothesis:

It is well known that the prime counting function, π(n), is concave down; in other words, as you

count upwards, the primes generally get more and more spread out, with larger gaps in between

each. As such, having R(a) be monotonic decreasing aligns with the Prime Number Theorem,

which is a rigorous statement of the above. A known approximation of the number of primes

below a given n is n/log(n); using this approximation and taking the limit of a as it approaches

infinity (relative to n), we see that the number of primes in any given row should approach

n/log(a). It is clear that certain columns will have no primes; particularly, when the column

number is not relatively prime to the number of columns. Regarding the remaining columns with

primes, I adopted the null hypothesis that the column number does not influence the asymptotic

number of primes in the column.

Operational Definitions:
 ● Prime Counting Function: A function π(x) : N => N that counts the number of prime

numbers below x.

● L-Function: An analytic continuation of an L-series.

● Dirichlet L-Series: L(s, χ) is the infinite sum from n = 1 to infinity of χ(n)/n^s. χ is

called the Dirichlet character and is defined as a function from the integers to the

complex numbers that satisfy the following properties:

○ There exists a positive integer k such that χ(n) = χ(n + k) for all n.

○ If gcd(n, k) > 1 then χ(n) = 0; if gcd(n, k) = 1 then χ(n) ≠ 0.

○ χ(mn) = χ(m)χ(n) for all integers m and n.

● Prime Number Theorem: π(x) ~ x/log(x).

Remark. This asymptotic bound only gives an asymptotic bound; pointwise, there is still

an error that approaches 0 relative to x as x increases to infinity. As such, taking

differences of points on the asymptotic function may not reflect the true number of

primes between the two numbers.

● Asymptotic: A function g(x) is asymptotic to f(x) if the limit of their quotient approaches

0 as x approaches infinity.

Descriptors Used for Literature Search:

● Generalized Riemann hypothesis

● Dirichlet’s theorem on arithmetic progressions

● Dirichlet L-series