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Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279
www.elsevier.com/locate/yhmat

An unpublished paper ‘Über einige durch unendliche Reihen

definirte Functionen eines complexen Argumentes’
by Adolf Hurwitz
Nicola M.R. Oswald
University of Wuppertal, Department of Mathematics and Informatics, Gaußstr. 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany
Available online 21 April 2017

Abstract
In 1903, Epstein published his proof of meromorphic continuation and a functional equation for Dirichlet series associated with
quadratic forms, now called Epstein zeta-functions. However, already in 1889 (or even earlier) Hurwitz was aware of these results
as his mathematical diaries and some unpublished notes (in an almost final form) found in his estate at the ETH Zurich show. In
this article we present and analyze Hurwitz’s notes and compare his reasoning with Epstein’s paper in detail.
© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MSC: 11M41; 01A70

Keywords: Adolf Hurwitz; Zeta-functions; Quadratic forms

1. Introduction

Dirichlet series are generating functions defined by arithmetical data. Exploiting their analytic properties,
one may hope to derive relevant information about the underlying arithmetical object. The prototypical
example is the Riemann zeta-function. In 1859, Riemann proved analytic continuation and a functional
equation for the zeta-function and made several claims about its further analytic properties (Riemann,
1859). Those unproven statements had a strong impact on the development of complex analysis in the
second half of the 19th century and, finally, led to the proof of the celebrated prime number theorem by
Jacques Hadamard and (independently) Charles de la Vallée Poussin in 1896; the only remaining open
conjecture Riemann posed is the famous Riemann hypothesis which is now one of the seven millennium
problems. One may say that Dirichlet series and their analytic properties play a central role in analytic
number theory.

E-mail address: oswald@uni-wuppertal.de.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hm.2017.03.003
0315-0860/© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 253

Figure 1. The draft of a letter to Lipschitz with date 17 August 1889, found in Hurwitz’s Mathematical Diary no. 6, p. 115/116.

After Riemann’s path-breaking paper several extensions and generalizations have been studied. A major
subject of 19th century number theory had been the arithmetical theory of quadratic forms. The essential
analytic properties of zeta-functions associated with quadratic forms were first published by Paul Epstein
in 1903 (submitted January 1902): let
  
+∞

g . . . gp  e2π i j mj hj
Z  1 (s) := s ,
h1 . . . hp  ϕ
m=−∞ ϕ((g + m))
2

where m = (m1 , . . . , mp ) is a tuple of integers, g = (g1 , . . . , gp ) and h = (h1 , . . . , hp ) are tuples of real
numbers, and ϕ is the quadratic form defined by


p
ϕ(x) = ck, xk x
k,=1

with ck, = c,k and x = (x1 , . . . , xp ). Building on Bernhard Riemann’s approach to the zeta-function,
Epstein proved meromorphic continuation to the whole complex plane and a functional equation for the
Dirichlet series above (Epstein, 1903). Epstein’s results generalized previous studies of Rudolf Lipschitz
who considered the case p = 1 (Lipschitz, 1889).
While examining the mathematical estate of Adolf Hurwitz at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule
Zürich (Hurwitz, ETH), we found a draft of a letter Hurwitz aimed to send to Lipschitz (see Figure 1). In
Hurwitz’s Diary no. 6 with date 17 August 1889 we can find the following lines:

“Dear privy councillor! Mr Minkowski had informed me some time ago that my treatise on Dirichlet series
is intimately related with your article published in the 54th issue of Crelle’s journal. Unfortunately, I did
not know this article while I was writing my treatise, hence I omitted to mention it. Recently, you were
so kind to send me your article ’Untersuchung der Eigenschaften einer Gattung von unendlichen Reihen’
touching this topic. Therefore I would like to thank you and mention a few further results which I obtained
in continuation of my work about D.’s series long ago. While being occupied with further questions I was
254 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

distracted from a rigorous examination of these investigations, and therefore I am not quite sure whether
all conditions I suppose on the introduced objects are necessary. The theorems I have found consider the
function

 s 
 2 e2πi(n1 v1 +n2 v2 +...+np vp )
(1) f (s) = (s)
π2 n1 ,n2 ,...np
[ϕ(n1 + u1 , n2 + u2 , . . . np + up )]s

Here u1 , . . . up , v1 , . . . vp denote 2p real quantities; the summation is with respect to all positive and neg-
ative integer values n1 , n2 , . . . np , where in case of integers u1 , u2 , . . . up the combination n1 = −u1 , n2 =
−u2 , . . . np = −up is excluded. Moreover, ϕ(x1 , x2 , . . . xp ) stands for a positive quadratic form of (without
loss of generality) determinant equal to 1. So far the sum converges for all values of s having real part
greater than p2 . The function f (s) can be continued over the whole complex plane and it comes out that this
function is univalent and is infinite of the first kind only for s = 0 and s = p/2. If we consider the function

  2s 
p−1 e−2πi(n1 u1 +n2 u2 +...+np up )
(2) F (s) = (s)
π2 [(n1 + v1 , n2 + v2 , . . . np + vp )]s

where  is the adjoint form to ϕ, then the function F (s) has the same analytic character as f (s) and

p−1
f ( p2 − s) = e−2πi(u1 v1 +u2 v2 +...+un vn )  2 F (s)
 p−1
f (s) = e−2πi uv
F ( p2 − s)
 2

 s
p(p−2) 2  e+2πi(n1 v1 +...+np vp )
F1 (s) = (s)
π2 (p−1)s [ϕ(n1 + u1 , . . . np + up )]s
2 −1
F1 (s) = f (s)(p−2)

Wishing you pleasant h. I finish with my best regards. Your sincerely, A. Hurwitz”1

1 “Sehr verehrter Herr Geheimrat! Herr Minkowski hat mich schon vor einiger Zeit darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß meine
Abhandlung über die Dirichlet’schen Reihen in enger Beziehung zu Ihrem im 54 ten Bande des Crelle’schen Journals publizierten
Aufsatz steht. Leider war mir dieser Aufsatz zur Zeit als ich jene Abhandlung schrieb nicht bekannt, so daß ich es unterließ
auf denselben Bezug zu nehmen. Neuerdings waren Sie so freundlich mir Ihre denselben Gegenstand betreffende Abhandlung
‘Untersuchung der Eigenschaften einer Gattung von unendlichen Reihen’ zuzusenden. Ich möchte Ihnen hierfür meinen herzlichen
Dank aussprechen und mir zugleich erlauben, Ihnen einige weitere Resultate mitzutheilen, welche ich im Anschluß an meine
Arbeit über die D. Reihen vor längerer Zeit erhalten habe. Durch die Beschäftigung mit anderen Fragen bin ich immer wieder
von der sorgfältigen Durcharbeitung dieser Untersuchungen abgezogen worden, und ich weiß deshalb nicht, ob die Bedingungen
welchen ich die eingef. Größen unterwerfe sämtlich nothwendig sind. Die Sätze welche ich gefunden habe beziehen sich auf die
Function

 s 
 2 e2πi(n1 v1 +n2 v2 +...+np vp )
(1) f (s) = (s)
π2 n1 ,n2 ,...np
[ϕ(n1 + u1 , n2 + u2 , . . . np + up )]s

Hier bedeuten u1 , . . . up , v1 , . . . vp 2p reelle Größen; die Summation bezieht sich auf alle positiven und negativen ganzzahli-
gen Werthe von n1 , n2 , . . . np , wobei jedoch falls u1 , u2 , . . . up ganzzahlige Werthe besitzen die Combination n1 = −u1 , n2 =
−u2 , . . . np = −up auszuschließen ist. Ferner bedeutet ϕ(x1 , x2 , . . . xp ) eine positive quadratische Form, deren Determinante
(unbeschadet der Allgemeinheit) gleich 1 angenommen wird. Die Summe convergirt bisher für alle Werthe von s deren reeller
Best. größer als p2 ist. Die Function f (s) läßt sich über die ganze complexe Zahlenebene fortsetzen und es zeigt sich dabei, daß
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 255

The letter (if dispatched) seems to be lost; at least, Hurwitz is not mentioned in Scharlau’s list (Scharlau,
1986) of letters Lipschitz had received from his contemporaries.2 There appears also no correspondence
between Lipschitz and Hurwitz in the latter’s estate, neither in Zurich nor in the archive of the Staats- und
Universitätsbiliothek Göttingen where most of his letters are stored.
A closer look at Hurwitz’s diary entry discloses some inconsistencies which may be explained by the
fact that it is a draft of a letter and not the letter itself. Firstly, it is written that without loss of generality the
determinant of the quadratic form is assumed to be one, however, in Formula (1) and also in later formulae
the symbol  appears which denotes this determinant (as we shall explain in Section 4). Secondly, the
factor  in the functional relation linking f and F shows up without explanation and makes only sense
when it denotes the determinant of . Also the superfluous definition of F1 indicates that this draft shall
be considered as a preliminary outline how a letter to Lipschitz could be formulated. We further note that
Hurwitz did not comment on his proof for the aforementioned statements.
Surprisingly, Hurwitz’s mathematical estate contains more or less elaborated but unpublished notes on
this topic (and even the very first pages of a fair copy as for submission to a journal). The short note
(Oswald and Steuding, 2016b) reports about this unexpected find. In the following section, however, we
provide a complete (free) translation of this interesting piece of mathematics (using Hurwitz’s notation and
commenting on some of his conclusions in footnotes when necessary). In the two subsequent sections we
fill a small gap left in Hurwitz’s notes and put his reasoning in the historical context of his time. In a final
section we conclude with a comparative analysis of Epstein’s work. The German original of Hurwitz’s fair
copy can be found in Appendix A.

diese Function in der ganzen complexen Zahlenebene eindeutig ist und nur für s = 0 und s = p/2 von der ersten Art unendlich ist.
Bildet man nun die Function

 s
p−1 2  e−2πi(n1 u1 +n2 u2 +...+np up )
(2) F (s) = (s)
π2 [(n1 + v1 , n2 + v2 , . . . np + vp )]s

wo  die zu ϕ adjungirte Form bezeichnet, so hat die Function F (s) denselben analytischen Charakter wie f (s) und es ist

p−1
f ( p2 − s) = e−2πi(u1 v1 +u2 v2 +...+un vn )  2 F (s)


f (s) = e−2πi uv  p−1 p
2 − s)
2 F(

 s
p(p−2) 2  e+2πi(n1 v1 +...+np vp )
F1 (s) = (s)
π2 (p−1)s [ϕ(n1 + u1 , . . . np + up )]s

F1 (s) = f (s)(p−2) −1
2

Indem ich Ihnen angenehme F. wünsche, verbleiben ich mit freundlichen Grüßen. Ihr ganz ergebener A. Hurwitz” Note that we
have not copied scratched formulae or fragments of sentences. The abbreviation ‘F.’ might stand for ‘Ferien’ meaning ‘holidays,’
so we have used the letter ‘h.’ in our translation.
2 Rudolf Otto Sigismund Lipschitz (1832–1903) was a student of Dirichlet. In 1864 he became professor in Bonn. He had been
considered as one of the leading analysts of his time. In his first note on Dirichlet series (Lipschitz, 1857), the real and imaginary
part of the ζ (s) defining Dirichlet series and generalizations thereof werde studied. With his second article (Lipschitz, 1889) he
succeeded to give an almost complete account of Dirichlet L-functions within an analysis of a more general Dirichlet series.
The link to Hurwitz could have been established by Hermann Minkowski. In 1887, after studying with Hurwitz in Königsberg,
Minkowski became professor at the University of Bonn where Lipschitz was professor. Concerning Lipschitz’s correspondence we
note that the mathematical seminar of the University of Bonn was destroyed during World War II.
256 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

Figure 2. The very beginning of Hurwitz’s notes. Although some words are crossed out, his text provides the reader with an easily
accessible approach to the fundamental analytic properties of zeta-functions associated with quadratic forms.

2. A draft of a paper found in Hurwitz’ estate

See Figures 2–4.

§1. Let


p
ϕ(x1 , x2 , . . . , xp ) = aik xi xk (aik = aki ) (1)
i,k=1

be any positive quadratic form (of p variables x1 , x2 , . . . xp ) having determinant

 = |aik | (i, k = 1, 2, . . . , p) (2)

different from zero. Furthermore, let u1 , u2 , . . . , up ; v1 , v2 , . . . , vp be 2p arbitrary real quantities and de-
note by s a complex variable. Now I define the p-folded infinite series

 e2π i(x1 v1 +x2 v2 +...+xp vp )


F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps , (3)
[ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 , . . . , xp + up )] 2
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 257

where the summation is taken over all integers x1 , x2 , . . . , xp with possible exceptions of the combina-
tions x1 = −u1 , x2 = −u2 , . . . , xp = −up , the meaning of the comma,3 of course, takes effect only if the
quantities u are all integers.
The series (3) converges absolutely and uniformly for all values of s for which the real part is greater than
one,4 and represents for these values of s a single-valued5 analytic function of the variable s. In view of the
usual geometrical representation of s = r + it by the point with rectangular coordinates r, t the mentioned
values of s are represented by the points of one of the two domains in which the plane is decomposed by the
line r = 1. This domain shall be denoted by G . It then follows from the theorems of Weierstraß that in the
domain G the series (3) represents a single-valued analytic function or the branch of an analytic function.
If the function allows a continuation beyond the domain G , then this continuation defines a single-valued
or a multi-valued function of the variable s. These are the questions I want to answer at first.
§2. For simplification we assume that the determinant of the form ϕ has the value 1. This assumption
implies no essential restriction. In fact, if  is not equal 1, then one can find κ such that the determinant of
κϕ equals 1,6 and we would consider the series related to the form κϕ in place of the series (3) associated
ps
with ϕ, which differ one another by a factor κ − 2 .
Using the identity7

ps ∞
1 π2 ps
ps = ps e−π λκ λ 2 d log λ,
κ 2 ( 2 )
0

which is valid for all positive values of κ and all values of s having positive real part, we obtain

∞
π 2 
ps
 ps
F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps e−π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
λ 2 d log λ, (4)
( 2 )
0

3 Here Hurwitz probably refers to the notation   .

4 This statement needs an explanation. For example, it follows from a geometric reasoning due to Eisenstein. Indeed, on an
additional sheet of paper Hurwitz gives a reference to Eisenstein (1847). It seems that this and further sheets of paper, found in
his estate, were intended as clean copy for submission to a journal, however, these second notes are interrupted already after the
introduction. Note that a simpler proof for the convergence of the series in question can be found in Krieg (1994). Series defined by
quadratic forms were first considered by Dirichlet in his works on the infinitude of primes in an arithmetic progression (Dirichlet,
1839/1840).
5 The notion ‘monogenic’ had been introduced by Augustin-Louis Cauchy in 1851 to characterize functions satisfying the
Cauchy–Riemann equations (cf. Bottazzini and Gray, 2013, p. 203); nowadays we would use the modern term ‘holomorphic’.
Note that ‘analyticity’ stands for the local property of a function to have a power series expansion which is, by Cauchy’s theorem,
equivalent to holomorphicity. Those different notions reflect the rivaling approaches to complex analysis, namely the geometric
thinking of Cauchy and Riemann vs. the functional methods of Weierstrass. Nevertheless, Weierstrass used the attribute ‘mono-
genic’ in his papers, as well as his pupil Hurwitz (e.g., in the well-known monograph (Hurwitz, 1922), based on lecture notes of
Hurwitz and complemented by Courant after Hurwitz’s death in 1919).
6 One shall assume here that the form ϕ is non-degenerate; then the determinant  is always distinct from zero (because in this
case it equals the volume of a fundamental parallelepiped of the lattice associated with ϕ).
7 The integration with respect to d log λ looks odd; one instance of this expression can be found in Riemann (1857a). Of course,

∞ −λ z
this expression equals dλλ . We may speculate whether this uncommon notation is related to Gauss’
integral (z) = 0 e λ dλ
for his function interpolating the factorials similar to the Gamma-function (z) = (z + 1) = 0∞ e−λ λz d log λ which Euler
introduced for the same purpose. The corresponding integral representation for F is nowadays called Mellin transform in honor
of Hjalmar Mellin and his elaborated theory (Mellin, 1899). It might be interesting to note that in 1881/82 Mellin studied at the
University of Berlin, so he might have met Hurwitz in person when he was starting his investigations of the Hurwitz zeta-function.
258 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

Figure 3. Different from his draft of a letter to Lipschitz and several entries in his mathematical diaries Hurwitz considers here only
forms of determinant one (which is no loss of generality as he explains).

where here and in the sequel, for abbreviation, the characters x; u; v collectively  denote x1 , x2 , . . . , xp ;
u1 , u2 , . . . , up ; v1 , v2 , . . . , vp and the notation of the symbols ϕ(x + u), xv are clear. If now on the
right-hand side of this equation summation and integration may be interchanged, then the value of the
series F (s | u, v, ϕ) can be represented as
ps ∞
π2 ps
F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps {ϑ(λ|u, v, ϕ) − u } λ 2 d log λ, (5)
( 2 )
0

where ϑ(λ|u, v, ϕ) is the p-folded theta series

 
θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) = e−π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
, (6)

and

u = e−2π i(u1 v1 +u2 v2 +...+up vp )

(7)
or u =0

according to the quantities u being all integers or not. This subtracted term stems from the series (6) in
which the indices x1 , x2 , . . . , xp take all integer values whereas in the series (3)8 any combination x1 =
−u1 , x2 = −u2 , . . . , xp = −up is excluded if all u are integers.
§3. The integral appearing on the right-hand side of Equation (5) represents a function in s which can
be continued to the whole plane; at the same time it follows from the for this purpose necessary expansion
that the series
ps
{ϑ(λ|u, v, ϕ) − u } λ 2

8 In the original Hurwitz mentions here misleadingly Formula (4) in place of (3).
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 259

Figure 4. The theta transformation formula in Hurwitz’s notes. The easiest case can be found in Jacobi (1828). Gustav Adolp Göpel
and Johann Georg Rosenhain studied theta-functions of genus 2 around 1850 (cf. Bottazzini and Gray, 2013). A little later Riemann
defined and analyzed theta-functions of several variables (Riemann, 1857b).

can be integrated term-wise if the real part of s is greater than 1, so that for those values of s Equation (5)
is fulfilled. According to definition (6) let
 
θ (λ | v, −u, ) = e−π λ(x+v)−2π i xu , (8)

where  is the form adjoint to ϕ.9 Moreover, write E = e2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp ) for abbreviation. Then, linking
the functions (6) and (8) there is the relation
 p  
−2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp ) 1 1
θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) = e θ | v, −u,  (9)
λ λ

and not only for all values of λ, u,  v in our context but for any system of these values which lead to
convergent series (6) and (8). Here λ1 shall denote that value of the square root having a positive real part.
For the proof of this relation I remark that the value of the series
 
e−π λϕ(x+u)−2π i v(x+u)

remains obviously invariant if any of the quantities u1 , u2 , . . . , up is increased by a unit. By Fourier’s

theorem the value of this series is therefore in the form

Ax1 ,x2 ,...,xp e−2πi()u1 x1 +...+up xp )

representable. It is well-known that the coefficients A are determined by the equation

+∞ 
Ax1 ,x2 ,...,xp = · · · e−π λϕ(u)+2π i u(v+x) du1 du2 . . . dup
−∞

and the appearing p-folded integral can be reduced to a product of p usual integrals by writing ϕ(u) as sum
of squares of p linear functions of u and using them as new integration variable. This leads to
 p
1 1
Ax1 ,x2 ,...,xp = e−π λ (x+v)
λ

9 Recall that the adjoint  of a quadratic form ϕ is defined via the adjoint of the related symmetric matrix.
260 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

with the above mentioned choice of the square root. Therefore, we have the identity
 
e−π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
 p
 1  1 
= e−2π i uv e−π λ (x+v)−2π i xu
λ

for all finite values of the 2p (real or complex) quantities u1 , u2 , . . . , up , v1 , v2 , . . . , vp and any value of λ
for which the real part is positive. Using the introduced notions this equation coincides with (9).
§4. The integral

∞
ps
I (s) = {θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) − u }λ 2 d log λ (10)
0

is now written as sum of two integrals according to

∞ ∞ 1
= + ,
0 1 0

1
and in the second integral λ is introduced as new integration variable. In view of (9) we get

∞
ps
I (s) = {θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) − u }λ 2 d log λ +
1
∞
p ps
−2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp )
+e {θ (λ | v, −u, )λ 2 − u E }λ− 2 d log λ
1

or
∞
ps
I (s) = {θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) − u }λ 2 d log λ +
1
∞
p(1−s)
−1
+E {θ (λ | v, −u, ) − v }λ 2 d log λ + (11)
1
∞ ∞
v p(1−s) ps
+ λ 2 d log λ − u λ− 2 d log λ,
E
1 1

where the symbol v is defined by

v =E
(12)
or v =0
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 261

according to the quantities v being all integers or not. The first two integrals on the right-hand side can
be extended in convergent power series in s and therefore these integrals represent transcendental entire
functions in s which will be denoted as

G (s | u, v, ϕ) resp. G (1 − s | v, −u, ).

Concerning the two last integrals of the right-hand side of (11), they have finite values only if the real part
of s is larger than 1 in which case the integrals equal

2 1 2 1
− · resp. · .
p 1−s p s
Hence we have the result: The integral I (s) has a finite value for all s if neither all quantities v nor all
quantities u are integers. However, if all quantities v are integers, then I (s) has a finite value only if the
real part of s is greater than 1. Finally, if all quantities u are integers but not all quantities v, then I (s) is
finite only for those s which have a positive real part. In all these cases in which I (s) has a finite value,
this value equals the value of the unique function in s given by

1 2 v 1 2 u 1
G (s | u, v, ϕ) + G (1 − s | v, −u, ) − · − · .
E pE 1 − s p s

§5. In order to step from the integral I (s) to the infinite series F (s | u, v, ϕ) it is necessary to find the
range for which (5) is valid. In other words, it is to study when the series inside the integral on the right-hand
side can be integrated term-wise. The result of this study, which might be rather general but not difficult, is
that the equation holds for all values of s having real part greater than 1. Combining this with the result of
the previous paragraph, we find: The series

 e2π i xv

F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps ,
[ϕ(x + u)] 2
represents a branch of the for all finite s defined unique function
ps 
π2 1 2 v 1 2 u 1
f (s) = ps G (s | u, v, ϕ) + G (1 − s | v, −u, ) − · − · .
( 2 ) E pE 1 − s p s

Obviously, this is a transcendental entire function with the only exception when all quantities v are integers.
In this case v = E and the function f (s) is singular in the finite plane for s = 1 where f (s) is infinite such
p
that (s − 1)f (s) = π2
( p2 )
· p2 .

§6. If one applies the theorem of the previous paragraph to the series

 e−2π i xu

F (s | v, −u, ) = ps ,
[ϕ(x + v)] 2
then one gets that this represents a branch of the unique function
ps 
π2 2 u E 1 2 v 1
f1 (s) = ps G (s | v, −u, ) + EG (1 − s | − u, −v, ϕ) − · − · .
( 2 ) p 1−s p s
262 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

Hence, there exists a relation between the functions f (s) and f1 (s) defined by the series F :

( p(1−s)
2 ) ( ps
2 )
f1 (1 − s) p(1−s)
= e2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp ) f (s) ps .
π 2 π 2

§7. The case p = 1. The only quadratic form of determinant 1 in one variable is the form

ϕ(x) = x 2 .

The adjoint form (x) is = x 2 too. Our series then reduce to

+∞
 e2π ixv
s
x=−∞ [(x + u)2 ] 2

and
+∞
 e−2π ixu
s .
x=−∞ [(x + v)2 ] 2

Without loss of generality the quantities u and v can be assumed to satisfy the conditions

0 ≤ u < 1, 0 ≤ v < 1,

since the values of the series by replacing u with u ± 1 or v by v ± 1 change by factors which can explicitly
be determined. Under this assumption the series equal
∞
 ∞

e−2π ixv  e
2π ixv
+ ,
(x − u)s (x + u)s
x=1 x=0
∞
  e−2π ixu∞
e2π ixu 
+ .
(x − v) s (x + v)s
x=1 x=0

Between the functions f (s) and f1 (s) defined by these series, which are of finite value for all s except
s = 1, one has the relation

( (1−s)
2 ) ( 2s )
f1 (1 − s) (1−s)
= e2π iuv f (s) s .
π 2 π2

If the quantities u, v take rational values, then one is led to the theorems of my above quoted publication.

§8. The case p = 2. This case is remarkable since the adjoint form  is essentially identical with the
original one. Let

ϕ(x1 , x2 ) = ax12 + 2bx1 x2 + cx22 ,

then
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 263

(x1 , x2 ) = cx12 − 2bx1 x2 + ax22 = ϕ(x2 , −x1 ).

Therefore, the infinite series

 e2iπ(x1 v1 +x2 v2 )  e−2π i(x1 u1 +x2 u2 )

and
[ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 )]s [ϕ(x2 + v2 , −x1 − v1 )]s

are applied or, if v2 , −v1 are replacing v1 , v2 and the corresponding summation indices x1 , x2 in the second
series by x2 , −x1 ,

 e2iπ(x1 v2 −x2 v1 )  e2π i(x1 u2 −x2 u1 )

and .
[ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 )]s [ϕ(x2 + v2 , −x1 − v1 )]s

For the functions in s defined by the above series the following relation holds

(1 − s) (s)
f1 (1 − s) 1−s
= e2π i(u1 v2 −u2 v1 ) f (s) s .
π π
If in particular u1 , u2 equal v1 , v2 , then both series are identical and the relation leads to the following
theorem: The function defined by

(s)   e2iπ(x1 u2 −x2 u1 )

πs [ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 )]s

takes the same values for s and for 1 − s.

§9. The term-wise integration of a series

R = u1 + u2 + u3 + . . . + un + . . .

is only then allowed, if the integral taken over the remainder term

rn = un+1 + un+2 + . . .

gets arbitrarily small with increasing n. It immediately follows that term-wise integration of the series R is
permissible if the same holds for the series

R = v1 + v2 + . . . + vn + . . . ,

where the terms are assumed to be positive throughout the integration interval and satisfy the condition
ϕ(x)
vn > |un |. If now ϕ(x) and ψ(x) denote any positive quadratic forms of p variables, then the quotient ψ(x)
has always a positive lower bound g different from zero such that for all values of the variables

ϕ(x)
≥ g.
ψ(x)

In fact, the quadratic form

ϕ(x) − αψ(x),
264 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

which becomes for α = 0 the definite form ϕ(x), will be for all sufficiently small positive values of α a
positive form and, hence, fulfills for such α

ϕ(x)
> α.
ψ(x)

This proves the existence of such a lower bound g.10

Now I put

ψ(x) = x12 + x22 + . . . + xp2 .

It follows that then every term of the series

 
 −π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
e

is in absolute value not larger than the corresponding term of the series

 −π λgψ(x+u)
e ,

valid for all positive values of λ. Hence, the term-wise integration of the integral I (s)11 is admissible
provided this is true for the integral

∞
ps
 −π λgψ(x+u)
e λ 2 d log λ,
0


where s denotes the real part of s.12 If we now collect all those terms of e−π λgψ(x+u) satisfying
√
yi ≤ | g(xi + ui )| < yi + 1,

where the yi are non-negative integers, then there are at most ( √2g )p many terms each of which being less
than e−π λ(y1 +y2 +...+yp ) . Hence, the latter integral is simultaneously treatable term-wise with the integral
2 2 2

∞
ps
 −π λ(x12 +x22 +...+xp2 )
e λ 2 d log λ.
0

For the latter one this is valid for s > 1 as follows in a different way. Let

10 A more simple reasoning here would be principal axis transformation, however, this modern point of view was not common in
the 1880s. Note that in 1895 Hurwitz provided a criterion to decide whether a symmetric real matrix is positive definite in terms of
its eigenvalues which is a standard tool in modern linear algebra (Hurwitz, 1895).
11 Recall that I(s) is defined by (10).
12 It is interesting to see here the state of the art of symbolism in complex analysis in the 1880s. At that time there was neither
a common notion for the conjugate of a complex number nor the need for it; the abbreviation s for the complex conjugate of a
complex number s has been introduced later in the context of structure theorems.
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 265

3. Filling the gap

Here Hurwitz’s notes stop! However, his mathematical diaries (Hurwitz, ETH) provide help. His math-
ematical diary no. 5, written in between February 1886 and end of March 1888, contains undated entries
(pp. 17–42) which fill the gap left above (see Figure 5). We sketch his reasoning.
Firstly, we observe

 
 −π λ(x12 +x22 +...+xp2 )
e−π λ(x1 +x2 +...+xp ) − 1
2 2 2
e =
(x1 ,...,xp )∈Zp
 p  p
 
−π λx 2 −π λx 2
= e −1= 1+2 e −1
x∈Z x∈N
 
e−π λx  e−π λx  e−π λ ,
2

x∈N x∈N

as follows from the multinomial theorem.13 Consequently, the improper integral in question is bounded by

∞ 1 ∞
ps ps
 −π λ(x12 +x22 +...+xp2 ) 2 −1
e λ d log λ 
2 λ dλ + e −π λ dλ
0 0 1

for every positive . The second integral on the right obviously converges for all values of s and the first
only for s > 0. In view of the related infinite series F defined by (3) Hurwitz’s reasoning is valid for s > 1
(the range of absolute convergence for the series F ).
Actually, the entry in Hurwitz’s diary no. 5 is entitled Über die Classenzahlfunctionen which is to
be understood with respect to Dirichlet’s analytic class number formula for quadratic forms (Dirichlet,
1839/1840); this could have been Hurwitz’s choice for a title of his article. Note that a later entry in this
diary bears the date 1 May 1887. The first page of another draft found in Hurwitz’s estate, which might be
regarded as a fair copy for a journal and is entitled Über einige durch unendliche Reihen definirte Func-
tionen eines complexen Argumentes. Obviously, Hurwitz considered to publish his notes on zeta-functions
associated with quadratic forms but it seems that for some reason he never realized his idea. Our paper is
intended to catch up on this omission.
It might be interesting to note that Hurwitz regarded the convergence of the defining Dirichlet series to
be worth of further studies. In his paper (Hurwitz, 1894) on Riemann’s convergence criterion14 Hurwitz
obtained a quite general theorem applicable for p-folded infinite series by comparison with associated
improper integrals; in particular, he mentions that besides for Riemann’s theta series his criterion may be
used for proving the convergence of the Dirichlet series defined by a definite quadratic form as above.
Moreover, the following footnote is attached:

13 We use Vinogradov’s notation f  g which means that f (x) = O(g(x)) as x → ∞. The implicit constant may depend here
and in the sequel on p.
14 See Riemann (1861), pp. 483, for the original version which appears to be rather different and by far more general than the
version taught in beginner’s courses on calculus.
266 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

Figure 5. Some estimates of integrals as well as his main result in an entry of Hurwitz’s mathematical diary no. 5, p. 38.

“This and similar series have been investigated by the above method by my pupil, Mr. Jaccottet, in his
diploma thesis at the polytechnic university. Especially this work of Mr. Jaccottet gave me reason to the
above mentioned developments.”15

The paper (Hurwitz, 1894) bears the date 21 September 1893, the year before, Hurwitz had moved from
his extraordinary professorship16 at the remote university of Königsberg to a chair at the Eidgenössische
Polytechnische Hochschule Zürich17 as successor of Georg Frobenius who left for Berlin. Thus, Charles
Jaccottet (1872–1938) was one of Hurwitz’s first pupils in Zurich; he obtained his doctorate three years later
under supervision of Felix Klein in Göttingen and returned to Switzerland where he became a professor at
Lausanne.
We conclude with an analysis of Hurwitz’s and Epstein’s work.

15 “Diese und ähnliche Reihen hat einer meiner Schüler, Herr C. Jaccottet, in einer der eidgenössischen polytechnischen Schule
eingereichten Diplomarbeit, nach der obigen Methode untersucht. Eben diese Arbeit des Herrn Jaccottet hat mir den Anlass zu den
oben mitgetheilten Entwicklungen geboten.”, Hurwitz, 1894, p. 88.
16 in German: Extraordinariat, comparable to an associate professorship in modern terms.
17 in 1911 renamed to Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich.
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 267

4. Analysis of Hurwitz’s proof

Hurwitz’s motivation on this topic dates back to the early 1880s when he was studying Peter Gustav Leje-
une Dirichlet’s proof of the infinitude of primes in arithmetic progression and related generating functions
by means of his Hurwitz zeta-functions (Hurwitz, 1882). Already in a letter to his friend Luigi (Bianchi,
1959) from 1881, Hurwitz had mentioned Dirichlet series associated with binary quadratic forms in the
context of his approach:

“In order to gain information about class numbers s from these formulae one would have to investigate the
 1
corresponding relationship for ax 2 +2bxy+cy 2
”18

The latter series appeared already in Dirichlet (1839/1840). Besides this the most influential work to be
mentioned here for both, Hurwitz’s aforementioned article on Dirichlet L-series (Hurwitz, 1882) and the
unpublished notes from Section 2 is Riemann’s paper on the number of primes below a given magnitude
(Riemann, 1859) (which we have already mentioned in the introduction). Actually, Riemann gave two
proofs for the functional equation, one by contour integration (which had been generalized in Hurwitz,
1882), and a second one by more or less the same reasoning as above for zeta-functions associated with
quadratic forms. In fact, the Riemann zeta-function appears as special case of a zeta-function associated
with the quadratic form of a single variable x
→ ϕ(x) = x 2 .19 It should be mentioned that there have been
proofs of functional equations for other Dirichlet series (which imply their meromorphic continuations)
before Riemann, namely by Gotthold Eisenstein, Carl Johan Malmsten, and Oscar Schlömilch around 1848
(see (Oswald and Steuding, 2016a) for details).
This second approach is essentially based on what is nowadays called Mellin transformation and Pois-
son’s summation formula. In §2 of his unpublished notes Hurwitz used the integral representation of the
Gamma-function in order to derive an integral representation (4) for his Dirichlet series F attached to a
quadratic form ϕ. The upcoming integral I (s) provides a meromorphic continuation of the (same) function
f to the whole complex plane; the appearing singularity appears at s = 1 in case the parameters are all
integral, otherwise f is entire (§5). The functional equation given by Hurwitz in §6 is another simple con-
sequence of the integral representation (5). In order to prove these results Hurwitz sketches in §3 a proof of
the theta transformation formula. His reasoning follows once more Riemann, however, this time it is Rie-
mann’s work on Abelian functions where he introduced and discussed theta-functions of several variables
for the first time (Riemann, 1857b, 1861), so his main tool is Fourier analysis (resp. Poisson’s summation
formula). A detailed proof of the transformation formula for the theta-function of several variables can be
found in Hurwitz’s diary no. 5 (see Figure 6 for the corresponding formula). Interestingly, here the forms
are not assumed to have determinant equal to one.
In his draft of a letter to Lipschitz Hurwitz wrote that he is “not quite sure [...] whether all conditions [...]
on the introduced objects are necessary” (see Section 1). In view of a footnote in an entry in his diary no. 5
on page 33 we may guess that he was considering the question of the arithmetic nature of the quantities
un , vn ; it seems that he was first thinking to even allow complex rather than real numbers.
First studies about Dirichlet series related to quadratic forms and their meromorphic continuation appear
already in Hurwitz’s mathematical diary no. 3 from 1883/84, pp. 79–93; here only the case of binary
quadratic forms is treated (p = 2). As mentioned above, in diary no. 5 the general case has been established.
In view of these entries we may speculate when Hurwitz has written the undated notes (Section 2). It seems

18 “Um aus diesen Formeln Vortheil für die Classenzahlen zu gewinnen, müsste man den entspr. Zusammenhang für die
 1
s
erforschen.”
ax 2 +2bxy+cy 2
19 More precisely, ζ (s) = 1 F (0 | 0, 0, ϕ) = 1 Z| 0 |(s) in Hurwitz’s and Epstein’s notation, respectively.
2 2 0 ϕ
268 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

Figure 6. The theta transformation formula in Hurwitz’s mathematical diary no. 5, p. 29; note that it is valid for all non-degenerated
quadratic forms not necessarily of determinant one.

reasonable to believe that there were first the sketches in his mathematical diaries no. 3 and 5, then the draft
of the letter to Lipschitz from 1889 in diary no. 6, and only afterwards his fair copy (Section 2). A strong
indication for this timetable are his error concerning the exponential factor in the functional equation (in
his notebook entry and the draft of the letter to Lipschitz but absent in the notes), the way the determinant
is treated, the varying notation (d log λ in place of dλ), and of course, the definition of the Dirichlet series.
Probably, the fair copy (from Section 2) has not been written much later than the draft of the letter. In view
of the entries in his diaries it is clear that Hurwitz was already in 1887 aware how to prove meromorphic
continuation and a functional equation for Dirichlet series associated with quadratic forms.

5. Epstein’s paper

Epstein’s approach to zeta-functions associated with quadratic forms is pretty similar, and this is no
surprise. We return to the notation from the introduction. Following Riemann’s contour integration method,
Epstein derived the following functional equation

 s  
  g1 . . . gp 
e 2π i k g k hk
π  
Z− 2s  (s)
2 h1 . . . hp  ϕ
   
p−s  h1 . . . hp 
− 12 s−p
= π  Z  (p − s)φ .
−g1 . . . −gp 
2
2

In the easiest case, when all hk and gk are zero and taking the representation ϕ((m)) = mt Qm with some
invertible symmetric p × p-matrix Q into account, one deduces via substituting s
→ 2s the functional
equation in the form

p
p  p 
π −s (s)ζ (s; Q) = (det Q)−1 π s− 2  −s ζ − s, Q−1
2 2

for


ζ (s, Q) := (mt Qm)−s ,
0=m∈Zp
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 269

and this series converges for Re s > p2 . This is the usual form of Epstein’s zeta-function in modern literature,
e.g., in the monograph (Koecher and Krieg, 2007).20 The so-called characteristic, that are the quantities gn
and hn are for most applications assumed to vanish. The main difference between the defining Dirichlet
series by Epstein and Hurwitz lies in the powers to which the values of the quadratic form are summed up.
We note that apart from this normalization of the variable s their results essentially coincide.
In his paper, Epstein mentioned (Hurwitz, 1882) on the Hurwitz zeta-function as well as the further
influential articles Lipschitz (1889) and Lerch (1887/1888). Epstein wrote

“Consequently, for the so far most general zeta-function, investigated by Mr Lipschitz, there exists an in-
tegral representation in terms of an infinite theta series of arbitrary characteristic. Following this thought
we define a general zeta-function of pth order by a p-folded infinite series which generalizes Riemann’s
zeta-function in just the same way as the general theta series of pth order generalizes the elliptic theta se-
ries. This extension of the zeta-function is natural since the above mentioned theorem of Riemann about the
function ζ (s) can be transfered to the general zeta-function in a surprisingly easy way.”21

Concerning the range of convergence of his defining series, a point not considered by Hurwitz in detail
(see §3), Epstein gave a reference to Eisenstein’s work (Eisenstein, 1847) (as Hurwitz did in Hurwitz,
1894). Another slight difference in the reasoning is how Epstein dealt with the theta transformation formula.
Whereas Hurwitz sketches the proof, Epstein quotes a recent book (Krazer and Prym, 1892) of his time (that
had not been published when Hurwitz was doing his investigations) which presents much of their research
on theta-functions. We note that Friedrich Prym was a pupil of Riemann and a professor, first in Zurich
and since 1869 in Würzburg; most of his studies were dedicated to complex analysis and theta-functions
in particular. The latter was also the topic of his doctoral student Adolf Krazer who became professor in
Strasbourg in 1889. Therefore, Epstein knew Krazer and quoted his joint monograph (Krazer and Prym,
1892) with Prym.
Further important contributions to the theory of zeta- and L-functions in this period had been made
by Hermann Kinkelin and Edmund Landau. Shortly after Riemann, Kinkelin extended previous work and
proved the functional equation for Dirichlet L-functions to residue class characters modulo prime powers
(Kinkelin, 1862). Besides the technical issue of dealing with the arithmetical object of a character (i.e., a
non-trivial homomorphism of the group of prime residue classes) this may be considered as a mostly ana-
lytic task. Much later Landau succeeded to obtain an analytic continuation for the Dedekind zeta-functions,
which is the counterpart of the Riemann zeta-function for a finite algebraic extension of the field of rationals
(Landau, 1903). The underlying Dirichlet series is defined by the integral ideals of the corresponding ring
of integers and it was for some time not clear whether such a function could have good analytic properties.
Landau used lattice point methods to achieve analytic continuation beyond the abscissa of absolute conver-
gence which led him to the proof of the celebrated prime ideal theorem. Analytic continuation to the whole

20 The modern notation using the matrix representation of the quadratic form and replacing the adjoint form by the inverse ma-
trix leads to a simplification of the functional equation. There have been quite many articles on quadratic forms and associated
zeta-functions in the 1930s. The name ‘Epstein zeta-function’ has been introduced by Edward Charles Titchmarsh in his article
(Titchmarsh, 1934) from 1934. Soon after this name became common by articles of Max Deuring and Carl Ludwig Siegel.
21 “Dem entsprechend existirt für die von Herrn Lipschitz untersuchte Function — die allgemeinste bisher betrachtete ‘Zeta’-
function — eine Integraldarstellung mit Hülfe einer unendlichen Thetareihe mit beliebiger Charakteristik. Diesem Gedankengange
folgend definiren wir als allgemeine Zetafunction pter Ordnung eine p-fach unendliche Reihe, welche in gleicher Weise eine Ve-
rallgemeinerung der Riemann’schen ζ -function darstellt, wie die allgemeine Thetareihe pter Ordnung gegenüber der elliptischen
Thetareihe. Dass diese Erweiterung der Zetafunctionen naturgemäss ist, zeigt sich vor allem darin, dass sich der oben angeführte
Riemann’sche Satz über die Function ζ (s) in überraschend einfacher Weise auf die allgemeinste Zetafunction übertragen lässt.”
Epstein, 1903, p. 616.
270 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

complex plane and the functional equation for Dedekind zeta-functions was obtained by Erich Hecke only
in 1917 by using once again theta-functions (Hecke, 1917).
We shall note that Epstein went beyond what Hurwitz discussed in his fair copy. Actually, Epstein used
his results (for p = 2) in order to deduce Leopold Kronecker’s celebrated limit formula (Kronecker, 1890)
for the Laurent expansion of real-analytic Eisenstein series at their singularity in s = 2.22 The general case
(of arbitrary p) led him to explicit values for the residue at s = p. In a subsequent paper (Epstein, 1907),
four years later, Epstein complemented his own and a previous work (Herglotz, 1905) with respect to an
old idea due to Dirichlet and revitalized by Minkowski at his memorial lecture about counting lattice points
by means of special values of zeta-functions (Minkowski, 1905).23 Kronecker’s limit formula as well as
Epstein’s treatment had a strong impact on the later development of class field theory.
Paul Epstein (1871–1939) committed suicide during the Nazi time in the face of a summons by the
Gestapo. Details about Epstein’s life can be found in Siegel’s report about the history of the Frankfurt
mathematical seminar (Siegel, 1966) as well as in Burde et al. (2004). Adolf Hurwitz (1859–1919) died
in Zurich of kidney failure. For further aspects of Hurwitz’s work in analytic number theory we refer to
Oswald and Steuding (2014, 2016a), for a more complete biography about his life and work David Hilbert’s
obituary for his teacher and later lifelong friend Hurwitz is a highly recommended reading (Hilbert, 1921).

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the archive of ETH Zurich, the anonymous referees for their several valuable
remarks and Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze for his kind support.

Appendix A. Hurwitz’ Originaltext

§1. Es sei


p
ϕ(x1 , x2 , . . . , xp ) = aik xi xk (aik = aki ) (A.1)
i,k=1

irgendeine positive quadratische Form [der p Argumente

x1 , x2 , . . . xp

bezeichnen], deren Determinante

 = |aik | (i, k = 1, 2, . . . , p) (A.2)

von Null verschieden ist. Ferner mögen mit

u1 , u2 , . . . , up ; v1 , v2 , . . . , vp

22 resp. at s = 1 according to modern notation as, for example, in Koecher and Krieg (2007).
23 Epstein and Hurwitz’s student and friend Minkowski definitely knew each other. In 1897, Minkowski married Auguste Adler
from Strasbourg, the place where Epstein obtained his doctorate in 1895 under supervision of Elwin Christoffel and remained as
docent until 1919 when Strasbourg became French; fortunately, he obtained an extraordinary professorship at the recently founded
university in his native town of Frankfurt/Main but he never got a full professorship. Minkowski was often visiting his brother, the
famous physician Oskar at Strasbourg, as we know from Hermann Minkowski’s letters to Hilbert (Minkowski, 1973). During these
visits Minkowski got in touch with the mathematicians at Strasbourg University (see Minkowski, 1973, p. 34, 36).
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 271

2p reelle, übrigens beliebige Größen, und mit

eine complexe Variable bezeichnet werden. Ich bilde nun die p-fach unendliche Reihe
 e2π i(x1 v1 +x2 v2 +...+xp vp )

F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps , (A.3)
[ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 , . . . , xp + up )] 2

wobei die Summation erstreckt werden soll über alle ganzzahligen Werthe x1 , x2 , . . . xp mit eventuellem
Ausschluß der Combination x1 = −u1 , x2 = −u2 , . . . , xp = −up , die Bedeutung des Kommas tritt natür-
lich in Kraft nur dann, falls die Größen u sämmtlich ganze Zahlen sind.
Die Reihe (A.3) convergirt unbedingt und gleichmäßig für alle Werthe von s, deren reeller Bestandtheil
größer ist als Eins und stellt für diese Werthe von s eine monogene analytische Function der Variablen s
oder einen Zweig einer solchen Function vor. Bei der üblichen geometr. Darstellung von s = r + it durch
den Punkt mit den rechtwinkl. Coordinaten r, t werden die genannten Werthe von s durch die Punkte des
einen der beiden Gebiete repräsentirt, in welche die Ebene durch die Linie r = 1 zerfällt. Dies Gebiet möge
mit G bezeichnet werden. Es stellt dann nach den Sätzen des Herrn Weierstraß die Reihe (A.3) in dem
Gebiete G eine monogene analytische Function oder einen Zweig einer solchen Function vor. Läßt sich
diese Function über das Gebiet G fortsetzen, und wenn dies der Fall ist, entsteht bei dieser Fortsetzung
eine eindeutige oder eine mehrdeutige Function der Variablen s. Das sind die Fragen, welche ich zunächst
beantworten will.
§2. Zur Vereinfachung werde angenommen, daß die Determinante der Form ϕ den Werth 1 besitzt. Diese
Annahme implizirt keine wesentliche Beschränkung. Wenn nämlich  nicht gleich 1 ist, so kann doch die
Const. κ so bestimmt werden, daß die Determinante von κϕ gleich 1 wird, und wir würden dann an Stelle
der zu ϕ gehörenden Reihe (A.3) die zu der Form κϕ gehörende betrachten, welche sich von ersterer nur
ps
durch den Factor κ − 2 unterscheidet.
Unter Benutzung der Gleichung
ps ∞
1 π2 ps
ps = ps e−π λκ λ 2 d log λ,
κ 2 ( 2 )
0

welche für jeden positiven Werth von κ und alle Werthe von s mit positivem reellen Bestandteil gültig ist,
ergibt sich

∞
π 2 
ps
 ps
F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps e−π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
λ 2 d log λ, (A.4)
( 2 )
0

wobei { zur Abkürzung, wie in der Folge mehrfach geschehen soll, die Buchstaben x; u; v als Collectivbeze-
x1 , x2 , . . . , xp ; u1 , u2 , . . . , up ; v1 , v2 , . . . , vp bez. gewählt sind } die Bedeutung der Zeichen
ichnung für
ϕ(x + u), xv ohne weiteres einleuchtet. Wenn nun auf der rechten Seite dieser Gleichung das Summa-
tionszeichen mit dem Integralzeichen vertauscht werden darf, so kann der Werth der Reihe F (s | u, v, ϕ) in
der Form
ps ∞
π2 ps
F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps {ϑ(λ|u, v, ϕ) − u } λ 2 d log λ (A.5)
( 2 )
0
272 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

dargestellt werden, falls unter ϑ(λ|u, v, ϕ) die p-fach unendliche Thetareihe

 
θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) = e−π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
(A.6)

verstanden, und

u = e−2π i(u1 v1 +u2 v2 +...+up vp )

(A.7)
oder u =0

gesetzt wird, jenachdem die Größen u sämmtlich ganze Zahlen sind oder nicht. Dieses subtract. Glied
rührt davon her, daß in der Reihe (A.6) die Summationsb. x1 , x2 , . . . , xp alle ganzzahl. Werthe durchlaufen,
während in der Reihe (A.3) die eine Combination x1 = −u1 , x2 = −u2 , . . . , xp = −up auszuschließen ist,
wenn die u sämmtlich ganzzahlige Werthe besitzen.
§3. Das auf der rechten Seite der Gleichung (A.5) auftretende Integral stellt nun eine Function von s
vor, welche sich leicht über die ganze Ebene fortsetzen läßt; zugleich ergiebt sich mit Hülfe der hierzu
erforderlichen Entwicklungen, daß die Reihe
ps
{ϑ(λ|u, v, ϕ) − u } λ 2

gliedweise integrirt werden darf, wenn der reelle Bestandtheil von s größer ist als 1, so daß für diese Werthe
von s die Gleichung (A.5) gültig ist. Entsprechend der durch die Gl. (A.6) eingeführten Bezeichnung, sei
 
θ (λ | v, −u, ) = e−π λ(x+v)−2π i xu
, (A.8)

wo  die der Form ϕ adjungirte Form bedeuten soll. Ferner werde zur Abkürzung E = e2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp )
gesetzt. Zwischen den Functionen (A.6) und (A.8) besteht dann die Relation
 p  
−2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp ) 1 1
θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) = e θ | v, −u,  (A.9)
λ λ

und zwar nicht nur für alle hier in Betracht kommenden Werthe der Größen λ, u, v sondern überhaupt
für jedes Werthsystem dieser Größen, welches
 den bekannten Bedingungen der Convergenz der Reihen
(A.6) und (A.8) genügt. Dabei ist unter λ1 derjenige Werth der Quadratwurzel zu verstehen, deßen reeller
Bestandtheil positiv ist.
Zum Beweise dieser Relation bemerke ich, daß der Werth der Reihe
 
e−π λϕ(x+u)−2π i v(x+u)

offenbar unverändert bleibt, wenn irgend eine der Größen u1 , u2 , . . . , up um eine Einheit vermehrt wird.
Nach dem Fourier’schen Satze ist der Werth der Reihe daher auch in der Form

Ax1 ,x2 ,...,xp e−2πi()u1 x1 +...+up xp )

darstellbar. Die Coefficienten A bestimmen sich in bekannter Weise aus der Gleichung
+∞ 
Ax1 ,x2 ,...,xp = ··· e−π λϕ(u)+2π i u(v+x)
du1 du2 . . . dup
−∞
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 273

und das hier auftretnde p-fache Integral reducirt sich auf das Produkt von p einfachen Integralen, wenn
man ϕ(u) als Summe der Quadrate von p linearen Functionen der u darstellt und diese letzteren als neue
Integrat.v. einführt. Auf diese Weise ergiebt sich
 p
1 1
Ax1 ,x2 ,...,xp = e−π λ (x+v)
λ

mit der oben angegebenen Bestimmung über die Quadratwurzel. Es gilt also die Gleichung
 
e−π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
 p
 1  1 
= e−2π i uv e−π λ (x+v)−2π i xu
λ

für alle endlichen Werthe der 2p (reellen oder complexen) Größen u1 , u2 , . . . , up , v1 , v2 , . . . , vp und jeden
Werth von λ, deßen reeller Bestandtheil positiv ist. Mit Benutzung der eingeführten Bezeichnungen geht
diese Gleichung in die Relation (A.9) über.
§4. Das Integral
∞
ps
I (s) = {θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) − u }λ 2 d log λ (A.10)
0

werde nun in die Summe zweier Integrale zerlegt nach dem Schema
∞ ∞ 1
= + ,
0 1 0

1
und in dem zweiten Theilintegrale möge λ als neue Integrationsvariable eingeführt werden. Es ergiebt sich
dann unter Rücksichtnahme auf (A.9):
∞
ps
I (s) = {θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) − u }λ 2 d log λ +
1
∞
p ps
−2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp )
+e {θ (λ | v, −u, )λ 2 − u E }λ− 2 d log λ
1

oder
∞
ps
I (s) = {θ (λ | u, v, ϕ) − u }λ 2 d log λ +
1
∞
p(1−s)
+ E −1 {θ (λ | v, −u, ) − v }λ 2 d log λ + (A.11)
1
∞ ∞
v p(1−s) ps
+ λ 2 d log λ − u λ− 2 d log λ,
E
1 1
274 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

wobei dem Zeichen v der Werth

v =E
(A.12)
oder v =0

beigelegt werden soll, je nachdem die Größen v sämmtlich ganze Zahlen sind oder nicht. Hier laßen sich
nun die beiden ersten Integrale auf der rechten Seite in beständig convergirende Potenzreihen von s ent-
wickeln und es stellen diese Integrale also transzendente ganze Functionen von s vor, welche mit

G (s | u, v, ϕ) bez.. G (1 − s | v, −u, )

bezeichnet werden mögen. Was die beiden letzten Integrale der rechten Seite von (A.11) angeht, so haben
dieselben nur dann endliche Werthe, falls der reelle Bestandtheil von s größer ist als 1 bezügl. größer ist
als Null und zwar sind die Integrale dann gleich

2 1 2 1
− · bezüglich · .
p 1−s p s
Es ergiebt sich also das Resultat: Das Integral I (s) besitzt für alle endlichen Werthe von s einen endlichen
Werth, wenn weder alle Größen v, noch alle Größen u ganze Zahlen sind. Sind dagegen alle Größen v
ganze Zahlen, so besitzt I (s) nur dann einen endlichen Werth, wenn der reelle Bestandtheil von s größer
ist als 1. Haben endlich die Größen u sämmtlich ganzzahlige Werthe nicht aber alle Größen v, so ist I (s)
nur endlich für alle Werthe von s deren reeller Bestandtheil positiv ist. In allen Fällen, in welchen I (s)
einen endlichen Werth besitzt, ist dieser gleich dem Werthe der durchaus eindeutigen Function der compl.
Variablen s:
1 2 v 1 2 u 1
G (s | u, v, ϕ) + G (1 − s | v, −u, ) − · − · .
E pE 1 − s p s

§5. Um nun von dem Integrale I (s) auf die unendliche Reihe F (s | u, v, ϕ) übergehen zu können, ist es
erforderlich den Gültigkeitsbereich der Gleichung (A.5) festzustellen. Mit anderen Worten: es ist zu unter-
suchen, wann die auf der r. Seite dieser Gleichung unter dem Integralzeichen stehende Reihe gliedweise
integrirt werden darf. Das Resultat dieser Untersuchung, welche wohl weitläufig aber nicht schwierig ist,
geht dahin, daß die Gleichung für alle Werthe von s deren reeller Bestandtheil größer ist als 1 gültig ist.
Combinirt man hiermit das Resultat des vorigen Paragraphen, so folgt: Die Reihe

 e2π i xv

F (s | u, v, ϕ) = ps ,
[ϕ(x + u)] 2
stellt einen Zweig ihrer für alle endlichen Werthe von s definirten eindeutigen Function
ps 
π2 1 2 v 1 2 u 1
f (s) = ps G (s | u, v, ϕ) + G (1 − s | v, −u, ) − · − ·
( 2 ) E pE 1 − s p s

dar. Diese Function ist offenbar eine transcendente ganze Function mit einziger Ausnahme des Falles, in
welchem die Größen v sämmtlich ganze Zahlen sind. Dann ist nämlich v = E und die Function f (s) hat
p
im Endlichen die eine singuläre Stelle s = 1, an welcher f (s) so unendlich wird, daß (s − 1)f (s) = π2
·2
( p2 ) p
wird.
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 275

§6. Wendet man den Satz des vorigen Paragraphen auf die Reihe

 e−2π i xu

F (s | v, −u, ) = ps
[ϕ(x + v)] 2

an, so ergiebt sich, daß dieselbe einen Zweig der eindeut. F.

ps 
π2 2 u E 1 2 v 1
f1 (s) = G (s | v, −u, ) + EG (1 − s | − u, −v, ϕ) − · − ·
( ps
2 ) p 1−s p s

vorstellt. Es besteht daher zwischen den durch die Reihen F definirten Functionen f (s) und f1 (s) die
Relation:

( p(1−s)
2 ) ( ps
2 )
f1 (1 − s) p(1−s)
= e2π i(u1 v1 +...+up vp ) f (s) ps .
π 2 π 2

§7. Die Fälle p = 1 und p = 2. Die einzige quadr. Form der Determinante 1 mit einer Variablen ist die
Form

ϕ(x) = x 2 .

Die adjungirte Form (x) is = x 2 ist dann ebenfalls = x 2 . Unsere Reihen reduciren sich auf

+∞
 e2π ixv
s
x=−∞ [(x + u)2 ] 2

und

+∞
 e−2π ixu
s .
x=−∞ [(x + v)2 ] 2

Die Größen u und v können unbeschadet der Allgemeinheit den Bedingungen

0 ≤ u < 1, 0≤v<1

unterworfen werden, da die Werthe der Reihen bei Ersetzung von u durch u ± 1 oder v durch v ± 1 sich
nur um leicht angebbaren Factoren ändern. Unter dieser Annahme sind die Reihen bezüglich gleich

∞
 ∞

e−2π ixv  e
2π ixv
+ ,
(x − u)s (x + u)s
x=1 x=0
∞
 ∞
 −2π ixu
e2π ixu  e
+ .
(x − v)s (x + v)s
x=1 x=0
276 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

Zwischen den durch diese Reihen definirten Functionen f (s) und f1 (s), welche für alle Werthe von s mit
event. Ausnahme von s = 1 endlich sind, besteht also die Relation

( (1−s)
2 ) ( 2s )
f1 (1 − s) (1−s)
= e2π iuv f (s) s .
π 2 π2
Werden den willkürlichen Größen u, v rationale Werthe beigelegt, so gelangt man zu Sätzen meiner oben
citirten Abhandlung.

§8. Der Fall p = 2. Dieser Fall ist dadurch bemerkenswerth, daß die adjungirte Form  im wesentlichen
mit der ursprünglichen identisch ist. Sei

ϕ(x1 , x2 ) = ax12 + 2bx1 x2 + cx22 ,

so ist

(x1 , x2 ) = cx12 − 2bx1 x2 + ax22 = ϕ(x2 , −x1 ).

Es werden also die unendlichen Reihen

 e2iπ(x1 v1 +x2 v2 )  e−2π i(x1 u1 +x2 u2 )
and
[ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 )]s [ϕ(x2 + v2 , −x1 − v1 )]s
oder, wenn v2 , −v1 an Stelle von v1 , v2 gesetzt und die Summationsbuchstaben x1 , x2 in der zweiten
Summe durch x2 , −x1 ersetzt werden:

 e2iπ(x1 v2 −x2 v1 )  e2π i(x1 u2 −x2 u1 )

und .
[ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 )]s [ϕ(x2 + v2 , −x1 − v1 )]s
Zwischen den durch diese beiden Reihen definirten Functionen von s besteht die Relation
(1 − s) (s)
f1 (1 − s) 1−s
= e2π i(u1 v2 −u2 v1 ) f (s) s .
π π
Sind insbesondere u1 , u2 bezüglich gleich v1 , v2 , so werden die beiden Reihen identisch und der Inhalt der
Relation in dem Satze aussprechen: Die durch den Ausdruck

(s)   e2iπ(x1 u2 −x2 u1 )

πs [ϕ(x1 + u1 , x2 + u2 )]s
definirte Function hat die Eigenschaft, für das Argument 1 − s denselben Werth anzunehmen, wie für das
Argument s.

§9. Die gliedweise Integration einer Reihe

R = u1 + u2 + u3 + . . . + un + . . .

ist nur dann gestattet, falls das über das Restglied

rn = un+1 + un+2 + . . .
 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279 277

genommene Integral mit wachsendem n unendlich klein wird. Es geht hieraus unmittelbar hervor, daß die
gliedweise Integration der Reihe R zulässig ist, wenn dieses für die Reihe

R = v1 + v2 + . . . + vn + . . . ,

feststeht, deren Glieder im ganzen Integrationsintervall positiv sind und der Bedingung vn > |un |
entsprechen. Bezeichnen nun ϕ(x) und ψ(x) irgend zwei positive quadratische Formen von p Verän-
ϕ(x)
derlichen, so besitzt der Quotient ψ(x) stets eine positive von Null verschiedene untere Grenze g, so daß
also für alle Werthe der Veränderlichen

ϕ(x)
≥g
ψ(x)

ist. Denn die quadratische Form

ϕ(x) − αψ(x),

welche für α = 0 in die definite Form ϕ(x) übergeht, wird auch noch für genügend klein gewählte positive
Werthe von α eine positive Form vorstellen und folglich ist für ein solches α stets

ϕ(x)
> α.
ψ(x)

Hieraus folgt aber die Existenz der unteren Grenze g.

Ich setze nun

ψ(x) = x12 + x22 + . . . + xp2 .

Dann ist jedes Glied der Reihe

 
 −π λϕ(x+u)+2π i xv
e

dem absoluten Betrage nach nicht größer als das entspr. Glied der Reihe

 −π λgψ(x+u)
e ,

und zwar für alle positiven Werthe von λ. Es wird also die gliedweise Ausführung des Integrals I (s) zuläßig
sein, wenn dieses für das Integral

∞
ps
 −π λgψ(x+u)
e λ 2 d log λ
0

der Fall ist, unter

s den reellen Bestandtheil von s verstanden. Faßen wir nun immer in eine Gruppe diejeni-
gen Glieder von  e−π λgψ(x+u) zusammen, welche durch die Bedingungen
√
yi ≤ | g(xi + ui )| < yi + 1
278 N.M.R. Oswald / Historia Mathematica 44 (2017) 252–279

bestimmt sind, wo die yi nicht negative ganze Zahlen bedeuten, so sind in jeder Gruppe höchstens ( √2g )p
Glieder enthalten und jedes einzelne Glied einer Gruppe kleiner als e−π λ(y1 +y2 +...+yp ) . Also ist das letzte
2 2 2

Integral gleichzeitig mit dem Integrale

∞
ps
 −π λ(x12 +x22 +...+xp2 )
e λ 2 d log λ
0

gliedweise ausführbar. Daß Letzteres nun für s > 1 statt hat, ergiebt sich auf folgendem Wege. Es sei

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