SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES

BIN CHEN

Abstract. Let m ∈ N be large. We show that there exist infinitely many primes
arXiv:2402.00748v1 [math.NT] 1 Feb 2024

q1 < · · · < qm+1 such that

qm+1 − q1 = O(e7.63m )
and qj + 2 has at most
7.36m 4 log m
+ + 21
log 2 log 2
prime factors for each 1 ≤ j ≤ m + 1. This improves the previous result of Li and
4 log m 5 log m
Pan, replacing e7.63m by m4 e8m and 7.36m 16m
log 2 + log 2 + 21 by log 2 + log 2 + 37. The
main inputs are the Maynard-Tao sieve, a minorant for the indicator function of the
primes constructed by Baker and Irving, for which a stronger equidistribution theo-
rem in arithmatic progressionsP to smooth moduli is applicable, and Tao’s approach
previously used to estimate x≤n<2x 1P (n)1P (n + 12)ωn , where 1P stands for the
characteristic function of the primes and ωn are multidimensional sieve weights.

1. Introduction
Let k ∈ N. We consider a set H = {h1 , ..., hk } of distinct non-negative integers. We
call such a set admissible if, for every prime p, the number of distinct residue classes
modulo p occupied by hi is less than p. The following conjecture is one of the greatest
open problems in prime number theory.
Conjecture 1.1 (Prime k-tuples conjecture). Given an admissible set H = {h1 , ..., hk },
there are infinitely many integers n for which all n + hi are prime.
Work on approximations to this conjecture has been very successful in establishing
the existence of small gaps between primes. For any natural number m, let Hm denote
the quantity
Hm := lim inf (pn+m − pn ),
n→∞
where pn denotes the n-th prime. In 2013, Zhang [18] proved
H1 < 7 × 107 ,
by refining the GPY method [5] and employing a stronger version of the Bombieri-
Vinogradov theorem that is applicable when the moduli are smooth numbers. After
Zhang’s breakthrough, a new higher rank version of the Selberg sieve was developed
by Maynard [11] and Tao. This new sieve method provided an alternative way of
2020 Mathematics Subject Classification. 11N05, 11N35, 11N36.
Key words and phrases. the Maynard-Tao sieve, Tao’s approach, a minorant for the indicator
function of the primes, prime gaps.
B. Chen gratefully acknowledges support by the China Scholarship Council (CSC).
1
2 BIN CHEN

proving small gaps between primes and had additional consequences. It was more
flexible and could show the existence of clumps of primes in intervals of bounded
length. Specifically, utilizing the Maynard-Tao sieve, one can show [11]
Hm ≪ m3 e4m ,
for any m ≥ 1. The bound m3 e4m was improved by Polymath [16, Theorem 4(vi)] to
28
me(4− 157 )m by incorporating Zhang’s version of the Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem [15].
In 2017, Baker and Irving [1] achieved a further improvement in the bound:
Hm ≪ e3.815m ,
accomplished by constructing a minorant for the indicator function of the primes (see
Lemma 2.3 below). This minorant is associated with a stronger equidistribution theo-
rem in arithmetic progressions with smooth moduli.
One can understand the strengths and the limitations of the current sieve methods
by establishing conditional results about primes gaps. Under the Elliott-Halberstam
conjecture [4], Maynard [11] obtained the bound
H1 ≤ 12,
improving upon the previous bound H1 ≤ 16 of Goldston, Pintz, and Yıldırım [5]. Let
H = {h1 , ..., h5 } = {0, 2, 6, 8, 12}. The proof of the above result relies on considering
the quantity
! 2
X X 5 X
S= 1P (n + hj ) − 1  λd1 ,···,d5  ,
x≤n<2x j=1 di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5
n≡v ( mod W )

where v and W are some integers depending on x, and

 
log d1 log d5
λd1 ,···,d5 = µ(d1) · · · µ(d5 )f , · · ·,
log R log R
with R = x1/2−̟ for some small ̟ > 0. The smooth function f : [0, ∞)5 → R is
supported on the simplex1∆5P (1), and µ denotes the Möbius function. Since the mul-
tidimensional sieve weights ( λd1 ,···,d5 )2 ≥ 0, the inequality S > 0 would imply that
there is some n ∈ [x, 2x) for which at least two of n + h1 , · · ·, n + h5 are simultaneously
prime, and hence there are 2 primes contained in an interval of length h5 − h1 = 12.
Maynard’s bound H1 ≤ 12 follows readily from establishing S > 0 for sufficiently large
x.
One might anticipate improving the value 12 to 10 by delving further into the fol-
lowing sum
! 2
X X 5 X
S′ = 1P (n + hj ) − 1P (n)1P (n + 12) − 1  λd1 ,···,d5 
x≤n<2x j=1 di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5
n≡v ( mod W )

1Throughout the paper, for k ∈ N+ and y > 0, we denote by ∆k (y) the simplex {(t1 , · · ·, tk ) ∈
k
[0, ∞) : t1 + · · · + tk ≤ y}.
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 3
 2
X X
=S− 1P (n)1P (n + 12)  λd1 ,···,d5  .
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5
n≡v ( mod W )

To show S ′ > 0, it is essential to derive an estimate for n 1P (n)1P (n+12) ( λd1 ,···,d5 )2 .
P P
Although obtaining an asymptotic estimate for this sum seems to be out of reach
by present methods, Tao has devised a method (unpublished) to establish an upper
bound. Specifically,
P the key observation
P is that, when n and n + 12 are both primes,
we have λ 1 ,···,d5 = di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5 λ̃d1 ,···,d5 , whenever λ̃d1 ,···,d5 = µ(d1 ) ·
 di |n+hi,1≤i≤5 d
· · µ(d5 )f˜ log d1 , · · ·, log d5 for another real-valued smooth function f˜ that satisfies
log R log R
supp f˜ ⊆ ∆5 (1) and f˜(0, t2 , t3 , t4 , 0) = f (0, t2 , t3 , t4 , 0). We therefore have
 2
X X
1P (n)1P (n + 12)  λd1 ,···,d5 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5
n≡v ( mod W )
 2
X X
= 1P (n)1P (n + 12)  λ̃d1 ,···,d5 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5
n≡v ( mod W )
 2
X X
≤ 1P (n)  λ̃d1 ,···,d5  .
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤5
n≡v ( mod W )

According to the Maynard-Tao sieve, the last expression is

!2
(1 + o(1))x W 4 ∂ 4 f˜(0, t2 , t3 , t4 , t5 )
Z
dt2 dt3 dt4 dt5 ,
log x(log R)4 φ(W )5 ∆4 (1) ∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4 ∂t5

as x → ∞, where φ represents the Euler totient function. We then need to optimise

4 f˜(0,t ,t ,t ,t )
the square-integral of ∂ ∂t 2 3 4 5
2 ∂t3 ∂t4 ∂t5
subject to f˜ being supported on ∆5 (1) and having
the same trace as f on the boundary t1 = t5 = 0. By a converse to Cauchy-Schwarz
and the fundamental theorem of calculus, we find that
!2
∂ 4 f˜(0, t2 , t3 , t4 , t5 )
Z
dt2 dt3 dt4 dt5
∆4 (1) ∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4 ∂t5
!2
Z 1−t2 −t3 −t4 4 ˜
∂ f (0, t2 , t3 , t4 , t5 )
Z
= dt2 dt3 dt4 dt5
∆3 (1) 0 ∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4 ∂t5
Z 1−t2 −t3 −t4 4 ˜ !2
1 ∂ f (0, t2 , t3 , t4 , t5 )
Z
≥ dt2 dt3 dt4 dt5
∆3 (1) 1 − t2 − t3 − t4 0 ∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4 ∂t5
4 BIN CHEN
2
∂ 3 f (0, t2 , t3 , t4 , 0)

1
Z
= dt2 dt3 dt4 .
∆3 (1) 1 − t2 − t3 − t4 ∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4
It is clear that the extremiser occurs with
∂ 4 f˜(0, t2 , t3 , t4 , t5 ) −1 ∂ 3 f (0, t2 , t3 , t4 , 0)
= .
∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4 ∂t5 1 − t2 − t3 − t4 ∂t2 ∂t3 ∂t4
While some numerical calculations show that the extremal bound is not strong enough
to derive S ′ > 0 for all large x (and consequently H1 ≤ 10), Tao’s approach remains
of independent interest and proves valuable in various applications. To exemplify its
significance, we now explore a more general expression than S, denoted as T :
 2
 

X X log d1 log dk 
1P (n + hj )1P (n + hℓ )  µ(d1 ) · · · µ(dk )f , · · ·, ,
x≤n<2x
log x log x
di |n+hi ,1≤i≤k
n≡v ( mod W )

where the symmetric smooth function f : [0, ∞)k → R is supported on the simplex
∆k (δ) for some small δ > 0, and hj , hℓ are two distinct element belonging to some ad-
missble set H = {h1 , ..., hk }. Applying Tao’s approach (repeating the above argument
but restricting f˜ to be supported on ∆k ( 41 − δ) ) and the Maynard-Tao sieve along with
the Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem, one can obtain2
2
W k−1
 k−2
x ∂ g(t1, · · ·tk−2, 0, 0)
Z
T ≤ (4 + O(δ)) dt1 · · · dtk−2 .
(log x)k φ(W )k ∆k−2 (δ) ∂t1 · · · ∂tk−2
Establishing an upper bound for T plays a crucial role in exploring the limit points
of normalized primes gaps. For a detailed discussion in this direction, we refer to
[2, 14, 12].
In fact, employing the Maynard-Tao sieve, one can derive a small-gaps type result for
any subsequence of primes which satisfies the Bombieri-Vinogradov type mean value
theorem. Let
(2)
Pd = {p : p is prime and Ω(p + 2) ≤ d},
where Ω(n) denotes the number of prime divisors of n counted with multiplicity. While
there is currently no Bombieri-Vinogradov type mean value theorem (or even asympo-
(2)
totic formula3) known for Pd , Li and Pan [9] successfully established in 2015 small
(2)
gaps between primes in Pd by combining ideas from [7, 8, 10] and the Maynard-Tao
sieve. The main objective of the paper is to improve Li and Pan’s result by proving
Theorem 1.2. Let m ∈ N be large. Then there exist infinitely many primes q1 < · · · <
qm+1 such that
qm+1 − q1 = O(e7.63m )
and qj + 2 has at most
7.36m 4 log m
+ + 21
log 2 log 2
2For a slight modified proof, refer to [2, p. 528, Proof of Lemma 4.6 (iii)]
3Chen’s (2)
celebrated theorem asserts that |P2 ∩ [1, x]| ≫ (logxx)2 .
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 5

prime divisors for each 1 ≤ j ≤ m + 1.

Li and Pan previously obtained estimates qm+1 − q1 = O(m4 e8m ) and Ω(qj + 2) ≤
16m
log 2
+ 5log
log m
2
+37 for every m ≥ 1. Our improvement on the primes gaps qm+1 −q1 is based
on Baker and Irving’s minorant for the indicator function of the primes. Furthermore,
the incorporation of Tao’s approach and a more meticulous analysis of Li and Pan’s
argument lead to the sharper estimation of the number of the prime divisors. More
specifically, we will utilize Tao’s approach to investigate the expression
 2
X X
1P (n + h1 )τ (n + h2 )  λd1 ,···,d2k0 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )

for large k0 (see Section 3.5 below for details), where τ denotes the divisor function.
In this paper, we represent the 2k0 -tuple of real numbers (x1 , · · ·, x2k0 ) as x. The
greatest common divisor of integers a and b is denoted as (a, b). Additionally, the least
common multiple of integers a and b is denoted as [a, b].

2. Lemmas
In this section we introduce two prerequisite results which are quoted from the
literature directly. These lemmas play important roles in the proof of our main theorem
in Section 3.
Our first lemma allows us to choose an admissible set with small gaps, that poten-
tially gives twin primes. It is a simple application of the Jurkat-Richert theorem [6,
Theorem 8.4] in the theory of sieves.
Lemma 2.1 (H. Li and P. Hao [9, Lemma 3.1]). For k0 ≥ 1, there exist h1 < h2 <
· · · < h2k0 such that h2j = h2j−1 + 2 for 1 ≤ j ≤ k0 ,
{h1 , h2 , · · ·, h2k0 }
is admissible and
h2k0 − h1 = O(k0(log k0 )2 ).
Before presenting the next lemma, we revisit the definition of “exponent of distribu-
tion to smooth moduli”.
Definition 2.2. An arithmetic function f with support contained in [x, 2x) has ex-
ponent of distribution θ to smooth moduli if for every ǫ > 0 there exists a δ > 0 for
which the following holds.
For any P ∈ {d ∈ N+ : µ(d) 6= 0, p|d ⇒ p ≤ xδ }, any integer a with (a, P ) = 1 and
any A > 0 we have

X X 1 X
f (n) − f (n) ≪ǫ,A x(log x)−A .
φ(q)
q≤xθ−ǫ n≡a ( mod q) (n,q)=1
q|P
6 BIN CHEN

We now present a minorant for the indicator function of primes, as constructed by

Baker and Irving [1]. This minorant is equipped with a more robust equidistribution
theorem in arithmetic progressions with smooth moduli.
Lemma 2.3. For all large x there exists an arithmetic function ρ(n) with support
contained in [x, 2x) satisfying the following properties:
1. ρ(n) is a minorant for the indicator function of the primes, that is

1 n is a prime
ρ(n) ≤
0 otherwise.
2. If ρ(n) 6= 0 then all prime factors of n exceed xξ , for some fixed ξ > 0.
3. The function ρ(n) has exponent of distribution θ to smooth moduli, where θ =
1
2
7
+ 300 + 17η
120
22
for some η ∈ (0, 3295 ).
4. We have X x
ρ(n) = (1 − c1 + o(1))
x≤n<2x
log x
for some c1 < 8 × 10−6 such that (1 − c1 )θ > 0.52427.
Proof. See R. C. Baker and A. J. Irving [1, Lemma 1, 2 and Section 5]. 

3. Proof of Theorem 1.2

3.1. Setup.
Suppose that x is sufficiently large. Let ρ, θ, c1 , and ξ be as in Lemma 2.3. We can
choose ǫ sufficiently small, such that
(3.1) (1 − c1 )(θ − ǫ) > 0.52427.
Since ρ has exponent of distribution θ to smooth moduli, we can find a δ > 0 for which
the following holds.
For any P which is a product of distinct primes smaller than xδ , any integer a with
(a, P ) = 1 and any A > 0
X X 1 X
(3.2) ρ(n) − ρ(n) ≪ǫ,A x(log x)−A ,
φ(q)
q≤xθ−ǫ n≡a ( mod q) (n,q)=1
q|P

Let θ0 = θ − ǫ, R = xθ0 /2−1/(100000m) and

4m
+8
(3.3) k0 = m2 e θ0 (1−c1 ) .
We clearly have from (3.1) and Property 3 in Lemma 2.3,
4 4 1 1 7 17 22 691
(3.4) < < 7.63 and < θ0 < + + · = .
θ0 (1 − c1 ) 0.52427 2 2 300 120 3295 1318
Suppose that {h1 , · · ·hQ
2k0 } is an admissible set described in Lemma 2.1. First we use
the W -trick. Set W = p<D0 p for some D0 , by the Chinese remainder theorem, we
can find an integer v, such that v + hi is co-prime to W for each hi . We restrict n to
be in this fixed residue class v modulo W . One can choose D0 = log log log x, so that
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 7

W ∼ (log log x)1+o(1) by an application of the prime number theorem. For a positive
number C, we denote by S(x, C) the quantity
! 2
k0  
X X τ (n + h2j ) X
1P (n + h2j−1 ) 1 − −m  λd  ,
x≤n<2x j=1
C
di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0

where λd are real constants to be chosen later.

We wish to show, with an appropriate choice of C, that S(x, C) > 0 for all large
x. If S(x, C) > 0 for some x, then at least one term in the sum over n must have a
P 2
strictly positive contribution. Since the sieve weights λd1 ,···,d2k0 are nonnegative,
we see that if there is a positive contribution from n ∈ [x, 2x), then there exist distinct
1 ≤ j1 , · · ·, jm+1 ≤ k0 such that
 
τ (n + h2ji )
1P (n + h2ji −1 ) 1 − > 0,
C
i.e., n + h2ji −1 is prime and τ (n + h2ji ) < C. Since µ(n + h2ji ) 6= 0, we get that
log C
Ω(n + h2ji ) = Ω(n + h2ji −1 + 2) ≤
.
log 2
Since this holds for all large x, we see there must be infinitely many integers n such
that m + 1 elements of (n + h2j−1 )kj=1
0
are prime and n + h2j−1 + 2 has at most log C
log 2
prime factors. Furthermore, since (3.3) and (3.4), we have h2k0 − h1 = O(k0(log k0 )2 ) =
O(e7.63m ) from Lemma 2.1. Hence, Theorem 1.2 follows by showing log C ≤ 7.36m +
4 log m + 21 log 2.
We shall choose λd in terms of a fixed symmetric function f : [0, ∞)2k0 → R, sup-
ported on the truncated simplex
[κ]
∆2k0 (1) := {(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈ [0, κ]2k0 : t1 + · · · + t2k0 ≤ 1},
as
 
log d1 log d2k0
(3.5) λd = µ(d1) · · · µ(d2k0 )f , · · ·, ,
log R log R
where κ = 2 min{ξ, δ}/θ0 . Hence,
(3.6) di ≤ Rκ ≤ xmin{ξ,δ} , for 1 ≤ i ≤ 2k0
provided λd 6= 0. We further rewrite S(x, C) as
(3.7) S(x, C) = S1 − C −1 S2 − mS3 ,
where  2
X k0
X X
S1 = 1P (n + h2j−1 )  λd  ,
x≤n<2x j=1 di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0
8 BIN CHEN
 2
X k0
X X
S2 = 1P (n + h2j−1 )τ (n + h2j )  λd  ,
x≤n<2x j=1 di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0
 2
X X
S3 =  λd  .
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0
Based on the above discussion, the remainder of this paper is devoted to choosing a
suitable function f and estimating S1 , S2 , as well as S3 .
3.2. The choice of the function f .
We set
1
δ1 = .
4.5k0 log k0
Let h1 (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) : [0, ∞)2k0 → R be a smooth function with |h1 (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )| ≤ 1 such
that 
1, if (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈ ∆2k0 (1 − δ1 ),
h1 (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) =
0, if (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈
/ ∆2k0 (1).
Furthermore, we may assume that
∂h1 1
(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ≤ +1
∂ti δ1
for each (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈ ∆2k0 (1) \ ∆2k0 (1 − δ1 ) and 1 ≤ i ≤ 2k0 . Let
A = log(2k0 ) − 2 log log(2k0 )
and
eA − 1
T = .
A
It is obvious that for large k0
A > 0.99 log k0 .
Let
δ1 T
δ2 = .
10
We also have
1
(3.8) δ2 ≥
23(log k0 )4
for large k0 . Let h∗2 (t) : [0, ∞) → R be a smooth function with |h∗2 (t)| ≤ 1 such that

∗ 1, if 0 ≤ t ≤ T − δ2 ,
h2 (t) =
0, if t > T.
We may also assume that
dh∗2 1
(t) ≤ +1
dt δ2
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 9

for each T − δ2 ≤ t ≤ T . Finally, we define4 the function f : [0, ∞)2k0 → R by

Z ∞ Z ∞ 2k0
2k0
Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
(3.9) f (t) = (−1) ··· h1 (t) dt, for t ∈ [0, ∞)2k0 .
t1 t2k0 i=1
1 + 2k 0 At i

T
Q2k0 h2 (2k0 tj ) [ ]
As h1 (t) j=1 1+2k0 Atj is a smooth function supported on ∆2k2k00 (1), we obtain that f (t)
T
[ ]
is also a smooth function supported on ∆2k2k00 (1) and
2k0
∂ 2k0 f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
(3.10) = h1 (t) .
∂t1 · · · ∂t2k0 i=1
1 + 2k0 Ati
[κ]
Note that 2kT0 ∼ (log 2k0 )−3 ≤ κ for large k0 . Thus we have supp f ⊆ ∆2k0 (1) provided
k0 is large.

3.3. A lower bound for S1 .

We first note that [9, eq. (3.5)] gives
 2
X X
1P (n + h2j−1 )  λd 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+hi )6=0,1≤i≤k0
 2
X X
(3.11) =(1 + o(1)) 1P (n + h2j−1 )  λd  .
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W )

We replace 1P by ρ, expand out the square, and swap the order of summation to give
 2  2
X X X X
1P (n + h2j−1 )  λd  ≥ ρ(n + h2j−1 )  λd 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ∀i x≤n<2x di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W ) n≡v ( mod W )
X X
(3.12) = λd1 ,···,d2k0 λe1 ,···,e2k0 ρ(n + h2j−1 ).
d1 ,···,d2k0 x≤n<2x
e1 ,···,e2k0 n≡v ( mod W )
[di ,ei ]|n+hi ∀i

By the Chinese remainder theorem, Q2kthe inner sum can be written as a sum over a
0
single residue class modulo q = W i=1 [di , ei ], provided that W, [d1 , e1 ], · · ·, [d2k0 , e2k0 ]
are pairwise coprime. The integer n + h2j−1 will lie in a residue class coprime to the

4In Li and Pan’s paper [9], the smooth function f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) is originally defined on R2k0 rather
than on [0, ∞)2k0 . The authors additionally imposed the condition that f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) should vanish
if ti < 0 for some 1 ≤ i ≤ 2k0 . However, these restrictions can be relaxed when employing the
Fourier analytic method to derive the Maynard-Tao sieve. For example, refer to [16, Lemma 30] or
[17, Lemma 3.4].
10 BIN CHEN

modulus
P if and only if d2j−1 = e2j−1 = 1. In this case, the innner sum will contribute
1
φ(q) (n,q)=1 ρ(n) + E(x, q, a), where

X 1 X
E(x, q, a) = ρ(n) − ρ(n)
x+h2j−1 ≤n<2x+h2j−1
φ(q) x≤n<2x
n≡a ( mod q) (n,q)=1

X 1 X
= ρ(n) − ρ(n) + O(1),
x≤n<2x
φ(q) x≤n<2x
n≡a ( mod q) (n,q)=1

and a may depend on W, d1 , · · ·, d2j−2, d2j , · · ·, d2k0 , e1 , · · ·, e2j−2 , e2j , · · ·, e2k0 . Since v + hi
is co-prime to W for each hi , |hi − hi′ | < D0 for all distinct i, j, (3.6) and ρ satisfies
Property 2 in Lemma 2.3, the contribution of the inner sum in (3.12) is zero if either
one pair of W, [d1 , e1 ], · · ·, [d2k0 , e2k0 ] share a common factor, or if either d2j−1 or e2j−1
are not 1. Thus we obtain
 2
X X
1P (n + h2j−1 )  λd 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W )
 
 
X′ λd λe X  X′ 
≥ ρ(n) − O  |λd λe E(x, q, a)|
 
φ(q)  
d1 ,···,d2k0 (n,q)=1  d1 ,···,d2k0 
e1 ,···,e2k0 x≤n<2x e1 ,···,e2k0
d2j−1 =e2j−1 =1 d2j−1 =e2j−1 =1
 
 
X′ λd λe X  X′ 
(3.13) = ρ(n) − O  |λd λe E(x, q, a)| ,
 
φ(q) x≤n<2x  
d1 ,···,d2k0  d1 ,···,d2k0 
e1 ,···,e2k0 e1 ,···,e2k0
d2j−1 =e2j−1 =1 d2j−1 =e2j−1 =1
X′
where is used to denote the restriction that we require W, [d1 , e1 ], · · ·, [d2k0 , e2k0 ] to
be pairwise coprime. We can remove the restriction (n, q) = 1 in the last step in view
of (3.6) and ρ satisfies Property 2 in Lemma 2.3. Setting
∂ 2k0 f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )
F (t) = .
∂t1 · · · ∂t2k0
P
By invoking x≤n<2x ρ(n) = (1 − c1 + o(1))x/ log x and applying [17, Lemma 3.4] to
the first sum in (3.13), we obtain (cf. [17, Lemma 4.3]) a main term of
Z 1 2
(1 − c1 + o(1))x W 2k0 −1
Z
· F (t) dt2j−1 dt1 · · · dt2j−2 dt2j · · · dt2k0 −1 .
(log R)2k0 −1 log x φ(W )2k0 ∆2k0 −1 (1) 0
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 11

Following the same argument as in [16, p. 23, Subsection: The Motohashi-Pintz-

Zhang case] along with (3.2) and (3.6), one can show the error term in (3.13) contributes
for any fixed A > 0
≪ x(log x)−A .
Combining this with the symmetry of F , we deduce that
 2
X X
1P (n + h2j−1 )  λd 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W )
1 2
(1 − c1 + o(1))x W 2k0 −1
Z Z
(3.14) ≥ · F (t) dt2k0 dt1 · · · dt2k0 −1 .
(log R)2k0 −1 log x φ(W )2k0 ∆2k0 −1 (1) 0

Let
 
1 1
(3.15) γ= 1− .
A 1 + AT
According to Maynard’s work (cf. [11, eq. (7.4) and (7.21)]), we have
γ 2k0
Z
(3.16) F ◦ (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )2 dt1 · · · dt2k0 ≤
∆2k0 (1) (2k0 )2k0
and
(3.17)
1 2
γ 2k0
Z
log(2k0 ) − 2 log log(2k0 ) − 2
Z
◦
F (t) dt2k0 dt1 · · · dt2k0 −1 ≥ · ,
∆2k0 −1 (1) 0 2k0 (2k0 )2k0
where
2k0
◦
Y 1[0,T ] (2k0 tj )
F (t1 · · · t2k0 ) = 1∆2k0 (1) (t1 · · · t2k0 ) .
j=1
1 + 2k0 Atj
5
On the other hand, [9, eq. (3.11)] gives
Z Z 1 2
F (t) dt1 dt2 · · · dt2k0 −1
∆2k0 −1 (1) 0
Z Z 1 2
◦
(3.18) ≥(1 − 2.24k0δ1 ) F (t) dt2k0 dt1 · · · dt2k0 −1 .
∆2k0 −1 (1) 0

It is easy to verify that

2.24k0 log(2k0 ) − 2 log log(2k0 ) − 2.5
1 − 2.24k0 δ1 = 1 − ≥ .
4.5k0 log k0 log(2k0 ) − 2 log log(2k0 ) − 2

5We use a slightly different notation: the function F ∗ in [9, eq. (3.11)] corresponds to F in this
context.
12 BIN CHEN

Combining this with (3.17) and (3.18), we obtain

(3.19)
1 2
γ 2k0
Z
log(2k0 ) − 2 log log(2k0 ) − 2.5
Z
F (t) dt2k0 dt1 · · · dt2k0 −1 ≥ · .
∆2k0 −1 (1) 0 2k0 (2k0 )2k0

Since m is sufficiently large, we have from (3.3) and (3.4)

4m
log(2k0 ) − 2 log log(2k0 ) ≥ + 4.628.
θ0 (1 − c1 )
Combining this with (3.11), (3.14), and (3.19), we arrive at the following lower bound
for S1 :
(k0 (1 − c1 ) + o(1))x W 2k0 −1 γ 2k0
 
4m
(3.20) S1 ≥ + 2.128 .
(log R)2k0 −1 log x φ(W )2k0 θ0 (1 − c1 ) (2k0 )2k0 +1

3.4. An upper bound for S3 .

According to [17, Lemma 4.2], one has
 2
(1 + o(1))x W 2k0 −1
X X Z
(3.21)  λd  = 2k0
· 2k0
F (t)2 dt.
x≤n<2x
(log R) φ(W ) ∆2k0 (1)
di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W )

Notice that F (t) ≤ F ◦ (t). We conclude that from (3.21) and (3.16)
 2
(1 + o(1))x W 2k0 −1
X X Z
S3 ≤  λd  ≤ 2k0
· 2k0
F ◦ (t)2 dt1 · · · dt2k0
x≤n<2x
(log R) φ(W ) ∆2k0 (1)
di |n+hi ∀i
n≡v ( mod W )

(1 + o(1))x W 2k0 −1 γ 2k0

(3.22) ≤ · .
(log R)2k0 φ(W )2k0 (2k0 )2k0

3.5. An upper bound for S2 .

In this section, we will use Tao’s approach to establish an upper bound for S2 . Recall
 2
X Xk0 X
S2 = 1P (n + h2j−1 )τ (n + h2j )  λd  .
x≤n<2x j=1 di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0

From now on we only consider j = 1. Let f˜ : [0, ∞)2k0 → R be a smooth function with
support on ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ) such that f˜(0, t2 , · · ·, t2k0 ) = f (0, t2 , · · ·, t2k0 ). Correspondingly,
we define  
˜ log d1 log d2k0
λ̃d := µ(d1 ) · · · µ(d2k0 )f , · · ·, .
log R log R
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 13

We therefore have
 2
X X
1P (n + h1 )τ (n + h2 )  λd 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0
 2
X X
= 1P (n + h1 )τ (n + h2 )  λ̃d 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )
µ(n+h2i )6=0,1≤i≤k0
 2
X X
≤ τ (n + h2 )  λ̃d 
x≤n<2x di |n+hi ,1≤i≤2k0
n≡v ( mod W )

W 2k0 −1
 
x log x ˜ ˜ ˜
(3.23) = α(f ) − β1 (f ) − 4β2 (f ) + o(1) ,
(log R)2k0 ϕ(W )2k0 log R
where !2
∂2k0 +1
f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )
Z
α(f˜) = t2 dt,
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0
0
!2
∂ 2k0 +1 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )
Z
β1 (f˜) = t22 dt,
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0
0

and
∂ 2k0 +1 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∂ 2k0 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )
Z
β2 (f˜) = t2 dt.
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 ∂t1 · · · ∂t2k0
0

In the last step, we applied [13, Lemma 5.10] with F (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) = f˜( 3θ20 t1 , · · ·, 3θ20 t2k0 )
1
−2· 1
and R = x 3 3 105 mθ0 , and then proceeded to change the variables in the integral. We
will now carefully select the function f˜ to minimize α(f˜) as much as possible since the
main contribution will come from this term.
By a converse to Cauchy-Schwarz and the fundamental theorem of calculus,
Z 2 −t2 −···−t2k !2
2k0 +1 ˜
∂ f (t , · · ·, t )
Z
3θ0 0
1 2k0
α(f˜) = t2 dt2 · · · dt2k0 2
dt1
2
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ ) 0 ∂t1 (∂t2 ) · · · ∂t2k0
0
Z 2 −t2 −···−t2k 2k0 +1 ˜ !2
t2 dt2 · · · dt2k0 0 ∂ f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )
Z
3θ0
≥ 2 dt1
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ0 − t2 − · · · − t2k0 0 ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0
0

(3.24)
2
∂ 2k0 f (0, t2 , · · ·, t2k0 )

t2
Z
= 2 dt2 · · · dt2k0 .
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ0 − t2 − · · · − t2k0 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0
0
14 BIN CHEN

Moreover, the equality in (3.24) holds if and only if

∂ 2k0 +1 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) −∂ 2k0 f (0, t2 , · · ·, t2k0 ) 1
= 2 .
∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 3θ0
− t2 − · · · − t2k0
Equivalently,
2
∂ 2k0 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∂ 2k0 f (0, t2 · ··, t2k0 ) 3θ0 − t1 − t2 − · · · − t2k0
(3.25) = 2 .
(∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 3θ0
− t2 − · · · − t2k0
Notice that the function on the right side of (3.25) is not supported on ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ).
Therefore, it is impossible for α(f˜) to attain the value on the right-hand side of (3.24).
However, we can still choose an appropriate function f˜ in such a way that α(f˜) does
not deviate too much from this ideal value.
Specifically, we define

 ∂ 2k0 f (0,t2 ···,t2k0 ) 3θ20 −t1 −t2 −···−t2k0
(∂t2 )2 ···∂t2k0 2 , if t2 + · · · + t2k0 6= 3θ20 ,
(3.26) L(t1 , ···, t2k0 ) := 3θ0
−t2 −···−t2k0
 0, if t + · · · + t = 2 .
2 2k0 3θ0

Let h(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) : [0, ∞)2k0 → R be a smooth function with |h(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )| ≤ 1 such
that
if (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 − δ ′ ),

1,
(3.27) h(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) =
0, / ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ),
if (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈
where δ ′ is a small constant to be chosen soon. Furthermore, we can assume that
∂h1 1
(3.28) (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ≤ ′ + 1
∂ti δ
for each (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∈ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ) \ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 − δ ′ ) and 1 ≤ i ≤ 2k0 . Finally, we select
the function f˜ by
Z ∞ Z ∞ Z ∞ 
˜
f (t) = (−1) 2k0
··· h(t1 , u2 , · · ·, u2k0 )L(t1 , u2 , · · ·, u2k0 ) du2 dydu3 ···du2k0 .
t2 t2k0 y

We clearly have supp f˜ ⊆ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ). Note that supp f (0, t2 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ⊆ ∆2k0 −1 (1). We
also have f˜(0, t2 , ···, t2k0 ) = f (0, t2, ···, t2k0 ). Moreover, it follows from (3.27) and (3.28)
that
 2
∂
Z
˜
α(f ) = t2 h(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 )L(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) dt
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1
0
 2  2
∂L ∂h ∂L
Z Z
= t2 dt + t2 ·L+h· dt
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 −δ′ ) ∂t1 ∆2k0 ( 3θ2 )\∆2k0 ( 3θ2 −δ′ ) ∂t1 ∂t1
0 0 0
 2  2  2
∂L ∂h ∂L
Z Z
≤ t2 dt + 2 t2 · L + t2 h · dt
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 ∆2k0 ( 3θ2 )\∆2k0 ( 3θ2 −δ′ ) ∂t1 ∂t1
0 0 0
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 15

(3.29)
 2
∂L
Z
= t2 dt + Of (δ ′ ).
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1
0

Here we used L(t) ≪f δ ′ when t ∈ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ) \ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 − δ ′ ) and the volume of
∆2k0 ( 3θ20 ) \ ∆2k0 ( 3θ20 − δ ′ ) is smaller than δ ′ .
We now focus on the integral on the right-hand side of (3.29).
2 !2
−∂ 2k0 f (0, t2 , · · ·, t2k0 )

∂L 1
Z Z
t2 dt = t2 2 dt
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 ∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 3θ 0
− t2 − · · · − t2k0
0 0
 2k0 2
t2 ∂ f (0, t2, · · ·, t2k0 )
Z
= 2 dt2 · · · dt2k0
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ0 − t2 − · · · − t2k0 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0
0

(3.30)
∞ 2
∂ 2k0 +1 f (t1 , t2 , · · ·, t2k0 )
Z
t2
Z
= 2 dt1 dt2 · · · dt2k0 .
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ0 − t2 − · · · − t2k0 0 ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0
0

Recall that (cf. (3.10))

2k0
∂ 2k0 f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
= h1 (t) .
∂t1 · · · ∂t2k0 i=1
1 + 2k0 Ati
We therefore have
2k ′
∂ 2k0 +1 f (t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∂h1 Y0 h∗2 (2k0 ti ) 2k0 h∗2 (2k0t2 ) Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
= (t) + h1 (t)
∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 ∂t2 i=1
1 + 2k0 Ati 1 + 2k0 At2 i6=2 1 + 2k0 Ati
2k0 Ah∗2 (2k0 t2 ) Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
(3.31) − h1 (t1 ) .
(1 + 2k0 At2 )2 1 + 2k0 Ati
i6=2

Substituting (3.31) into (3.30) and applying the Cauchy-Schwarz gives

 2
∂L
Z p p p
(3.32) t2 dt ≤ I1 + I2 + I3 + 2 I1 I2 + 2 I1 I3 + 2 I2 I3 ,
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1
0

where
2k
!2
∞
t2 ∂h1 Y0 h∗2 (2k0 ti )
Z Z
I1 = P2k0 (t) dt1 dt2 · · · dt2k0 ,
2
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ − i=2 ti 0 ∂t2 i=1
1 + 2k 0 Ati
0 0
!2
∞ ′
t2 2k0 h∗2 (2k0 t2 ) Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
Z Z
I2 = P2k0 h1 (t) dt1 dt2 ···dt2k0 ,
2
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ − i=2 ti 0 1 + 2k0 At2 i6=2 1 + 2k0 Ati
0 0
!2
∞
t2 2k0 Ah∗2 (2k0 t2 ) Y h∗2 (2k0 ti )
Z Z
I3 = P2k0 h1 (t) dt1 dt2 ···dt2k0 .
2
∆2k0 −1 ( 3θ2 ) 3θ − i=2 ti 0 (1 + 2k0 At2 )2 i6=2 1 + 2k0 Ati
0 0
16 BIN CHEN

We first deal with I3 . Noting that supp h1 ⊆ ∆2k0 (1), h1 ≤ 1, h∗2 ≤ 1 and supp h∗2 ⊆
[0, T ], we have
!2
T /(2k0 )
4k02 A2 t2 1
Z Z
I3 ≤  P 0  dt1 dt2
(1 + 2k0 At2 )4 3θ20 − 2k 1 + 2k0 At1
i=2 ti
∆2k0 −1 (1) 0

Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
2
·
i6=1,2
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
4k02 A2 t2 1 Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
Z
2
= 4
  dt2
∆2k0 −1 (1) (1 + 2k 0 At 2 ) 2 2
P2k0
(2k0 ) 3θ0 − i=2 ti i6=1,2
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
!Z !2k0 −2
∞ Z T /(2k0 )
1 A2 t2 dt2 dt
≤ max 2
0≤r≤1
3θ0
−r 0 (1 + 2k0 At2 )4 0 (1 + 2k0 At)2
1 1 γ 2k0 −2
(3.33) = ·   · .
6 (2k )2 2 − 1 (2k0 )2k0 −2
0 3θ0

Next, we have
!2  2
T /(2k0 ) ′
t2 1 2k0 h∗2 (2k0t2 )
Z Z
I2 ≤ P2k0 dt1 dt2
2
∆2k0 −1 (1) 3θ − i=2 ti 0 1 + 2k0 At1 1 + 2k0 At2
0
Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
2
·
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
i6=1,2
′
4k02 t2 h∗2 (2k0 t2 )2 1 Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
Z
2
= 2
  dt2
∆2k0 −1 (1) (1 + 2k0 At2 ) (2k0 )2 3θ20 − i=20 ti
P 2k
i6=1,2
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
! 2 Z T /(2k0 )  2k0 −2
1 1 t2 dt2 γ
≤ max 2 1+ 2
0≤r≤1
3θ0
−r δ2 (T −δ2 )/(2k0 ) (1 + 2k0 At2 ) 2k0
2
γ 2k0 −2

1 1 δ2 T
≤ 2 1+ · ·
3θ0
−1 δ2 2k0 2k0 (1 + (T − δ2 )A)2 (2k0 )2k0 −2
2
γ 2k0 −2

1 1 δ2 T
≤ 2 1+ · ·
3θ0
−1 δ2 2k0 2k0 (1 + AT )AT (2k0 )2k0 −2
2
γ 2k0 −2

1 1 δ2 1.02 log k0
≤ 2 1+ · ·
3θ0
−1 δ2 2k0 (2k0 )2 (2k0 )2k0 −2
by recalling that A > 0.99 log k0 and 1 + AT = 2k0 /(log(2k0 ))2 . Noting that δ2 → 0 as
k0 → ∞ and δ2 ≥ 23(log1 k0 )4 , we arrive at as k0 → ∞
 2k0 −2 
γ
(3.34) I2 = o .
(2k0 )2k0
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 17

Finally, we turn to estimata I1 .

P2k0 !2
1− i=2 ti
t2 ∂h1 h∗2 (2k0 t1 ) dt1 Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
Z Z
2
I1 = P2k0 (t)
2
∆2k0 −1 (1) 3θ − i=2 ti 0 ∂t2 1 + 2k0 At1 i6=1
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
0

Z 1−P2k 0
i=2 ti
!2
t2 ∂h1 h∗2 (2k0 t1 ) dt1 Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
Z
2
= 2k0 P2k0
(t) +
2
1−δ1 − i=2 ti ∂t2 1 + 2k0 At1 (1 + 2k0Ati )2
P
∆2k0 −1 (1−δ1 ) 3θ − i=2 ti i6 = 1
0

Z 1−P2k 0
i=2 ti ∂h
!2
t2 h∗2 (2k0 t1 ) dt1 Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
Z
1 2
2k0
(t)
2 ∂t 1 + 2k At (1 + 2k0 Ati )2
P
∆2k0 −1 (1)\∆2k0 −1 (1−δ1 ) 3θ − i=2 ti 0 2 0 1
i6=1
0

2  2 !2
1 + 2k0 A(1 − 2k
 P 0
t2 1 1 t )
Z
i=2 i
≤ P2k0 1+ log
2 δ 2k A 1 + 2k0 A(1 − δ1 − 2k
P 0
∆2k0 −1 (1−δ1 ) 3θ − i=2 ti 1 0 i=2 ti )
0

Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti Z  2  2
2 t2 1 1
+ P2k0 1+
i6=1
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2 ∆2k0 −1 (1)\∆2k0 −1 (1−δ1 ) 3θ −
2
i=2 ti
δ1 2k0 A
0

(3.35)
2k0
!!!2
X Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
2
· log 1 + 2k0 A 1 − ti =: I1,1 + I1,2 .
i=2 i6=1
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2

Using the fact that

P2k0
1 + 2k0 A(1 − i=2 ti )
log P 2k0
≤ 2k0 Aδ1
1 + 2k0 A(1 − δ1 − i=2 ti )
P2k0
for i=2 ti ≤ 1 − δ1 , we have
Z
t2 2
Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
2
I1,1 ≤ 2 (1 + δ1 )
∆2k0 −1 (1−δ1 ) 3θ0 − 1 (1 + 2k0 Ati )2
i6=1
−1 !2k0 −2
 T /2k0 T /2k0
2 t2 dt2 dt
Z Z
≤ −1 (1 + δ1 )2
3θ0 0 (1 + 2k0 At2 )2 0 (1 + 2k0 At2 )2
 −1  2k0 −2
2 2 1−γ γ
(3.36) = −1 (1 + δ1 ) .
3θ0 (2k0 )2 A 2k0
Noting that
t 1
2
≤
(1 + 2k0 At) 8k0 A
for t ≥ 0 and letting r = t2 + · · · + t2k0 , we have
2 Z
(log(1 + 2k0 Aδ1 ))2 Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti

1 2
I1,2 ≤   1+ t2
2 2
(2k0 A) 3θ0 − 1 δ 1 ∆2k0 −1 (1)\∆2k0 −1 (1−δ1 ) i6=1
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
18 BIN CHEN
2 Z
(log(1 + 2k0 Aδ1 ))2 |r − 2k
 Z 1 P 0
1 i=3 ti | dr
≤   1+ P2k0
(2k0 A)2 3θ20 − 1 δ1 ∆2k0 −2 (1) 1−δ1 (1 + 2k0 A||r − i=3 ti |)
2

Y h∗ (2k0 ti )2 dti
2
·
i6=1,2
(1 + 2k0 Ati )2
2 2k0 −2
(log(1 + 2k0 Aδ1 ))2
 
1 δ1 γ
(3.37) ≤   1+ .
(2k0 A)2 3θ20 − 1 δ1 8k0 A 2k0

Note that γ → 0 as k0 → ∞ and δ1 = 4.5k01log k0 . From (3.35), (3.36) and (3.37) we

conclude that as k0 → ∞
2k0 −2 2 2k0 −2
(1 + δ1 )2 (1 − γ) (log(1 + 2k0 Aδ1 ))2
  
γ 1 δ1 γ
I1 ≤   +   1+
2
− 1 (2k0 ) A2 2k 0 2 2
(2k0 A) 3θ0 − 1 δ1 8k0 A 2k0
3θ0
 2k0 −2 
γ
(3.38) = o .
(2k0 )2k0
A combination of (3.29), (3.32), (3.33), (3.34) and (3.38) leads to
γ 2k0 −2
 
1 1
α(f˜) ≤ Of (δ ) +
′
+ o(1)   2k0
.
6 2
− 1 (2k0 ) 3θ0

Combining this with the choice of a sufficiently small δ ′ (depending on k0 ), we conclude

that for large k0 ,
0.167 γ 2k0 −2
(3.39) α(f˜) ≤   2k0
.
2
3θ0
− 1 (2k0 )

Similarly, we can get as k0 → ∞,

!2
∂ 2k0 +1 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) γ 2k0 −2
Z  
(3.40) β1 (f˜) = t22 dt = o
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 (2k0 )2k0
0

and
!2
∂ 2k0 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) γ 2k0 −2
Z  
(3.41) t2 dt = o .
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 ∂t2 · · · ∂t2k0 (2k0 )2k0
0

By Cauchy-Schwarz we deduce from (3.39) and (3.41) that

(3.42)
! !
∂ 2k0 +1 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) ∂ 2k0 f˜(t1 , · · ·, t2k0 ) γ 2k0 −2
Z  
β2 (f˜) = t2 dt = o ,
∆2k0 ( 3θ2 ) ∂t1 (∂t2 )2 · · · ∂t2k0 ∂t1 ∂t2 · · · ∂t2k0 (2k0 )2k0
0
 SMALL GAPS BETWEEN ALMOST-TWIN PRIMES 19

as k0 → ∞. We conclude that from (3.23), (3.39), (3.40) and (3.42),

!
k0 x log x W 2k0 −1 0.168 γ 2k0 −2
(3.43) S2 ≤ · ,
(log R)2k0 +1 ϕ(W )2k0 3θ20 − 1 (2k0 )2k0
provided k0 and x are large.
 2k0 −1
Remark 3.1. In [9, eq. (3.19)], Li and Pan established α ≤ 8.98 2kγ0 . In
comparison to their result, the order of our upper bound for α (cf. (3.39)) saves a
factor k0 γ ∼ k0 / log k0 . This distinction highlights the power of Tao’s approach and
plays a crucial role in deriving our main theorem.
3.6. Completion of the proof of Theorem 1.2.
Plugging the estimates for S1 , S2 , and S3 (see (3.20), (3.43), and (3.22)) into (3.7)
yields
γ 2k0 x W 2k0 −1
S(x, C) ≥
(2k0 )2k0 (log R)2k0 −1 log x φ(W )2k0
 2 !
2m k0 log x 0.168 log x
· + 1.064(1 − c1 ) − 2 −m + o(1) ,
θ0 Cγ 2 log R 3θ0
−1 log R
θ0 1
as x → ∞. Since R = x 2 − 100000m , θ0 > 0.5, c1 < 8 × 10−6 , and m is large, we have
2m log x
+ 1.064(1 − c1 ) − m > 1.063(1 − c1 ).
θ0 log R
We therefore get S(x, C) > 0 for large x when
k0 0.168 1
(3.44) C = 2 · θ0 1
· .
γ ( 2 − 100000m )2 ( 3θ20 − 1) 1.063(1 − c1 )
It follows from (3.3) that
4m
log k0 = 2 log m + + 8.
θ0 (1 − c1 )
1 1
Recall γ = A
(1 − 1+AT ), A = log 2k0 − 2 log log 2k0 , and T = (eA − 1)/A. We find that
− log γ
     
log 2 2 log log 2k0 1
= log log k0 + log 1 + + log 1 − − log 1 −
log k0 log 2k0 1 + AT
     
4 2 log m + 8 log 2 2 log log 2k0
= log m + log + + log 1 + + log 1 −
θ0 (1 − c1 ) m log k0 log 2k0
   
1 4
− log 1 − = log m + log + o(1), as k0 → ∞.
1 + AT θ0 (1 − c1 )
Hence,
 
4m 4
log k0 − 2 log γ = 2 log m + + 8 + 2 log m + 2 log + o(1)
θ0 (1 − c1 ) θ0 (1 − c1 )
20 BIN CHEN
 
4m 4
(3.45) = 4 log m + + 8 + 2 log + o(1), as k0 → ∞.
θ0 (1 − c1 ) θ0 (1 − c1 )
Combining (3.44) and (3.45) gives that log C is bounded by
0.168
log k0 − 2 log γ + log θ0 1
1.063(1 − c1 )( 2 − 100000m )2 ( 3θ20 − 1)
 
4m 4 0.168
<4 log m + + 8 + 2 log + log 8 1
θ0 (1 − c1 ) θ0 (1 − c1 ) 1.063(1 − 106
)· 16 · ( 2×1318
3×691
− 1)
≤7.63m + 4 log m + 21 log 2
4
for large k0 . Here we used θ0 (1−c 1)
< 7.63 and 12 < θ0 < 1318
691
(cf. (3.4)). The proof of
Theorem 1.2 is now complete in view of the discussion in the Section 3.1.
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B. Chen, Department of Mathematics: Analysis, Logic and Discrete Mathematics,

Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, B 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Email address: bin.chen@UGent.be