math.NT — Number Theory
Contributed by Pedro Caceres
Let X_n(s) denote the sum of k^(-s) for k from 1 to n, and define the cross energy C_2(n,s) as |X_n(s)|^2 − |X_(n−1)(s)|^2 − n^(−2σ). At every point of the critical strip, the limit of C_2(n,s) is 1/(1/4 + t^2), zero, or positive infinity, according as σ = 1/2, σ > 1/2, or σ < 1/2. This trichotomy reflects the pole at s = 1. On the critical line, the associated helix has a natural orientation whose signed radius is Hardy’s Z(t), and the zeros of the truncated functions spiral toward the zeros of the Riemann zeta function at rate n^(−β).
We prove that the mean energy of the normalized error E(u) in the prime number theorem equals the sum, over zeros ρ, of the limits of C_2(n,ρ), with values in [0,∞]. This energy is at least 2 + γ₀ − log(4π), with equality if and only if the Riemann hypothesis (RH) holds and all zeros are simple. An unconditional local formulation expresses the energy in a Gaussian window as a double sum over zeros. We also study the pointwise inequality S(σ,t) = ∂/∂σ log|ξ(σ + it)| > 0, which is equivalent to RH. An off-line pair reduces S precisely inside a disc; at abscissa σ, the failure set up to height T has measure at most N(σ,T + 1). Moreover, S is Weil’s functional evaluated at a Poisson kernel, and its truncation admits an exact finite expression involving primes up to e^L.
We test each criterion against the Davenport–Heilbronn function, which has zeros off the critical line, and against its Euler-product counterpart L(s,χ) modulo 5. The former violates each criterion as predicted, whereas the latter behaves like the zeta function. For zeta, primes up to 10^8 yield a mean energy of 0.0453, compared with 0.0462. Assuming RH, simple zeros, and a spacing condition, we determine the next-order term in the energy: the integral from 1 to X of (ψ(x) − x)^2/x^2 dx equals C_B log X + K + Φ(log X) + o(1), where K = 2.5125… and Φ describes almost-periodic interference between pairs of zeros. Prime data up to 10^7 track this term with correlation 0.999; random models of primes and of the Möbius function μ carry 20 to 150 times more energy.
On the circle associated with the Euler factor of a prime p, the zeros favor angles near π, and near π + arg χ(p) for L(s,χ). Restoring the endpoint term (1/2)N^(−s), we prove, with explicit constants, that zeros of the truncations converge to zeros ρ of zeta along helices with radius |ρ| N^(−β−1)/(12|ζ′(ρ)|). For the Davenport–Heilbronn function, the convergence rates for the two zeros in an off-line pair differ by 2(β − 1/2). Finally, Weil’s form, using two windows at the endpoints of its support, detects an isolated zero at β = 1/2 + δ and height γ using prime powers up to (C log γ)^(1/δ). The corresponding positivity holds for zeta up to 3 × 10^6 but fails for a random multiplicative model. We do not prove the Riemann hypothesis.
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