Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 1 3D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 1 9E c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 1 8E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 29 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For the unit-modulus prime values in this question, the Granville-Soundararajan distance isThe second identity uses . Thus it is the Euclidean distance between the finite weighted vectors and . Nonnegativity, symmetry and the triangle inequality follow from that norm representation, and it vanishes exactly when the two prime-value vectors agree. This proves the prime-restriction metric for pretentious distance.
On whole arithmetic functions at fixed it is a pseudometric. For example and have identical values at every prime and zero distance for every , but different values at four. Thus the literal identity-of-indiscernibles assertion needs the prime-restriction quotient.
Since ,For completeness, partial summation and the prime-counting form of the Prime number theorem giveTo verify the constant and the error, replace by in the first expression. Differentiating shows its two contributions combine to plus a constant. The error integral converges absolutely because , and . This proves the Mertens second theorem in the form needed here. In particular the pretentious distance between one and the Möbius function satisfies
For the last request, retain the earlier prime normalization ; the proof also works with the weaker assumption . Without a bound on prime values, the original definition and the absolute convergence of the displayed measure need not apply to an unrestricted multiplicative arithmetic function. For example is multiplicative and squarefree-supported, but for the displayed measure has infinite positive mass: its prime terms alone are , which diverges by the Prime number theorem.
Put , , and use the Fourier transform convention . Since is supported on squarefree integers, the defining property of a multiplicative arithmetic function gives the absolutely convergent Euler productThe bound on prime values gives for squarefree , so the total variation norm of a measure is bounded by ; thus is a finite measure. Expanding the logarithm of the modulus, with an absolute remainder since , givesAll constants here are uniform in . Moreoverusing the pole of the Riemann zeta function. The nonnegative deficits giveIndeed, the replacement of by for costs at mostby the Mertens first theorem, while discarding the terms costs nothing in this lower bound. Thus the large Fourier coefficient criterion for pretentiousness isIn particular,The comparison function is the Archimedean character with this sign because our Fourier transform uses .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 29 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For , define the Riemann zeta function by the absolutely convergent Dirichlet seriesThe Euler product follows from unique prime factorization and absolute convergence. The counting-function integral givesBecause the fractional part is bounded, the last integral, and its derivatives with respect to on compact subsets, converge uniformly for . It is a holomorphic function there. This proves the Meromorphic continuation of the Riemann zeta function to the right half-plane, with a simple pole at one of residue one and no other singularity in that half-plane.
The Gamma function isThe Gamma function recurrence extends it meromorphically; its poles are at the nonpositive integers and it has no zeros. The functional equation of the Riemann zeta function can be stated asor, equivalently,These are identities of meromorphic functions; the second also extends the Riemann zeta function to the remaining half-plane. The critical strip is ; its boundary lines will also be treated below, rather than included among possible exceptional zeros.
For , the absolutely convergent reciprocal Euler product gives . For , the factors , , and in the second functional equation of the Riemann zeta function are finite and nonzero. Hence the only zeros there are the zeros of the sine factor:Each is simple. At zero, the sine zero cancels the pole of ; using its residue one gives , not zero. Nonvanishing on the rest of follows from the boundary-line proof below and the functional equation of the Riemann zeta function. Together these facts prove that the trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function are the only zeros outside the open critical strip.
Here is a Jensen disk proof of the zeta zero-count bound which avoids any unproved left-half-plane growth estimate. Set , a holomorphic function throughout , including at one. The integral continuation formula givesFor each integer , apply Jensen's formula in the disk with centre , outer radius and inner radius . The outer disk stays in , so its maximum modulus is . At its centre,since . Therefore the number of zeros in its inner disk, counted with multiplicity, is at mostThe rectangle , fits in the inner disk because its farthest point has distance . Summing over such disks counts zeros in the right half of the critical strip up to height . The first functional equation of the Riemann zeta function bijects zeros, with multiplicities, in the left half with their reflections in the right half; its Gamma function factors are finite and nonzero in the strip. ThusThe pole of zeta function at one does not count as a zero: .
Finally, for real and , the Euler-product logarithms and the nonnegative trigonometric polynomialgive the three-four-one product proof of zeta boundary nonvanishing:If had a zero of order , its factor would be as . The real zeta function factor has pole order three, and the factor at stays bounded because . The product would tend to zero as , contradicting that it is at least one. ThereforeAt there is a pole, not a zero. Applying the sine-form functional equation of the Riemann zeta function at now proves nonvanishing on the remaining imaginary axis, completing the earlier assertion about all zeros outside the critical strip.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 29 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For a prime , the divisor sum defining the real weight is . If , the second term vanishes and the first is one. Thus , while for every integer because is real and the sum is squared.
Put . With the Fourier transform convention in the question, Fourier inversion givesThe function is smooth and has compact support. Using integration by parts times, with zero endpoint terms, provesChoose an integer to obtain for . In particular every polynomially weighted absolute integral of is finite.
For the double integral, useDifferentiating the second formula gives . absolute convergence from the rapid decay permits Fubini's theorem. The derivative energy constant for a smooth sieve cutoff is thereforeThere is no complex conjugate in this integral: the two factors both become , which is real. The constant is positive; in fact the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality applied to gives .
Here is the basic structure of the smooth divisor-square sieve asymptotic, with enough uniform estimates to specify the error. Write and . Expand the square and count multiples of the least common multiple in an arbitrary interval of length :The sum is effectively restricted to . Each count is , independent of the interval's position, so the total error is .
The Fourier representation of a smooth Selberg weight readsHence, with ,The four local terms correspond to the prime dividing neither divisor, only the first, only the second, or both. This is the Euler product for a smoothed divisor-square correlation. Factor it aswhereThe local factors of are when for small fixed . Thus is a holomorphic function near , and evaluating each local factor at zero gives exactly one. Consequently and there.
The pole expansion now yieldswhen . Integrating the error against the rapidly decreasing transforms gives . The complementary tails are harmless uniformly: absolute values in the original divisor series giveAny prescribed power decay of is available, so these tails and the tails of the limiting kernel are after choosing sufficiently many applications of integration by parts. The same absolute bound justifies the original exchanges of infinite sums and integrals. Using the evaluated double integral,We conclude, uniformly over all interval locations,This proof does not assume that the interval starts near the origin.
Finally choose this one fixed smooth cutoff. primes above in contribute one each to the nonnegative weight, and at most primes lie below . Thereforefor all sufficiently large , uniformly in . The bounded range follows by increasing the fixed constant and using the trivial interval bound . Thus the short-interval prime upper bound from a smooth divisor weight is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 23 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Write fixed, with . The zeros satisfy . For ,The previous bound gives at most zeros in each dyadic ordinate band , so its total majorant is . That series converges. There are only finitely many zeros in the remaining bounded bands, and none has the forbidden denominator zero at the specified nonzero point of . Thus the real logarithmic derivative sum converges absolutely. This proves the absolute convergence of the real xi logarithmic derivative without claiming absolute convergence of the unpaired complex sums of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 1 4F i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Let . Its consecutive coefficient ratio isThe ratio test for the full terms therefore has limit : the series has absolute convergence when and its terms eventually grow in magnitude when . Thus the radius of convergence is . No boundary decision is needed to determine the radius of convergence.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 1 9D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Use , the derivative identity , continuity of cosine at zero, and . For , the mean value theorem gives for a point between zero and . Hence as . For , apply this with to obtain the limit . For every term is zero.
The additional bound and the same mean value theorem give . ThereforeThe right side is summable. By the comparison test for series the stated series has absolute convergence for every real .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 25 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Absolute convergence and the Fundamental theorem of arithmetic give the Euler productFor a finite set of primes, expand the geometric factors: their product sums over integers whose prime factors lie in that set. Let the finite sets increase through all primes. Absolute convergence permits passage to the limit and recovers the full Dirichlet series. Moreover , so the logarithm converges and the product has no zeros there.
The same absolutely convergent logarithm, and , giveThis is the product version of the three-four-one zero-free-region argument. It also proves there are no zeros on : if for , its factor has order at least four as , while the real pole contributes only order minus three and the factor remains bounded. The displayed left side would tend to zero, a contradiction. At there is a pole, not a zero.
For large , put . The Hardy-Littlewood approximation to the Riemann zeta function at gives for ; its finite sum is bounded by and the integral term is bounded. The Cauchy estimate for derivatives on circles of radius comparable to consequently gives for .
Take with a small fixed . The product inequality, , and implyIf , integration of the derivative along the horizontal segment changes this value by at most . Choose sufficiently small that , then sufficiently small. The lower bound remains a positive multiple of . For , the same product inequality, , and the near-one upper bound give that lower bound directly. For , the reciprocal Euler product gives .
Finally the no-zero result on , compactness at bounded heights and the regular reciprocal at the pole allow a further fixed reduction of to include bounded . We have proved the weak logarithmic zero-free region for the Riemann zeta functionThe reciprocal at is its holomorphic extension, equal to zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 25 5 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let converge absolutely at a real , and take . DefineThe truncated Perron kernel estimate isFor close the contour to the left, collecting the residue one at zero; for close it to the right, collecting no residue. On the horizontal sides, integrating bounds the error by , and the remote vertical side tends to zero. Near use the bounded transition estimate instead, giving . These are the contours and bounds underlying the kernel formula. The constants are uniform for , the range needed below.
Absolute convergence permits termwise integration. The truncated Perron formula is consequentlyHere the primed sum has half weight when is an integer, and otherwise. To obtain the inclusive sum add at an integer. This endpoint convention avoids a false uniform assertion about the kernel at .
Apply this with , , and , for sufficiently large . For , is bounded below, andusing . In the central range , , and . Separate the nearest integers, then sum the harmonic tail over distances : its contribution is . The possible endpoint weight and nearest terms, of size , are absorbed because . ThereforeFor , use the same vertical line ; the error estimate remains valid since . Subtract the two formulas. The identityhas absolute value on that line, because is bounded. Taking absolute values givesThis is the short-interval Perron bound for the second Chebyshev function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 11B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For , expand . Absolute convergence of the integrated series follows from the same expression with in place of . Integrating termwise and substituting givesThis proves the Mellin transform representation of the Riemann zeta function.
Take the Hankel contour along the lower side of the negative axis towards zero, around zero counterclockwise, and back along the upper side. For the small-circle contribution tends to zero. On the lower and upper rays, respectively, , so the two integrals combine toThe gamma reflection formula now proves agreement of the two representations. At an integer , the contour integral has a zero while has a pole: their product is interpreted by its finite limit, equal to , not by multiplying literal zero and infinity.
For nonpositive integers the integrand is single-valued, and the contour closes around zero. Sincethe residue of is , giving . Alsois odd. Its Laurent series therefore has only odd powers. Multiplication by cannot produce a term, and the subtracted constant cannot do so when . Hence the contour integral vanishes and for every positive integer .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 1H Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The Euler totient function counts integers with . The Möbius function has , is zero when a prime square divides , and equals when is a product of distinct primes. Consequentlybecause for the sum over squarefree divisors is .
The Möbius inversion formula is . Substituting the divisor sum defining and collecting the coefficient of givesThis proof uses only finite sums, so no convergence hypothesis is needed.
Classifying by their greatest common divisor with gives : the class with greatest common divisor contains exactly integers. Applying the Möbius inversion formula yieldsThe Riemann zeta function is for . Absolute convergence justifies multiplication of Dirichlet series. The divisor identity for the Möbius function gives there. For both factors below converge absolutely, and their Dirichlet convolution is the Euler totient function:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 23J c i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
By the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, the integral is bounded by , where . For ,For outside the interval, the integral is bounded by the value at the nearest endpoint; the endpoint value is finite as well. Since , the kernel is square-integrable for every real , proving absolute convergence for every .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 1 4F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Every counted point has integer coordinates and lies in the square , while the origin is always counted. HenceNo precise circle-area estimate is needed; this elementary bound controls the growth of the power series coefficients.
The comparison test for series states that if , convergence of implies convergence of . Equivalently, divergence of the smaller nonnegative series forces divergence of the larger one.
For ,For , the ratio of successive terms on the right tends to , so the ratio test and the comparison test for series show absolute convergence. The case is immediate.
If , then , so the terms do not tend to zero. The term test for divergence therefore rules out convergence, including every point on the boundary . Thus the radius of convergence isThe series converges exactly in the open unit disc. This is an example of polynomial coefficient growth with unit power-series radius: the lattice-count bound is polynomial rather than exponential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 5A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The function is even, so its Fourier series has . In the convention ,Twice applying integration by parts gives, for ,Therefore the periodic Fourier representation iswith periodic continuation. The periodic extension is continuous, including the identified endpoints, and piecewise smooth, so the Fourier series converges to it. The coefficients also give absolute convergence and uniform convergence by comparison with .
At , the cosine cancels the alternating coefficient sign; at , it is identically one. These evaluations yieldThe first identity solves the Basel problem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 124 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The Möbius function has , when is divisible by a prime square, and when is a product of distinct primes. The Riemann zeta function is initially the Dirichlet series for . Both this Dirichlet series and have absolute convergence, because and .
For a finite set of primes , multiplication of absolutely convergent geometric series and unique prime factorization giveEvery omitted integer has a prime factor exceeding , so it exceeds . The difference from has absolute value at most . This proves the Euler product, with the product interpreted as the limit of its finite products:
For the reciprocal identity, absolute convergence justifies multiplying and regrouping the two Dirichlet series by their product index. Their Dirichlet convolution coefficient at isThe coefficient calculation uses only the squarefree integers dividing . Consequently the reciprocal identity is an identity of absolutely convergent series: