Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 25 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Here is a quantitative local form of the Landau zero-free-region theorem. Let , , , and suppose on the two closed discs of radius centred at and . Then every zero satisfiesfor an absolute positive . In particular, if upper bounds of this form hold locally for every large height, they give a zero-free region of this width. The discs are away from the pole, and the Euler product excludes zeros to the right of one.
We state precisely the permitted local logarithmic-derivative lemma. If is holomorphic on a neighborhood of , , and , then for away from zeros,The zeros are counted with multiplicity. This standard disc estimate, which may be assumed here, follows by factoring nearby zeros and applying a Cauchy estimate for derivatives to the remaining logarithm. When every zero has real part at most one and , the zero terms have nonnegative real parts, giving the required lower bound. The estimate with fixed radius ratios is also recorded as Lemma 24.17 in Montgomery and Vaughan's general treatment.
The reciprocal Euler product gives for . Put . The lemma's error on both discs is therefore . Let . If , the desired conclusion already holds after reducing . Otherwise is among the local zeros and, for ,All other zero terms may be discarded because their real parts are nonnegative. The simple pole at one gives . Insert these inequalities into part (a):There is no zero on the line one by the argument in Question 2(a), so . Choose , which lies in the indicated range. The left side is . Hence , proving the theorem. The logarithm of the upper bound, rather than the upper bound itself, is what enters the zero-free width.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 25 3 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Put and , for sufficiently large . Apply the Landau zero-free-region theorem withwhere is fixed and small enough that . On its two discs, the real part is at least and the imaginary part is comparable to . The given Richert bound for the Riemann zeta function therefore gives, on the part left of one,On the part right of one, the separately given bound gives the same conclusion. We may thus choose for one fixed sufficiently large . Also , so the logarithmic term in the Landau zero-free-region theorem is . Its conclusion isfor large and a sufficiently small positive . Complex conjugation supplies negative heights. This is the Vinogradov-Korobov zero-free region. Only the stated Richert upper bounds, the Euler product, the pole at one and the proved Landau zero-free-region theorem were used; no prior zero-free-region theorem was assumed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 27 4 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take sieve level and coefficient cutoff . Let be the finite set of odd primes at most . Give one unit of weight for each prime . For an odd squarefree integer on these primes, the sieve distribution isThe residue is coprime to every such , and for all permitted primes. Values of outside the permitted set can be chosen arbitrarily in at primes and extended multiplicatively on squarefree integers.
For the Selberg sieve normalizing sum, andHere is a direct proof of this lower bound. Restrict the Euler product to . The Mertens first theorem gives , which is at most for large . The Mertens second theorem givesThe truncated Euler-product lower bound, with , now gives .
Use the minimizing Selberg sieve weights from Question 3. Their absolute values are at most one, so the Selberg least-common-multiple weights satisfy . Parts (a) and (b) control the remainder:The first factor uses the Bombieri–Vinogradov theorem; is below for all sufficiently large . The second uses the permitted . The PDF has the exponent nine, which the TeX transcribes incorrectly. Choose to obtain .
Every twin prime pair with survives the finite sieve, while the pairs with number at most . The Selberg upper-bound sieve thus givesTherefore the twin-prime count is . The finite cutoff on the forbidden primes is essential: sieving by all odd primes would also discard the large prime values that we are trying to count.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 27 5 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
In the level- convention used here, the Selberg upper-bound sieve states that a nonnegative sequence with sieve distribution satisfiesIt follows by minimizing the quadratic form with the Selberg sieve weights and using the Selberg least-common-multiple weights bound .
Sieve the interval by two and by the primes congruent to three modulo four, up to . The interval divisor counts giveThus , , and uniformly in the location of the interval. Take and .
To bound , let and form the Euler product over the forbidden primes at most . The given reciprocal-prime sum in residue class one modulo four, subtracted from the Mertens second theorem, yieldsMoreover, the Mertens first theorem bounds the logarithmic mean by for large . The truncated Euler-product lower bound gives .
The full-range summatory bound for three to the prime omega bounds the error by , which is . Every integer whose prime factors are all congruent to one modulo four survives this finite sieve. Therefore the half-dimensional interval sieve givesThe constants are independent of . Enlarging them covers the bounded range of before the asymptotic product estimates apply, so the result holds throughout .
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:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 126 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Hecke operators give a commuting family of arithmetic symmetries of modular forms. They preserve the weight and cusp forms, and diagonalizing them turns the Fourier coefficients of a modular form into multiplicative arithmetic data. Odd weight spaces are zero by the action of ; in weight zero the operators act on constants by . For the substantive theory, fix an even positive weight and , and use the following normalization consistently.
Extend the slash operator for modular forms to byIt is a right action and positive scalar matrices act trivially. Let be the integral matrices of determinant . The determinant-n matrix representatives for Hecke operators for areInteger row operations reduce the first column to , after which a row shear reduces modulo ; uniqueness follows from these same conditions. The Hecke operator isRight multiplication by permutes the left cosets, so is again invariant under the weight- slash operator for modular forms. Each summand is a holomorphic function on the complex upper half-plane, and the coefficient formula below proves holomorphy at a cusp. Thus acts on and preserves . Geometrically, these operators sum over index- sublattices, or equivalently the associated finite-degree correspondences between complex tori; the factors above compensate for the weight's response to lattice scaling.
Write . The sum over is zero unless , in which case it is . Substituting into the displayed definition proves the Fourier coefficients of a composite-index Hecke operator formulawith . In particular, and . At a prime this becomeswhere if .
The Hecke multiplication relations areThey can be checked by applying the coefficient formula twice and regrouping the divisors. More explicitly, coprime indices factor independently, so if . At a prime, separating the terms in the divisor sum according to whether one more factor is available givesIteration gives ; combining the prime factors gives the full relation. Hence all Hecke operators commute, , and the Hecke algebra of modular forms is generated by the together with scalars.
The Petersson inner product on the finite-dimensional cusp form space isThe integrand is invariant and the integral converges because cusp forms decay exponentially at the cusp. The Hecke operators are self-adjoint for the Petersson inner product at level one. To see the underlying adjoint calculation, unfold the finite correspondence for a determinant- matrix and change variable . The invariant hyperbolic measure and the determinant-normalized slash factors transfer from one side of the inner product to . Scalar matrices act trivially, so one can replace by the integral adjugate , which again has determinant . This reverses the correspondence and permutes the same collection of terms, with the same real prefactor . Summing givesCommuting self-adjoint operators on a finite-dimensional inner product space admit a common orthonormal basis of eigenvectors. Thus has a basis of simultaneous Hecke eigenforms, with real eigenvalues.
A nonzero simultaneous cuspidal Hecke eigenform has : if and , comparison of the first coefficients gives for every , so . Normalize . ThenConsequently the full Fourier series is determined by the eigenvalues, and a simultaneous eigenvalue system has a one-dimensional eigenspace. The Hecke multiplication relations translate intoIn particular the coefficients are multiplicative at coprime indices and are determined by the prime coefficients. This is the elementary multiplicity-one statement for normalized level-one Hecke eigenforms.
The Hecke eigenvalues are algebraic integers. One way to explain the arithmetic input is to use the rational structure supplied by the graded ring . The rational cusp form space has a basis with integral Fourier coefficients, for example from appropriate monomials in . Its subgroup of forms whose entire expansions are integral is a full lattice: a finite initial coefficient map is injective by the valence formula for the modular group, so it embeds this subgroup into a finite-rank integer module. The coefficient formula shows that every preserves this lattice, and therefore has a monic integral characteristic polynomial. Its eigenvalues are algebraic integers. Simultaneous diagonalization also makes their number field finite over ; conjugating the rational coefficient data gives another eigenform, whose eigenvalues are again real by self-adjointness. Thus the coefficient field is totally real.
For a normalized cuspidal Hecke eigenform, define its L-function of a cusp form by . The coefficient relations yield the Euler product of a Hecke eigenformIndeed the prime-power recurrence gives , and multiplicativity assembles these factors. These identities hold analytically in an initial right half-plane, as well as formally. For instance boundedness of on the full complex upper half-plane gives , so suffices for absolute convergence.
The Mellin transform of a cusp-form L-function relates this arithmetic to the modular transformation:Splitting at one and using givesExponential cusp decay makes the last integral entire in . This proves the analytic continuation and functional equation of the L-function of a cusp form, complementing its Euler product. The root number is .
Two examples show the scope of the theory. For even , the Eisenstein series is an eigenform with . This follows from its divisor-sum expansion and the same multiplicativity relations; its associated positive-index Dirichlet series is proportional to . The constant coefficient gives , so an eigenbasis of the cusp space together with gives an eigenbasis of the whole modular-form space. The ordinary Petersson inner product above is only used on the cusp space, where it converges. In weight twelve the valence formula for the modular group gives : cancellation of the first coefficients of two independent cusp forms would give a nonzero form with order at infinity at least two, exceeding . Thus the normalized modular discriminant is a Hecke eigenform; writing gives the Ramanujan tau function relations for coprime and .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 137 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Extend the Dirichlet character periodically to all integers, putting when . Its Dirichlet L-function, initially on , isThe Euler product follows from unique prime factorization and absolute convergence; a Dirichlet character is completely multiplicative on this extension. Write for the principal Dirichlet character, equal to one on units and zero elsewhere.
For a nonprincipal Dirichlet character , character orthogonality gives . Explicitly, multiplication by a unit with permutes the unit residues and multiplies this sum by , forcing it to vanish. For setThe numerator is at zero and the denominator is , so is bounded, indeed analytic, near zero; it decays exponentially at infinity. Initially for , absolute convergence justifiesThis Mellin transform integral is holomorphic for , locally uniformly in , and division by the Gamma function proves the requested analytic continuation to the left of the line one.
In fact, the same argument proves Mellin continuation of a nonprincipal Dirichlet L-function to the entire plane. If at zero, subtract this Taylor polynomial on and add its explicit integrals:The last integral is holomorphic on . Its possible simple poles at nonpositive integers cancel against zeros of . Letting increase shows that is an entire function, without any primitivity assumption.
For real , use the absolutely convergent Euler product logarithmThe higher-power remainder has the uniform estimateFor a nonprincipal Dirichlet character , invoke the allowed nonvanishing of a nonprincipal Dirichlet L-function at one. Its holomorphy and nonvanishing give a holomorphic logarithm on a small disk about one. On the connected real interval , differs from this logarithm by a fixed element of : the difference is continuous with exponential one. Thus the prime-character sum near one is bounded. This branch argument is needed for complex-valued Dirichlet characters.
For ,The finite product has a positive limit as , and the residue-one pole of the Riemann zeta function givesHere for nonprincipal Dirichlet characters means bounded complex magnitude.
Finally, for a residue class coprime to , Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters givesOnly primes not dividing occur, so the character orthogonality applies to every term. This sum diverges as . A finite collection of primes would give a bounded sum, a contradiction. Every reduced residue class contains infinitely many primes. This is the Dirichlet theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions; the coprimality hypothesis is essential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 1G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Expand the finite Euler product into geometric series. By unique prime factorization, it is the sum of over positive integers whose prime factors do not exceed , and hence contains every term up to . The harmonic sum satisfiesThe last inequality uses , including when is an integer. For each prime number ,The telescoping series over all integers bounds the sum of these remainders by . Taking logarithms of the product bound therefore givesThis explicit constant suffices; no asymptotic theorem about the distribution of prime numbers is needed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 150 1 d Solution 2026-10-03
Taking the natural logarithm of the finite Euler product and using the Taylor seriesgivesThe double series converges absolutely, and the Mertens second theorem therefore makes the right sideforExponentiating provesThis is the Mertens third theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 150 3 b Solution 2026-10-03
For , both relevant Dirichlet series converge absolutely, so their product may be rearranged:The inner sum is one when and zero otherwise by Möbius inversion. HenceThis is also the reciprocal of the absolutely convergent Euler product.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 4 1I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For , expand the finite Euler product as a product of geometric series:Every integer has all its prime factors at most , soThe harmonic series diverges, and therefore
Suppose instead that converged. For ,Since converges, this would makeconverge to a finite limit, contradicting the divergence of . Hence the Euler proof that the sum of reciprocals of primes diverges gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 150 3 a Solution 2026-09-28
For , unique prime factorization and absolute convergence give the Euler productEvery factor is nonzero and the product converges to a nonzero limit. Equivalently, the absolutely convergent identityprovides a reciprocal. This proves the Euler-product nonvanishing of the Riemann zeta function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 117 2 b Solution 2026-09-28
PutIf is prime, then . Since is supported on , the only divisor of contributing to is , and . Every summand is nonnegative, so
LetSince is the Fourier transform of , the Fourier inversion theorem gives the Fourier representation of a smooth Selberg weightExpanding the square, interchanging the absolutely convergent sums and integrals, and usingwe obtainThe error is because the support of restricts both divisors to . The main factor isand its Euler product is
It remains to estimate the integral using the assumed zeta-factor bound. The transform is a Schwartz function, since is smooth and compactly supported. We may therefore truncate to , losing an arbitrarily large negative power of . Uniformly in the needed truncated range, the standard estimates near the pole of the Riemann zeta function giveandAfter multiplication, one net factor remains. The polynomial factors in are integrable against the rapidly decreasing , and choosing as a sufficiently large power of makes the tails negligible. HenceSince and ,This proves the short-interval prime upper bound from a smooth divisor weight.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 123 2 1 Solution 2026-09-28
For , the Dedekind zeta function of isUnique factorization of ideals gives its Euler productover the nonzero prime ideals of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 150 3 c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Complete multiplicativity and absolute convergence give the Euler productSet . Taking logarithms of absolute values and expanding the local factors gives, uniformly in real ,The prime powers with exponent at least two contribute ; changing to below and estimating the tail above also cost . By Mertens theorem,Exponentiating yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 150 2 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
If is a multiplicative function with , then for its Dirichlet series has the Euler productIndeed, expanding the product over a finite set of primes and using unique prime factorization gives the sum over integers having no other prime factors. Moreover,so absolute convergence permits rearrangement and passage to the limit over all primes. This proves the formula.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 150 2 c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Write for the Mertens function. Suppose, to the contrary, that for some the quotient were bounded. Partial summation would then makeconverge and define a holomorphic function throughout . In the Euler product identifies this function with , so analytic continuation would make holomorphic in that larger half-plane.
By assumption, has a nontrivial zero. The functional equation of the Riemann zeta function reflects one of that zero and its partner into , where must have a pole, a contradiction. Thus is unbounded, which gives an exceeding any prescribed constant .
Prime-character sum near one Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-14
For real , the logarithm defined by the Euler product of a Dirichlet L-function differs from by a quantity of absolute value at most . If , a local holomorphic logarithm differs from this continuous logarithm by one fixed multiple of on a short real interval, so stays bounded as . For the principal Dirichlet character, the pole of the Riemann zeta function instead gives . Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters then makes the sum over any reduced residue class diverge, proving infinitude of its primes.
Prime reciprocal lower bound 2026-10-14
For , the harmonic number exceeds . The finite Euler product over the primes at most contains every summand of this harmonic number. Taking logarithms and applying the geometric-series bound for the logarithmic remainder bounds the total remainder by , proving the displayed bound.