Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 25 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Fix a positive integer and an integer coprime to . We use Dirichlet characters modulo , extended by zero on integers not coprime to , and write for the principal Dirichlet character. For a nonprincipal Dirichlet character, the sum over one complete period is zero. Its partial sums are therefore . Partial summation givesThe integral converges locally uniformly there, so these Dirichlet L-functions are holomorphic at one. On the other hand,has a simple pole at one, with residue .
The assumed nonvanishing of a nonprincipal Dirichlet L-function at one for real Dirichlet characters also excludes vanishing for nonreal ones. To prove this, form the product over all Dirichlet charactersUse the logarithm supplied by the absolutely convergent Euler product. The Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters yieldsThus . If a nonreal Dirichlet character had , its distinct conjugate would also have a zero there, since . These two zeros would outweigh the single pole of the principal factor; all other factors are bounded near one. It would follow that as , contradicting the lower bound. Together with the assumption for real Dirichlet characters, this proves for every nonprincipal Dirichlet character.
The first-degree part of the Euler product logarithm givesThe omitted terms are bounded uniformly, since . For each nonprincipal factor, its logarithm remains bounded: choose a holomorphic logarithm near the now established nonzero value ; the Euler-product branch differs from it by a fixed integral multiple of on a sufficiently small real interval. For the principal factor,Applying Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters again givesThe right side diverges as , so the arithmetic progression contains infinitely many primes. This proves Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions: every reduced residue class modulo contains infinitely many primes. The argument also covers and , when there need not be a nonreal character.
For the sharper statement about reciprocal primes in a fixed arithmetic progression, use the given prime-counting function asymptotic with fixed:The second equivalence follows by integration by parts in the logarithmic integral function. Partial summation yieldsFor any , choose a fixed so large that the relative error in is at most for . The initial integral is a constant, while the remaining integral lies betweenThe boundary term is . Divide by , let , and then let . We obtainOnly a relative asymptotic is deduced from the given information; an additive error, or uniformity for a growing modulus , would require additional estimates.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 32 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a positive integer , a Dirichlet character modulo is a group homomorphism , extended periodically to the integers and set equal to zero on integers not coprime to . Its nonzero values are roots of unity. For , its Dirichlet L-function is the absolutely convergent Dirichlet seriesComplete multiplicativity of proves the Euler product by expanding each factor as a geometric series and applying unique integer factorization; absolute convergence justifies these rearrangements.
Suppose is a nonprincipal Dirichlet character. Choose a unit with . Multiplication by permutes a complete residue system, so , and the sum is zero. Consequently is bounded: complete periods contribute zero and the remaining incomplete period has at most terms. The Abel summation formula gives, initially for ,For the integral converges, locally uniformly together with its derivatives in , because on a compact set with the differentiated integrands are bounded by constants times . Thus holomorphy of a Dirichlet series from bounded partial sums proves
For a nonreal , the character is also nonprincipal. The supplied logarithmic Euler product yields, for real ,At a prime dividing the numerator is . At every other prime put ; then the numerator is . This Euler product positivity for L-function nonvanishing proves that the product inside the logarithm is at least one. If , its holomorphy would give . Meanwhile is bounded near one and the Riemann zeta function has a simple pole there. The product would therefore be and tend to zero, a contradiction.
For a real nonprincipal , suppose instead that . The product would then be holomorphic on the whole half-plane , because the zero cancels the only zeta pole there. In it has coefficientsThese are nonnegative zeta-times-real-L coefficients. They are multiplicative, and their prime-power values are if , one or zero according as is even or odd if , and one if . In particular and for every .
The Taylor series of the assumed holomorphic about converges in the disk . Termwise differentiation of its absolutely convergent Dirichlet series at gives . Evaluate the Taylor series at and apply the Tonelli theorem to the resulting nonnegative terms:This contradicts holomorphy at . The argument is the positive-coefficient mechanism of the Landau theorem for a Dirichlet series with nonnegative coefficients, with the needed step proved explicitly. Combining the real and nonreal cases gives the nonvanishing of a nonprincipal Dirichlet L-function at one:
Now let be coprime to . The Dirichlet theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions asserts that infinitely many prime numbers satisfy . To prove it, separate the first-power terms in the given logarithmic Euler product:For , the remainder is bounded uniformly byFor a nonprincipal character, holomorphy and nonvanishing near one give a local holomorphic logarithm. Along a short real interval to the right of one, this logarithm and the supplied continuous logarithm differ by a fixed integer multiple of . Hence the prime-character sum near one is bounded:For the principal Dirichlet character ,The latter follows from the simple zeta pole and the bounded remainder. Finally Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters givesHere is the Euler totient function. The right-hand side tends to infinity as , whereas a finite set of primes would give a bounded left-hand side. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 25 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For , the Euler products areThe Dirichlet character is completely multiplicative, and unique prime factorization expands each finite product into the terms of the corresponding Dirichlet series supported on those primes. Absolute convergence permits passage to all primes. More strongly, the absolutely convergent Euler product logarithm givessince the sum of absolute values is bounded by .
We prove nonvanishing of a nonprincipal Dirichlet L-function at one, including real Dirichlet characters. If is nonprincipal modulo , periodicity and the given Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters bound by . Partial summation giveswhich is holomorphic for by locally uniform convergence, including after differentiation. The principal Dirichlet character instead haswith a simple pole at one.
For a nonreal Dirichlet character, consider . For real , its Euler product logarithm isThe given character inversion with makes each inner sum either or zero, so . If for a nonreal Dirichlet character, then as well, since their values at real are conjugate. These are two distinct factors. All nonprincipal factors are holomorphic at one, and only the principal factor has a simple pole. Their two zeros would force , a contradiction.
For a real nonprincipal Dirichlet character, suppose . Then is holomorphic throughout : the supplied continuation of the Riemann zeta function has no other pole there, and the zero cancels the pole at one. On its Dirichlet series has coefficientsTo check the sign explicitly, for a prime power the local sum is if , is for even and for odd if , and is if . Multiplication over prime factors proves nonnegativity and . Also , so termwise derivatives at are justified by absolute convergence:The disc lies in . Its Taylor series therefore converges at , and Tonelli theorem givesThis contradicts holomorphy at . It is the positive-coefficient argument behind the Landau theorem for a Dirichlet series with nonnegative coefficients, proved here rather than invoked. Thus for every nonprincipal Dirichlet character.
It remains to detect the primes. For real , the Euler product logarithm satisfiesuniformly as : terms with are bounded in absolute value by . For a nonprincipal Dirichlet character, a holomorphic logarithm of exists near one by the nonvanishing just proved. On a short real interval it differs from the Euler product logarithm by a fixed multiple of , so the prime sum stays bounded. For the principal Dirichlet character, the simple pole instead givesApplying the supplied Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters for a reduced residue class now yieldsThe right side tends to infinity, whereas a finite set of primes would give a bounded left side. Therefore every residue class coprime to contains infinitely many primes, proving the Dirichlet theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions.
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.