For every there is such that, for ,
Here is the Chebyshev function in an arithmetic progression and is the Euler totient function. Partial summation gives the corresponding result for the prime-counting function and the offset logarithmic integral function. The theorem controls the total error over many moduli; it need not give the same bound for each individual modulus.
Brun–Titchmarsh theorem 2026-10-06
For and , the prime-counting function in an arithmetic progression satisfies
The denominator involves the Euler totient function and the length-to-modulus ratio. In particular, for with fixed , this is .
Logarithmic integral function Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
The Cauchy principal value integral is the logarithmic integral. The offset version differs by a constant and is often used with the prime-counting function. It has .
For a fixed prime , the grid has circular spacing . Consequently an arc of length contains at most three points of this grid, including endpoints. The standard Chebyshev estimate for the prime-counting function gives
Since , the local-multiplicity large sieve yields the prime-denominator large sieve:
By contrast, distinct reduced fractions with denominators at most have circular distance at least : their difference, even after subtraction of an integer, has a nonzero integer numerator over denominator . Applying part (a) alone gives only . The local-multiplicity argument saves a factor of .