Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 28 2 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A precise endpoint version of the Perron formula is as follows. If converges absolutely on , then, for ,When is not an integer, the left side is simply the sum over .
Prove first the scalar kernel formula, with symmetric vertical limits:For , close the contour to the left and apply the residue theorem at ; the exponential makes the closing integral vanish. For , close to the right, where there is no enclosed pole and the exponential decreases. The usual semicircle estimate, or integration by parts on the closing arcs, justifies these limits. At the truncated integral is , tending to .
One also needs a uniform bound to pass through the Dirichlet series. Pairing the two halves of the vertical integral gives, with ,The cosine term is absolutely bounded. The sine term is uniformly bounded by integration by parts against the bounded sine integral , since is increasing from zero to one. Thus , independently of .
For finite , absolute convergence permits termwise integration, giving . The uniform bound dominates this by . The dominated convergence theorem and the scalar kernel formula now prove the boxed Perron formula, including its half-weight endpoint convention.
For the link with primes, the logarithmic derivative of the Euler product givesApplying Perron formula therefore expresses the second Chebyshev function , with half weight at a prime-power endpoint, as the vertical integral of . Shift this contour left, choosing heights away from zeros and using the partial-fraction expansion to control the integrand. The pole at one contributes , a nontrivial zero of multiplicity contributes , the trivial zeros contribute , and the pole from contributes . Thus the resulting Riemann–von Mangoldt explicit formula iswith zeros summed symmetrically in height. A truncated contour gives the corresponding truncated formula and remainder. The pole at one gives the main term for primes; zeros farther left give smaller oscillating corrections. Zero-free regions therefore translate into error bounds for and, by partial summation, for the prime-counting function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 30 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write and . The global partial-fraction expansion of the zeta logarithmic derivative isHere is the Euler--Mascheroni constant, and the sum includes multiplicities of the Nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function. The paired terms are locally absolutely convergent away from their poles, by the Riemann–von Mangoldt formula. This identity follows by differentiating the genus-one Hadamard factorization of the Riemann xi function and using the Gamma function recurrence.
We first prove the classical zero-free region of the Riemann zeta function. The Euler-product nonvanishing of the Riemann zeta function and its functional equation place every nontrivial zero in the closed strip ; no assertion about zeros on its boundary is needed yet. The real logarithmic derivative of Riemann xi and the digamma function asymptotic imply, for and ,Every summand being subtracted is nonnegative. If is a zero, retaining its summand gives ; at height the upper bound suffices. At real the simple pole of gives .
For , the Dirichlet series has nonnegative coefficients. The identity therefore gives the three-four-one zero-free-region argumentWith , a zero at would consequently satisfyChoose , with an absolute sufficiently small, and put . If , this inequality would imply . But for small enough , a contradiction.
For any fixed , the same positivity inequality as excludes a zero at : its negative contribution has coefficient at least four, whereas the real pole contributes only three. Any zero at only strengthens the contradiction. The pole at has a zero-free punctured neighbourhood. By compactness, the remaining bounded-height portion of the line has a zero-free neighbourhood as well. Shrink to combine these facts with the large-height bound. Hencewith the understanding that is a pole.
The Riemann–von Mangoldt explicit formula for the Second Chebyshev function, with half weight at a prime-power endpoint, isThe zero sum uses symmetric height truncation. To estimate it, take a half-integer and use the truncated explicit formula for the second Chebyshev functionThe zero-free region gives for these zeros. The Riemann–von Mangoldt formula and partial summation give . Choose . Both the zero sum and the truncation error are then after reducing the positive constant to absorb logarithmic factors. Replacing an arbitrary by preserves the Von Mangoldt function sum and changes the main term by at most one. This proves the requested form of the Prime number theorem:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 25 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Write , where is the Von Mangoldt function. The Riemann–von Mangoldt explicit formula, in its symmetric limiting form for , isHere nontrivial zeros are counted with multiplicity, the limit is taken symmetrically through admissible heights, and assigns half weight at a jump. Its difference from is at most . The Euler product and part (a) exclude zeros with real part at least one. The functional equation of the Riemann zeta function leaves only the trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function at negative even integers outside ; their already displayed logarithmic correction is for large . These terms and the constant are negligible in the requested asymptotic error, rather than literally absent from the exact formula.
A useful truncated explicit formula for the second Chebyshev function is, uniformly for ,One may first take a height in separated from zeros and then adjust to using the local count. The local zero count for the Riemann zeta function isIt includes multiplicity and is uniform in real . It follows by subtracting the Riemann–von Mangoldt formula at endpoints, handling bounded heights separately and using conjugation for negative heights. Both closed endpoints change the count only by another local bound.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 150 4 a Solution 2026-09-28
Let denote the distance from to the nearest prime power. For not an integer and , the truncated Riemann–von Mangoldt explicit formula isZeros are counted with multiplicity. The constant term comes from , the logarithm collects the trivial zeros , and the finite sum contains the nontrivial zeros. Enlarging the implied constant covers .
Riemann hypothesis equivalence for the second Chebyshev function Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-07
The Riemann hypothesis is equivalent tofor every . In fact, the hypothesis and the Riemann–von Mangoldt explicit formula give the stronger bound. Conversely, the stated error continues holomorphically to , excluding zeros there; the functional equation supplies the other half.
For , the truncated Perron formula and a contour shift give the displayed form of the Riemann–von Mangoldt explicit formula. The pole at one contributes and the Nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function contribute the finite sum. One can choose a separated height in and then restore using the local zero count for the Riemann zeta function. The error absorbs the half-weight discrepancy at a prime power. Outside this range of , one needs the fuller error with the near-integer terms retained.