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 is
The 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, and
Here 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 gives
The 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 gives
Therefore 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.
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 give
Every 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 is
The coefficient calculation uses only the squarefree integers dividing . Consequently the reciprocal identity is an identity of absolutely convergent series:
Put . The odd integer is an Euler pseudoprime to the coprime base when
where is the Jacobi symbol.
Let be the unit group of residue classes modulo , and partition it into the set of bases satisfying the displayed congruence and the set of Euler witnesses that do not. If , multiplication by maps injectively into : indeed, if and also lay in , then the multiplicativity of the Jacobi symbol would give
Cancelling the invertible congruence for would say that , a contradiction. Hence , so at least half of the coprime bases are witnesses.
It remains to construct one witness for every odd composite number . If is not squarefree, choose an odd prime number with . The Chinese remainder theorem gives a unit such that for the full power and modulo every other prime-power factor. The binomial theorem gives
Since , this is neither nor modulo , whereas the Jacobi symbol is always or . Thus is a witness.
If is squarefree and composite, choose distinct primes . By the Chinese remainder theorem, choose to be a quadratic nonresidue modulo and to satisfy modulo every other prime divisor of . Then , while , so the Euler congruence again fails. This proves the existence of an Euler witness for every odd composite integer.
For real coefficients supported on permitted divisors up to , put . Then is an upper bound for the indicator function of numbers free of the forbidden prime factors. Its support has . If the coefficients vanish on non-squarefree integers and satisfy , then : each prime factor of occurs in , in , or in both.
Put , and , where is a multiplicative arithmetic function supported on squarefree integers. For squarefree integers ,
Thus the quadratic form is . Möbius inversion gives . On the permitted squarefree integers, the constraint becomes . The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality yields , where over those integers; equality holds at .
Squarefree divisor 2026-10-06
A squarefree divisor of an integer is a divisor that is a squarefree integer. It is specified by choosing a subset of the distinct prime factors of .
Truncated Euler-product lower bound Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
For a finite set of primes choose , put , and let . Give each squarefree integer on these primes probability . Inclusion of each prime is represented by a Bernoulli random variable with parameter ; these are independent random variables, so . If this is at most with , the Markov inequality gives
This turns a full Euler product into a lower bound for the truncated normalizing sum of a Selberg sieve.
Apply the Selberg upper-bound sieve to the numbers with prime. For odd squarefree integers , the local count is and the density is . With sieve level , the normalizing sum is by the truncated Euler-product lower bound. The Selberg least-common-multiple weights have absolute values at most . The weighted arithmetic-progression error bound and Bombieri–Vinogradov theorem make their total error . Consequently the number of twin prime pairs with smaller member at most is .