Chebyshev function
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The Chebyshev function is either of two related functions. The first Chebyshev function ϑ(x) or θ(x) is given by
with the sum extending over all prime numbers p that are less than x. The second Chebyshev function ψ(x) is defined by
where Λ is the von Mangoldt function. The Chebyshev function is often used in proofs related to prime numbers, because it is typically simpler to work with than the prime-counting function, π(x). Both functions are asymptotic to x, a statement equivalent to the prime number theorem.
Both functions are named in honour of Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev.
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[edit] Relationships
The second Chebyshev function can be seen to be related to the first by writing it as
where k is the unique integer such that but pk + 1 > x. A more direct relationship is given by
Note that this last sum has only a finite number of non-vanishing terms, as
- for n > log2x.
The second Chebyshev function is the logarithm of the least common multiple of the integers from 1 to n.
[edit] Asymptotics and bounds
Pierre Dusart proved the following bounds for the Chebyshev functions:
- for k' ≥ exp(22)
- for k ≥ 198
- for k ≥ 198
- for x ≥ 10,544,111
- for x ≥ exp(22)
- for x ≥ exp(30)
Along with , this gives a good characterization of the behavior of these two functions.
[edit] The exact formula
In 1895, Hans Carl Friedrich von Mangoldt proved an explicit expression for ψ(x) as a sum over the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function:
Here ρ runs over the nontrivial zeros of the zeta function, and
From the Taylor series for the logarithm, the last term in the explicit formula can be understood as a summation of − xω / ω over the trivial zeros of the zeta function, , i.e.
[edit] Properties
A theorem due to Erhard Schmidt states that, for any real, positive K, there are values of x such that
and
infinitely often.big-O notation, one may write the above as
OnHardy and Littlewood
prove the stronger result, that[edit] Relation to primorials
The first Chebyshev function is the logarithm of the primorial of x, denoted x#:
This proves that the primorial x# is asymptotically equal to exp((1+o(1))x), where "o" is the little-o notation (see Big O notation) and together with the prime number theorem establishes the asymptotic behavior of pn#.
[edit] Relation to the prime-counting function
The Chebyshev function can be related to the prime-counting function as follows. Define
Then
The transition from Π to the prime-counting function, π, is made through the equation
Certainly , so for the sake of approximation, this last relation can be recast in the form
[edit] The Riemann hypothesis
The Riemann hypothesis states that all nontrivial zeros of the zeta function have real part 1/2. In this case, , and it can be shown that
By the above, this implies
A good evidence that RH could be true comes from the fact proposed by Alain Connes and others, that if we differentiate V. Mangoldt formula respect to x make x = exp(u) manipulating we have the formula we have the "Trace formula" for the exponential of the Hamiltonian operator satisfying
Where the "trigonometric sum" can be considered to be the trace of the operator (statistical mechanics) ,which is only true if ρ = 1 / 2 + iE(n) .
Using the semiclassical approach the potential of H=T+V satisfies:
with Z(u) → 0 as u → ∞.
[edit] Smoothing function
The smoothing function is defined as
It can be shown that
[edit] Variational formulation
The Chebyshev function evaluated at x = exp(t) minimizes the functional
so
for c > 0.
[edit] References
- ^ Pierre Dusart, "Sharper bounds for ψ, θ, π, pk", Rapport de recherche n° 1998-06, Université de Limoges. An abbreviated version appeared as "The kth prime is greater than k(ln k + ln ln k - 1) for k ≥ 2", Mathematics of Computation, Vol. 68, No. 225 (1999), pp. 411–415.
- ^ Erhard Schmidt, "Über die Anzahl der Primzahlen unter gegebener Grenze", Mathematische Annalen, 57 (1903), pp.195-204.
- ^ G.H. Hardy and J.E. Littlewood, "Contributions to the Theory of the Riemann Zeta-Function and the Theory of the Distribution of Primes", Acta Mathematica, 41(1916) pp.119-196.
- ^ Davenport, Harold (2000). In Multiplicative Number Theory. Springer. p. 104. ISBN 0-387-95097-4. Google Book Search.
- Tom M. Apostol, Introduction to Analytic Number Theory, (1976) Springer-Verlag, New York. ISBN 0-387-90163-9
- Eric W. Weisstein, Chebyshev functions at MathWorld.
- Mangoldt summatory function on PlanetMath
- Chebyshev functions on PlanetMath
- Riemann's Explicit Formula, with images and movies