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It is said that the Euler product $\prod_p \frac{1}{1-p^{-s}}$ diverges as $s \to 1^+$ proves we can't find constants $C$,$\theta$ with $\theta < 1$ such that $\pi(x) < C x^\theta$ because that would imply that the product converges for $s > \theta$.

I don't understand this deduction at all, how is the fact about the prime counting function concluded?

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Taking logs of the Euler product, expanding out the resulting series, and comparing all the higher-order terms (i.e. terms involving $p^{-ns}$ for n > 2) to the convergent series $\sum_{m = 1}^{\infty} m^{-2s}$, we find that the divergence as $s \to 1^{+}$ is equivalent to the divergence of the series $\sum_p p^{-s}$ as $s \to 1^{+}$. Now if $\pi(x) < C x^{\theta}$, then the $n$th prime would have size $\sim n^{1/\theta}$, and so this series would behave like $\sum_{n = 1}^{\infty} n^{- s/\theta},$ which converges as $s \to 1^+$ (because 1/\theta > 1), a contradiction.

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    @zyx: Dear zyx, I didnt' think carefully about the argument for the last sentence; I think you are right that some kind of Tauberian argument might work, or $p$erhaps if one takes into account a suffciently strong error term in the PNT? Best wishes,2011-10-06