### Recent research

#### Beyond the LSD method for the partial sums of multiplicative functions (with Dimitris Koukoulopoulos)

The Landau-Selberg-Delange (LSD) method gives an asymptotic formula for the partial sums of a multiplicative function $$f$$ whose prime values are $$\alpha$$ on average. In the literature, the average is usually taken to be $$\alpha$$ with a very strong error term, leading to an asymptotic formula for the partial sums with a very strong error term. In practice, the average at the prime values may only be known with a fairly weak error term, and so we explore here how good an estimate this will imply for the partial sums of $$f$$ , developing new techniques to do so.

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#### When does the Bombieri-Vinogradov Theorem hold for a given multiplicative function? (with Xuancheng (Fernando) Shao)

Let $$f$$ and $$g$$ be $$1$$-bounded multiplicative functions for which $$f*g=1_{.=1}$$. The Bombieri-Vinogradov Theorem holds for both $$f$$ and $$g$$ if and only if the Siegel-Walfisz criterion holds for both $$f$$ and $$g$$, and the Bombieri-Vinogradov Theorem holds for $$f$$ restricted to the primes.

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#### A new proof of Halász's Theorem, and its consequences (with Adam Harper and K. Soundararajan)

Halász's Theorem gives an upper bound for the mean value of a multiplicative function $$f$$. The bound is sharp for general such $$f$$, and, in particular, it implies that a multiplicative function with $$|f(n)|\le 1$$ has either mean value $$0$$, or is close to" $$n^{it}$$ for some fixed $$t$$. The proofs in the current literature have certain features that are difficult to motivate and which are not particularly flexible. In this article we supply a different, more flexible, proof, which indicates how one might obtain asymptotics, and can be modified to short intervals and to arithmetic progressions. We use these results to obtain new, arguably simpler, proofs that there are always primes in short intervals (Hoheisel's Theorem), and that there are always primes near to the start of an arithmetic progression (Linnik's Theorem).

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#### A more intuitive proof of a sharp version of Halász's theorem (with Adam Harper and K. Soundararajan)

We prove a sharp version of Halász's theorem on sums $$\sum_{n \leq x} f(n)$$ of multiplicative functions $$f$$ with $$|f(n)|\le 1$$. Our proof avoids the average of averages'' and integration over $$\alpha$$'' manoeuvres that are present in many of the existing arguments. Instead, motivated by the circle method we express $$\sum_{n \leq x} f(n)$$ as a triple Dirichlet convolution, and apply Perron's formula.

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#### Using Dynamical Systems to Construct Infinitely Many Primes to appear in the American Mathematical Monthly

Euclid's proof can be reworked to construct infinitely many primes, in many different ways, using ideas from arithmetic dynamics.

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#### Smooth-supported multiplicative functions in arithmetic progressions beyond the $$x^{1/2}$$-barrier (with Sary Drappeau and Xuancheng (Fernando) Shao)

We show that smooth-supported multiplicative functions $$f$$ are well-distributed in arithmetic progressions $$a_1a_2^{-1} \pmod q$$ on average over moduli $$q\leq x^{3/5-\varepsilon}$$ with $$(q,a_1a_2)=1$$ . This extends our results in Bombieri-Vinogradov for multiplicative functions, and beyond the $$x^{1/2}$$-barrier (with Fernando Shao).

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#### Bombieri-Vinogradov for multiplicative functions, and beyond the $$x^{1/2}$$-barrier (with Xuancheng (Fernando) Shao)

Part-and-parcel of the study of multiplicative number theory'' is the study of the distribution of multiplicative functions $$f$$ in arithmetic progressions. Although appropriate analogies to the Bombieri-Vingradov Theorem have been proved for particular examples of multiplicative functions, there has not previously been headway on a general theory; seemingly none of the different proofs of the Bombieri-Vingradov Theorem for primes adapt well to this situation. In this article we prove that such a result has been so elusive because $$f$$ can be pretentious'' in two different ways. Firstly it might correlate with a character of small conductor, which can be ruled out by assuming a Siegel-Walfisz'' type criterion for $$f$$. Secondly $$f$$ might be particularly awkward on large primes, and this can be avoided by restricting our attention to smoothly supported $$f$$. Under these assumptions we recover a Bombieri-Vingradov Theorem for multiplicative $$f$$. For a fixed residue class $$a$$ we extend such averages out to moduli $$\leq x^{\frac {20}{39}-\delta}$$ .

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#### Sieve weights and their smoothings (with Dimitris Koukoulopoulos and James Maynard)

We obtain asymptotic formulas for the $$2k$$th moments of partially smoothed divisor sums of the M\"obius function. When $$2k$$ is small compared with $$A$$, the level of smoothing, then the main contribution to the moments come from integers with only large prime factors, as one would hope for in sieve weights. However if $$2k$$ is any larger, compared with $$A$$, then the main contribution to the moments come from integers with quite a few prime factors, which is not the intention when designing sieve weights. The threshold for small'' occurs when $$A=\frac 1{2k} \binom{2k}{k}-1$$. One can ask analogous questions for polynomials over finite fields and for permutations, and in these cases the moments behave rather differently, with even less cancellation in the divisor sums. We give, we hope, a plausible explanation for this phenomenon, by studying the analogous sums for Dirichlet characters, and obtaining each type of behaviour depending on whether or not the character is exceptional''.

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#### Large Character Sums: Burgess's theorem and zeros of L-functions (with K. Soundararajan)

We study the conjecture that $$\sum_{n\leq x} \chi(n)=o(x)$$ for any primitive Dirichlet character $$\chi \pmod q$$ with $$x\geq q^\epsilon$$, which is known to be true if the Riemann Hypothesis holds for $$L(s,\chi)$$. We show that it holds under the weaker assumption that `$$100\%$$' of the zeros of $$L(s,\chi)$$ up to height $$\tfrac 14$$ lie on the critical line. We also establish various other consequences of having large character sums; for example, that if the conjecture holds for $$\chi^2$$ then it also holds for $$\chi$$.

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#### Squares in arithmetic progressions and infinitely many primes

In this Monthly note, we use Van der Waerden's Theorem and Fermat's Theorem on four squares in an arithmetic progression to prove that there are infinitely many primes.

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#### Planck-scale mass equidistribution of toral Laplace eigenfunctions (with Igor Wigman)

We study the small scale distribution of the L^2-mass of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian on the the two-dimensional flat torus. Given an orthonormal basis of eigenfunctions, Lester and Rudnick showed the existence of a density one subsequence whose L^2-mass equidistributes more-or-less down to the Planck scale. We give a more precise version of their result showing equidistribution holds down to a small power of log above Planck scale, and also showing that the L^2-mass fails to equidistribute at a slightly smaller power of log above the Planck scale. This article rests on a number of results about the proximity of lattice points on circles, much of it based on foundational work of Javier Cilleruelo.

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#### The frequency and the structure of large character sums (with Jonathan Bober, Leo Goldmakher and Dimitris Koukoulopoulos)

Let $$M(\chi)$$ denote the maximum of $$|\sum_{n\le N}\chi(n)|$$ for a given non-principal Dirichlet character $$\chi \pmod q$$, and let $$N_\chi$$ denote a point at which the maximum is attained. In this article we study the distribution of $$M(\chi)/\sqrt{q}$$ as one varies over characters $$\pmod q$$, where $$q$$ is prime, and investigate the location of $$N_\chi$$. We show that the distribution of $$M(\chi)/\sqrt{q}$$ converges weakly to a universal distribution $$\Phi$$, uniformly throughout most of the possible range, and get (doubly exponential decay) estimates for $$\Phi$$'s tail. Almost all $$\chi$$ for which $$M(\chi)$$ is large are odd characters that are $$1$$-pretentious. Now, $$M(\chi)\ge |\sum_{n\le q/2}\chi(n)| = \frac{|2-\chi(2)|}\pi \sqrt{q} |L(1,\chi)|$$, and one knows how often the latter expression is large, which has been how earlier lower bounds on $$\Phi$$ were mostly proved. We show, though, that for most $$\chi$$ with $$M(\chi)$$ large, $$N_\chi$$ is bounded away from $$q/2$$, and the value of $$M(\chi)$$ is little bit larger than $$\frac{\sqrt{q}}{\pi} |L(1,\chi)|$$.

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#### Mean values of multiplicative functions over function fields (with Adam Harper and K. Soundararajan)

We discuss the mean values of multiplicative functions over function fields. In particular, we adapt the authors' new proof of Halasz's theorem on mean values to this simpler setting. Several of the technical difficulties that arise over the integers disappear in the function field setting, which helps bring out more clearly the main ideas of the proofs over number fields. We also obtain Lipschitz estimates showing the slow variation of mean values of multiplicative functions over function fields, which display some features that are not present in the integer situation.

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#### Big biases amongst products of two primes (with David Dummit and Hershy Kisilevsky)

David Dummit and Hershy Kisilevsky observed from calculation that the Legendre symbols $$(p/q)$$ and $$(q/p)$$ are unequal for rather more than a quarter of the pairs of odd primes $$p$$ and $$q$$ with $$pq\leq x$$, during some calculations. In fact almost $$30 \%$$ of the $$pq$$'s up to a million satisfy $$p\equiv q\equiv 3 \pmod 4$$. Together we found that this is no accident and that the bias up to $$x$$ is roughly $$1 +1/3(\log\log x-1)$$. This is a much stronger bias than the traditional "prime race" problem. When doing the math one finds that this problems about $$pq$$'s is equivalent to the prime race problem, for primes $$=3 \pmod 4$$ versus those $$=1 \pmod 4$$, in which we weight each prime by its reciprocal.

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