Skip to main content
further refinement and clarification on deterministic requirement
Source Link

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which hasis a deterministic$\dagger$ expression in termscombination of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS/ I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

$\dagger=$ I want $f$ to be expressible as a deterministic combination of known functions; so I won't accept e.g., a fourier series with randomly chosen coefficients (see Carlo's answer below). Morally, I'm interested in howthe appearance of randomness can appear infrom seemingly deterministic expressions (e.g., $(*)$).

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has a deterministic$\dagger$ expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS/ I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

$\dagger=$ I want $f$ to be expressible as a deterministic combination of known functions; so I won't accept e.g., a fourier series with randomly chosen coefficients (see below). Morally, I'm interested in how randomness can appear in seemingly deterministic expressions.

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which is a deterministic$\dagger$ combination of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS/ I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

$\dagger=$ I want $f$ to be expressible as a deterministic combination of known functions; so I won't accept e.g., a fourier series with randomly chosen coefficients (see Carlo's answer below). Morally, I'm interested in the appearance of randomness from seemingly deterministic expressions (e.g., $(*)$).

further refinement and clarification on deterministic requirement
Source Link

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has ana deterministic$\dagger$ expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS/ I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

$\dagger=$ I want $f$ to be expressible as a deterministic combination of known functions; so I won't accept e.g., a fourier series with randomly chosen coefficients (see below). Morally, I'm interested in how randomness can appear in seemingly deterministic expressions.

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has an expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has a deterministic$\dagger$ expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS/ I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

$\dagger=$ I want $f$ to be expressible as a deterministic combination of known functions; so I won't accept e.g., a fourier series with randomly chosen coefficients (see below). Morally, I'm interested in how randomness can appear in seemingly deterministic expressions.

added 4 characters in body
Source Link

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is oftensometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has an expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is often phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has an expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

If the Riemann hypothesis holds, then the Mertens function $M(n)\equiv\sum_{x\leq n} \mu(n)$ behaves much like a 1D random walk. This includes the statements that

  1. $M(n)$ changes sign infinitely often
  2. $M(n)=O(\sqrt{n})$ (ignoring subleading logarithmic corrections).

It is also believed that 3) $\mu(n)=M(n)-M(n-1)$ "looks random". This seems to be a topic of current research, but is sometimes phrased as the "Mobius randomness law" (Eq 5 here), which says that for functions of low complexity $\xi (n)$

$\sum_{n\leq N} \xi(n) \mu(n) = o(\sum_{n\leq N} |\xi(n)|)$

Some weaker analogue of this conjecture is proved in the linked note.

Now, the Mertens function can be extended to the reals through an integral expression

$$M(x) = \int^{c+\mathrm{i}\infty}_{c-\mathrm{i}\infty } \frac{ds}{2\pi \mathrm{i}} \, \frac{x^s}{s \zeta(s)}\,\,\,\,\, (*)$$

My question is: Does anyone know of a function $f:\mathbb{R}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, which has an expression in terms of known analytic functions (e.g., Eq. $(*)$) and which can also be proved to obey conditions 1., 2., and 3. above? Here 3. would mean that $f(n)-f(n-1)$ "looks random" in some sense, e.g., the sense described above. Perhaps there are many examples; if so, what's the simplest? I don't particularly care whether $f(n)$ takes integer values; I just want it to look like a random walk.

**EDITS I've updated the wording of this question. There is an obvious set of examples if I merely insist on 1. and 2. I should have emphasized the need for $f(n)-f(n-1)$ to "look random".

edited title
Source Link
Loading
updated wording of question with conditio n3.
Source Link
Loading
typo
Source Link
Loading
minor clarification of title and question wording
Source Link
Loading
edited title
Link
Loading
Source Link
Loading