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The first Hardy-Littlewood Conjecture asserts:

Conjecture 1: Fix integers $0< a_1 < \ldots < a_k$. The density of those primes $p\le x$ such that $p + 2a_1,\ldots, p+2a_k$ are also primes, is:

$$\pi_{a_j, j=1,\ldots, k}(x) \sim C_{a_j, j=1,\ldots, k}\cdot\int_2^{x}\frac{\text{d}t}{(\log t)^k}$$

for an explicit constant $C_{a_j, j=1,\ldots, k}$ (omitted, here).

Remarks:

  • Conj. 1 is believed to be true, although wide open.

  • It is known as the “$k$-tuple conjecture” or the “prime constellations conjecture”.

  • When $k = 1$ and $a_1 = 1$, it recovers the “twin primes conjecture”.

  • There is a “second” Hardy-Littlewood Conjecture, that is less trusted than Conjecture 1 and proved to contradict Conjecture 1, if true.

  • There is a more general statement, that is actually the one I’m curious about, omitted here.

It feels this conjecture should amount to some nontrivial relations among the zeros of the completed Riemann zeta function $\widehat{\zeta}(s)$ (i.e. the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function $\zeta(s)$. Abbreviated, “zeta zeros").

By “nontrivial relations” I mean relations that are more involved than just “they all lie on the critical line” (which means, among the other things, that Conjecture 1 ought to lie (much) deeper than RH).

Question: Is there, in the literature, a conjecture about “nontrivial relations” (in the above sense) among the zeta zeros, that satisfies the following requirements:

(1) it is expected to be true, and the literature provides evidence towards it, to some extent;

(2) it is proved or expected to imply Conjecture 1, or to even be logically equivalent to it.

In other words, is there a conjecture, in the literature, that translates Conjecture 1 into a conjecture about "nontrivial relations" among the zeta zeros?

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  • $\begingroup$ Don't forget the $k$ in $\int_2^x\frac{dt}{\log^{k} (t)}$ (if there are no obstructions). $X_n = 1_{n \text{ is prime}}$ would then look like a sequence of (locally) independent random variables. If in $\frac{-\zeta'}{\zeta}(s) =\sum_n \Lambda(n) n^{-s}$ you switch $\Lambda(4n+1)$ and $\Lambda(4n+2)$ it won't change the location of the zeros in the critical strip (there will be new ones in $\Re(s) <0$) thus you can hardly see the twin prime conjecture in the zeros. $\endgroup$
    – reuns
    Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 13:47
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    $\begingroup$ Heuristically, the Hardy-Littlewood conjecture is linked to the GUE hypothesis on the zeta zeroes. There is a non-rigorous demonstration of this connection by Bogolmony and Keating, but getting a precise rigorous connection is difficult (one needs very strong bounds on error terms in the H-L conjecture, plus additional cancellation in these terms, to get full GUE). $\endgroup$
    – Terry Tao
    Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 16:01
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    $\begingroup$ On the other hand, the pair correlation conjecture is known by work of Goldston and Montgomery to be equivalent to a variance asymptotic for the PNT in short intervals, which in turn can be partially derived from the H-L conjecture. See for instance this article of Rodgers mast.queensu.ca/~br66/ArithmeticGUE.pdf for more discussion. $\endgroup$
    – Terry Tao
    Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 16:01
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    $\begingroup$ Actually, Rodgers' thesis has results closer to what you are looking for (uniform versions of H-L imply partial verification of GUE). escholarship.org/uc/item/2zz111pj $\endgroup$
    – Terry Tao
    Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 16:03

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