1
$\begingroup$

I would like to know how the Dirichlet L-series(of order $1$) were derived. I independently found sequences analogous to the Dirichlet L-series using a property from: https://math.stackexchange.com/q/4776903

Basically it was proved that $k-\sin(x)=k\cdot(1-\dfrac{1}{x_{root1}})(1-\dfrac{1}{x_{root2}})(1-\dfrac{1}{x_{root3}})\cdots$, For $|k|<1$

For instance, $\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}}-\sin(x)=\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\cdot\left(1-\dfrac{4x}{\pi}\right)\left(1-\dfrac{4x}{3\pi}\right)\left(1+\dfrac{4x}{5\pi}\right)\left(1+\dfrac{4x}{7\pi}\right) \cdots$

By taking the logarithm of both the sides, we get:

$\log{(\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}}-\sin(x))}=\log{(\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}})}+\log\left(1-\dfrac{4x}{\pi}\right)+\log\left(1-\dfrac{4x}{3\pi}\right)+\log\left(1+\dfrac{4x}{5\pi}\right)+\log\left(1+\dfrac{4x}{7\pi}\right) \cdots$

Differentiating and substituting $x=0$ reveals:

$\dfrac{\pi}{2\sqrt{2}}=1+\dfrac{1}{3}-\dfrac{1}{5}-\dfrac{1}{7}+\dfrac{1}{9}+\cdots$

This is apparently $L_{-8}(1)$ according to https://mathworld.wolfram.com/DirichletL-Series.html (31st formula). One could replace $\dfrac{-1}{\sqrt{2}}$ with any constant $k,(|k|<1)$ to derive other Dirichlet L-series of order $1$. I would like to know if this is indeed how the Dirichlet L-series were derived and if my derivation is novel.

I have searched online for the derivation, however I couldn't find any references to the derivation of the series.

I would greatly appreciate any derivations of the Dirichlet L-series of order $1$ :)

$\endgroup$
4
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ It is not clear what you mean by "derivation of Dirichlet series or order $1$". Are you interested in deriving explicit formulae for $L(1,\chi)$, where $\chi$ is a nontrivial Dirichlet character? Such formulae go by the name of class number formulae, and they were originally obtained by Dirichlet himself. $\endgroup$
    – GH from MO
    Commented Sep 29, 2023 at 19:45
  • $\begingroup$ Oh thanks for clarifying. I've asked mathstackexchange a couple of times for the derivation but to no avail, probably because of my wording. I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me a proof of just one specific case:$L(1,-8)=\dfrac{1}{2\sqrt{2}}$, Since I'm trying to work out an alternate proof of the Basel problem :) $\endgroup$
    – SoapEatr
    Commented Sep 30, 2023 at 2:44
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ See my post below for the general formula (with a pointer to its proof) and how it gives the value of $L(1,\chi_{-8})$. $\endgroup$
    – GH from MO
    Commented Sep 30, 2023 at 3:27
  • $\begingroup$ The m.se post was math.stackexchange.com/questions/4777670/…, and you waited all of five hours after you posted there before posting here, and you didn't inform either site of your post to the other one. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 30, 2023 at 6:39

1 Answer 1

2
$\begingroup$

If $d$ is a negative fundamental discriminant, then $$L(1,\chi_d)=\frac{\pi}{(2-\chi_d(2))\sqrt{-d}}\sum_{t=1}^{\lfloor -d/2\rfloor}\chi_d(t).$$ Here $\chi_d$ denotes the quadratic Dirichlet character $\left(\frac{d}{\cdot}\right)$. For a proof, see the proof of Theorem 3.9 in Section 10.3 of Rose: A course in number theory (2nd ed.).

Example. For $d=-8$ the above formula gives that $$L(1,\chi_{-8})=\frac{\pi}{2\sqrt{8}}(1+0+1+0)=\frac{\pi}{2\sqrt{2}}.$$

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks a ton :) However I can't for the life of me find a free copy of the 2nd edition of the book :( Guess I'll have to buy it $\endgroup$
    – SoapEatr
    Commented Sep 30, 2023 at 4:52
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @SoapEatr There are similar formulae for every primitive Dirichlet character, and they can be found in many textbooks. See for example Theorem 67 in Fröhlich-Taylor: Algebraic number theory. Also, books are usually not free, but you can borrow them for free from a library. $\endgroup$
    – GH from MO
    Commented Oct 1, 2023 at 0:57

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .