Homepage › Solution manuals › Kenneth Ireland › A Classical Introduction to Modern Number Theory › Exercise 2.27
Exercise 2.27
Show that , the sum being over square free integers, diverges. Conclude that as . Since , conclude that . (This proof is due to I.Niven.)
Answers
Proof. Let the set of square free integers.
Let . Every integer can be written as , where are integers and is square free. Then , and , so
Therefore
As diverges, , so the family of the inverse of square free integers is not summable:
Let , and all prime integers less than . Then
We prove this last formula by induction. This is true for : .
If it is true for the integer , then
So it is true for all .
Thus , where is the set of square free integers whose prime factors are less than .
Let be any finite set of square free integers. There exists such that , namely . Indeed, if , then , so that every prime factor of is less than .
Let be an arbitrary real. Since diverges, there is a finite set such that . By the preceding argument, there is some such that , thus . This proves that , that is
We know that for , so
and , so
□
Chapter 3