ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH

CONJECTURE
THOMAS WRIGHT
Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to show how adelic ideas might be
used to make progress on the Goldbach Conjecture. In particular, we present a
new Schwartz function which is able to keep track of the number of prime fac-
tors of an integer. We then use this, along with the Ono/Igusa adelic methods
for Diophantine equations, to present an innite sum whose evaluation would
prove or disprove the veracity of the Goldbach conjecture. We also use this
to compute the singular series, a quantity which, if we make the highly non-
trivial assumption that the circle method of Hardy and Littlewood applies,
would indicate whether there are solutions to the Goldbach equation for every
even natural number. In particular, if the circle method applies, this quantity
would be suciently large to prove Goldbach is true.
1. Background
Let f be an integer-valued homogeneous polynomial in n variables, and let N.
For many years, number theorists have studied the following question: How many
integer solutions are there to the equation f(x) = as ?
Denote by N() the number of solutions to this equation, i.e. let
N

() =

xQ
n
,f(x)=
1.
In 1919, Hardy and Littlewood [HL] developed a method, known as the circle
method, to answer such questions. If the Hardy-Littlewood circle method can be
applied to nd an asymptotic density for N, it is generally found that
N() S()J()
as . Here, S and J, known as the singular series and singular integral,
respectively, are dened as follows:
S() =

p
lim
k
#{x (Z/p
k
Z)
n
: f(x) 0 (mod p
k
)}
p
(n1)e
,
J() = lim
0
|{x R
n
: |f(x) | |}
2
,
where | | is the usual Lebesgue measure on R
n
.
In the 1970s, T. Ono [On1] and J.-I. Igusa [Ig] introduced the following alter-
ation. Let be a Schwartz function over the adeles and dene
N

() =

xQ
n
,f(x)=
(x),
2000 Mathematics Subject Classication. Primary 11P05; Secondary 11P55.
I would like to thank Takashi Ono for his helpful comments and suggestions.
1
2 T. WRIGHT
i.e. N

() is the number of rational solutions to f(x) = except that each solution

is weighted by . Usually, this (x) will be zero if x Q Z so that we may
answer questions about the number of integer solutions instead of merely rational
solutions.
If the circle method were to apply to this N

, one would expect that the as-

ymptotic value of N

would again correspond to something similar to S()J().

However, since we have an adelic Schwartz function, we will use the tools of adelic
integration.
First, we introduce the notation that for x
p
Q
p
, we let {x
p
} denote the frac-
tional part of x
p
; i.e.
{x
p
} x
p
(mod Z
p
).
Let be a basic character of Q, i.e. a non-trivial character on A
+
which is trivial
on Q. In particular, we will let
(x) =

v
(x
v
)
be the product over the various valuations of Q, where

v
(x
v
) =

e
2ix

if v = ,
e
2i{x
p
}
if v = , v = p.
Using this information, we dene
S

() =

Q
2
A

Q
n
A
(x)(< f(x), >) (< , >)dxd.
From this, for each place v, we may dene
S
v
() =

Q
2
v

Q
n
v

v
(x)
v
(< f(x), >)
v
(< , >)dxd,
recognizing that
S

() =

v
S
v
().
Note that with the above denition, the product over the nite primes

p
S
p
()
corresponds to S; in fact, if
p
= 1 for every nite prime p then S() =

p
S
p
().
Likewise, the innite place corresponds to J(), although not quite as directly.
Several authors (cf. [La], [Ma]) have used the circle method to show that, in
certain cases,
N

() S

().
More recent work, including [BR], [Oh], and [MW], has shown cases where cir-
cle method can not be applied but the asymptotic density still agrees with that
expected from the circle method. It is hoped that this is true in most cases.
In this paper, we show how these methods could be used to shed light on the
Goldbach Conjecture. In particular, let
f(x) = x
1
+x
2
.
The goal, of course, is to nd integer solutions to this equation that are also prime
numbers.
One of the standard diculties in using adelic methods to study Diophantine
problems that limit prime factors of summands is the fact that adelic approaches
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 3
generally examine each prime divisor separately, i.e. the analysis over Q
p
1
is com-
pletely separate from the analysis for Q
p
2
. As such, it is dicult for adelic methods
to keep cumulative statistics about the total number of prime divisors of a sum-
mand. We get around this by choosing a Schwartz function which weights Z
p
more
heavily than pZ
p
, allowing us to write an N

() which counts summands with

fewer prime factors more than other possible summands.
It is important to note that, by choosing such a Schwartz function, we have
changed the information that N

() gives; instead of telling us the number of

solutions, it will tell us whether there is a solution.
In the rst half of the paper, for a V dened in terms of , we use this to restate
the Goldbach Conjecture:
Goldbach Conjecture. For all even 6,
V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
N

() 2.
In fact, for a given , we can write N

() as a periodic function in ; for explicitly

given functions A, B, C and constants M and Q, we have the following:
Theorem 3.2. For N

as dened above,
N

() =

Z
e
(

MQ
)
2
e
i(

MQ
)
(

p<1, p
(1
A
p
()
p
) +
1
V
(1 +
p
(

MQ
))(1
B
p
()
p
))
(

p|
(1
C
p
()
p
) +
1
V
2
(1
B
p
()
p
))(

1pU
(1
B
p
()
p
)).
In the second half of the paper, we explicitly calculate S

(), nding the follow-

ing:
S() =
1

p, p<1
(1
2
p
+
2
pV
(1
1
p
))

p||
(1
1
p
+
1
pV
2
(1
2
p
))

p
2
|
(1
1
p
+
1
pV
2
(1
1
p
))

1pU
(1
2
p
).
This is the asymptotic value for N

that would be expected if the circle method

can be applied. It is an easy exercise to show that this value is much larger than
that required to prove the Goldbach Conjecture.
This suggests that there are two possible routes from here to a proof of the Gold-
bach conjecture:
1.) Evaluate the sum N

directly.
2.) Use circle (or other) methods to show that as , N

() S

().
2. The Schwartz Function
2.1. Denitions. As before, let
f(x) = x
1
+x
2
= .
Now, an adelic Schwartz function must be the characteristic function on Z
p
at all
but nitely many nite places p. Thus, the key to creating the correct Schwartz
function is to limit the number of primes that the function considers. To do this,
4 T. WRIGHT
we specify parameters M, U, and V which allow us to consider only a nite number
of prime valuations. In particular, let V be a positive number such that
V >
2e
(

2
2)
2
1 e
((

2
2)
2
(

2
1)
2
)
.
Dene U to be an odd positive integer such that

U
e
x
2
dx <

V
3
,
and U
V

2
(which is clearly possible, since the integrand decays exponentially)
1
,
and let
M =

pU,p prime
p.
Now, we dene a new function and use it to dene the appropriate Schwartz
function (x) = (x
1
, x
2
). For v = , let

(x
i
) = e
(x
i

2
)
2
.
For p < 1, let

p
(x
i
) =

1 if x
i
Z
p
pZ
p
,
1
V
if x
i
pZ
p
p
2
Z
p
,
0 otherwise.
For 1 p U, let

p
(x
i
) =

1 if x
i
Z
p
pZ
p
,
0 otherwise.
For p > U, let

p
(x
i
) = the characteristic function on Z
p
.
Combining these, let
(x
i
) =

v
(x
i
).
Now, we can dene :
Denition: Let
(x
1
, x
2
) := (x
1
)(x
2
).
This also gives denition to the functions N

and S

as dened above.
1
The assumption that U
V

2
is only necessary to show a lower bound for S(); if this
assumption were removed, everything else in the paper would still hold.
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 5
2.2. Explanation of . By way of explanation, let d
i
be the number of square-free
prime divisors of x
i
less than 1. To simplify notation, dene the set P to be
the set of primes
P = {p : 1 p U}.
then has the following form
(x) =

0 if x
1
or x
2
Z,
e
(x
2

2
)
2
(
1
V
)
d
1
+d
2
if p
2
x
1
, x
2
for p < 1,
and p x
1
, x
2
p P,
0 if p P such that p|x
1
or x
2
,
0 if p
2
|x
1
or x
2
for p < U.
Eectively, this does the following:
a.) For x
1
, x
2
< , this gives us the number of prime divisors of x
1
and x
2
;
in particular, this number of prime divisors is the exponent of
1
V
. There are two
exceptions:
(i) If x
1
or x
2
is not square-free, (x
2
) = 0.
(ii) If x
1
= 1 or x
2
= 1 and 1 is prime, (x
2
) = 0.
b.) For x
1
or x
2
somewhat larger than (i.e. x
1
or x
2
has a divisor in P),
(x) = 0.
c.) For x
1
, x
2
much larger than (i.e. x
1
, x
2
each have a divisor greater than
U), (x)

(x) e
U
2
. So will be extremely small for these xs.
3. The Quantity N

3.1. Using The Schwartz (Function). Previously, we dened

N

() =

xQ
2
,f(x)=
(x).
However, for our chosen f(x), we note that
x
1
= x
2
.
So we instead dene
N

() =

x
2
Q
( x
2
, x
2
).
When the context is clear, we will use (x
2
) to denote ( x
2
, x
2
). This means
that, for p < 1 with p ,

p
(x
2
) =

1 if x
2
Z
p
pZ
p
( +pZ
p
),
1
V
if x
2
pZ
p
p
2
Z
p
,
1
V
if x
2
+pZ
p
( +p
2
Z
p
),
0 otherwise.
6 T. WRIGHT
For p < 1 with p|,

p
(x
2
) =

1 if x
2
Z
p
pZ
p
,
1
V
2
if x
2
pZ
p
p
2
Z
p
,
0 otherwise.
For 1 p U,

p
(x
2
) =

1 if x
2
Z
p
pZ
p
,
0 otherwise.
For p > U,

p
(x
2
) = the characteristic function on Z
p
.
3.2. Restating Goldbach. We can now write the Goldbach conjecture in terms
of N

():
Goldbach Conjecture. Let 6. can be written as the sum of two primes if
and only if
V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
N

() 2.
Proof. First, assume that cannot be written as the sum of two primes. Note that
(x
2
) =

(x
2
)
1
V
is impossible, since x
1
x
2
cannot be a prime number less than
1. Thus,
N

() =

x
2
Q
(x
2
)
=

x
2
Z,1<x
2
<1
(x
2
) +

x
2
{1,1}
(x
2
) +

x
2
Z,1|x
2
|,|x
2
|U
(x
2
)
+

x
2
>U and x
2
>U
(x
2
)
<

V
3
+ 2e
(

2
1)
2
(
1
V
)
2+k
+ 0 +

V
3
where the rst term comes from the assumption that x
1
x
2
must have at least 3
(not necessarily distinct) prime factors, the last term comes from the denition of
U, and k 0 is an integer determined by the prime factors of 1. So
V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
N

()
< (1 e
((

2
2)
2
(

2
1)
2
)
) + 2e
((

2
2)
2
(

2
1)
2
)
(
1
V
)
k
< 2.
Next, if we assume that can be written as the sum of two primes x
1
and x
2
then
(x
2
) =
e
(x
2

2
)
2
V
2

e
(

2
2)
2
V
2
where the last step is because 2 x
2
2. Note that if x
2
=

2
then

(x
2
) = 1.
So if x
2
=

2
then
V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
N() > V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
(x
2
) e
(

2
2)
2
> 2.
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 7
If x
2
=

2
then x
2
is also a solution for x
2
(i.e. switching x
1
and x
2
gives us a
second solution). In this case
V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
N() > V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
((x
2
) +( x
2
))
V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
(2
e
(

2
2)
2
V
2
) = 2.

3.3. The Poisson Summation Formula. In this section, we will write N()
explicitly as a sum of a product. To do this, we rst use the Poisson summation
formula

x
2
Q
(x
2
) =

x
2
Q
(x
2
).
So
N

() =

x
2
Q
(x
2
)
=

Q
A
(x)(x)dx
=

Q
v
(x)(x)dx.
In the next subsection, we evaluate this integral at each of the places.
3.4. Evaluation of the integral.
3.4.1. v = . At the real place, we have

R
(x)(x) =

R
e
(x

2
)
2
e
2ix
dx
=

R
e
w
2
e
2i(w+

2
)
dw
= e

2
e
2i

2
,
where the last line uses the Fourier transform of e
w
2
.
3.4.2. v = p, p < 1, p . At the smaller p-adic places, we have

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) =

Z
p
pZ
p
(+pZ
p
)

p
(x)dx +
1
V

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

p
(x)dx
+
1
V

+pZ
p
(+p
2
Z
p
)

p
(x)dx
8 T. WRIGHT
Let us break up the three integrals and examine them separately. For the rst
integral,

Z
p
pZ
p
(+pZ
p
)

p
(x)dx =

Z
p

p
(x)dx

pZ
p

p
(x)dx

+pZ
p

p
(x)dx
=

Z
p

p
(x)dx
1
p
(1 +
p
())

Z
p

p
(px)dx
=

1
1+
p
()
p
if Z
p
,

1+
p
()
p
if p
1
Z
p
Z
p
,
0 if Q
p
p
1
Z
p
.
where the last step is by basic orthogonality relations of characters. For the second
integral,

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

p
(x)dx =

pZ
p

p
(x)dx

p
2
Z
p

p
(x)dx
=

1
1
p
if p
1
Z
p
,

1
p
if p
2
Z
p
p
1
Z
p
,
0 if Q
p
p
2
Z
p
.
For the third integral, we have

+pZ
p
(+p
2
Z
p
)

p
(x)dx =
p
()(

pZ
p

p
(x)dx

p
2
Z
p

p
(x)dx)
=

p
()(1
1
p
) if p
1
Z
p
,

p
()
p
if p
2
Z
p
p
1
Z
p
,
0 if Q
p
p
2
Z
p
.
Thus, combining the three integrals,

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) =

1
1+
p
()
p
+
1
V
(1 +
p
())(1
1
p
) if Z
p
,

1+
p
()
p
+
1
V
(1 +
p
())(1
1
p
) if p
1
Z
p
Z
p
,

1+
p
()
V p
if p
2
Z
p
p
1
Z
p
,
0 if Q
p
p
2
Z
p
.
3.4.3. v = p, p|. At this place,

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) =

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x)dx +
1
V

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

p
(x)dx.
By the same work as above, this means

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) =

1
1
p
+
1
V
2
(
1
p

1
p
2
) if Z
p
,

1
p
+
1
V
2
(
1
p

1
p
2
) if p
1
Z
p
Z
p
,
1
V
2
(
1
p
2
) if p
2
Z
p
p
1
Z
p
,
0 if Q
p
p
2
Z
p
.
Remark: Any method of proving the Goldbach conjecture must make a distinction
between even and odd, as most odd numbers cannot be written as the sum of
two primes. We show how this is done here.
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 9
First, let be odd. Then 2 and +Z
2
= 1 +Z
2
, so when p = 2, we have

Q
2
(x)
p
(x) =

Z
2
2Z
2
(1+2Z
2
)

p
(x)dx +
1
V

2Z
2
2
2
Z
2

p
(x)dx
+
1
V

1+2Z
2
(1+2
2
Z
p
)

p
(x)dx.
The rst (and largest) integral on the right hand side is clearly the integral over
the empty set, which is zero. Conversely, if is even then at p = 2,

Q
2
(x)
p
(x) =

Z
2
2Z
2

p
(x)dx +
1
V

2Z
2
2
2
Z
2

p
(x)dx.
In this case, the rst integral doesnt vanish.
It is clear that the case of even yields a much larger integral than when is
odd. Thus, our function N() knows that should not be odd.
3.4.4. v = p, 1 p U. At this place, we have

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) =

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x)dx
=

1
1
p
if Z
p
,

1
p
if p
1
Z
p
Z
p
0 if Q
p
p
1
Z
p
.
3.4.5. v = p, p > U. In the last case, we have

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) =

Z
p

p
(x)dx
=

1
1
p
if Z
p
,
0 if Q
p
Z
p
.
3.5. Combining into a Series. Now, we may write the sum explicitly. To do
this, we rst use the above to limit the number of s over which we have to sum.
We begin with a lemma which is an easy corollary of the work above
Lemma 3.1. Let =
a
b
Q be such that (a, b) = 1. Then

Q
A
(x)(x)dx = 0
if
(i) p|b for p > U,
(ii) p
2
|b for 1 p U,
(iii) p
3
|b for p < 1.
Proof. For (i), if p|b then Q
p
Z
p
. From section 3.4.5, this must mean that

Q
p
(x)
p
(x) = 0.
The proof for (ii) and (iii) are similar.
10 T. WRIGHT
Dene
Q =

p<1
p,
and recall that
M =

pU
p.
From the lemma above, it is clear that b|MQ. So for any such that

Q
A
(x)(x)dx = 0,
it is clear that MQ Z. In fact, let = MQ Z. Then
N

() =

Q
v
(x)
v
(x)dx
=

Q
v
(x)
v
(
x
MQ
)dx
=

Z
e
(

MQ
)
2
e
i(

MQ
)

pU

Q
p
(x)
p
(
x
MQ
)dx,
where the last step is because the integral is 1 for p > u if Z
p
.
Now, for p < 1, p , let
A
p
() =

1 +
p
(

MQ
) if p
2
|,
p + 1 +
p
(

MQ
) if p||,
p if p .
and
B
p
() =

1 if p|,
p + 1 if p .
We will also use B
p
for 1 p U. For p|, let
C
p
() =

1 if p
2
|,
p + 1 if p||,
p if p .
Putting this all together, we have
Theorem 3.2. Let = MQ. Then
N

() =

Z
e
(

MQ
)
2
e
i(

MQ
)
(

p<1, p
(1
A
p
()
p
) +
1
V
(1 +
p
(

MQ
))(1
B
p
()
p
))
(

p|
(1
C
p
()
p
) +
1
V
2
(1
B
p
()
p
))(

1pU
(1
B
p
()
p
)).
This follows from the evaluations of the integrals in Section 3.4.
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 11
3.6. Alteration/Simplication. Note that the Goldbach conjecture predicts that,
for suciently large integers, there will be more than one way to write as the sum
of two primes. Now, when we counted the number of primes which divided x
1
and
x
2
, we included all primes p for which p|. However, if, instead of counting these
primes, we let = 0 if p|x
1
or x
2
for a p that divides , we would lose at most
one pair of primes whose sum is , since p| and p = x
1
implies p = x
2
and hence
x
1
= x
2
=

2
. So let us redene such that if p| then

p
(x
2
) =

1 if x
2
Z
p
pZ
p
,
0 otherwise.
The statement of Goldbachs conjecture remains the same. However, we would
redene Q such that
Q =

p<1, p
p,
and we could then restate Theorem 3.2 as follows:
Theorem 3.2a. Let = MQ. Then
N

() =

Z
e
(

MQ
)
2
e
i(

MQ
)
(

p|M
(1
A
p
()
p
) +
1
V
(1 +
p
(

MQ
))(1
B
p
()
p
))
(

p|
M
Q
(1
B
p
()
p
)).
Recalling, the Goldbach statement from before, we can say that
Goldbach Conjecture. For all 8, the series in Theorem 2.6a is greater than
2V
2
e
(

2
2)
2
.
4. The Singular Series
Next, we evaluate the quantity S

(). We also show that the value of this

function is large relative to the statement of the Goldbach conjecture as stated in
the previous section.
4.1. The Real Place. If v = , we have
S

() =

R
2

(x)

((f(x) ))dxd
=

R
2
e
((x
1

2
)
2
+(x
2

2
)
2
)

(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
If we change variables, letting
y
1
= x
1


2
,
y
2
= x
2


2
,
we see that this change is measure-invariant. So
S

() =

R
2
e
(y
2
1
+y
2
2
)

(y
1
+y
2
+ )dyd.
12 T. WRIGHT
If we take the integral with respect to y, we have
S

() =

R
e
(
2
+
2
)
d.
We can change variables again, letting
=

2,
d =

2d,
which gives us
S

() =
1

R
e

2
d =
1

2
.
4.2. The p-adic Place with p < 1. In this case, we have
S
p
() =

Q
p

Q
2
p

p
(x)
p
((f(x) ))dxd
=

Q
p

(Z
p
pZ
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
+
2
V

Q
p

Z
p
pZ
p

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
+
1
V
2

Q
p

(pZ
p
p
2
Z
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd.
We break up this sum, examining the three integrals separately.
4.3. The First Summand. For the rst integral, note that if Q
p
p
1
Z
p
,

Z
p
pZ
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dx
=

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
)

Z
p

p
(x
2
)dx

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
)

pZ
p

p
(x
2
)dx = 0,
since both integrals consist of non-trivial characters integrated over compact sub-
groups of Q
p
. Additionally, if p
1
Z
p
Z
p
,

Z
p
pZ
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dx
=

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
)

Z
p

p
(x
2
)dx

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
)

pZ
p

p
(x
2
)dx
= 0

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
)(
1
p
)dx
1
= (
1
p
)(

Z
p

p
(x
1
)dx
1

pZ
p

p
(x
1
)dx
1
)
= (
1
p
)(0
1
p
)
=
1
p
2
.
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 13
Finally, if Z
p
, we have

Z
p
pZ
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dx =

Z
p
pZ
p

Z
p
pZ
p
1dx = (1
1
p
)
2
.
So

Q
p

(Z
p
pZ
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
=

p
1
Z
p
Z
p

(Z
p
pZ
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
+

Z
p

(Z
p
pZ
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
=

p
1
Z
p
Z
p
(
1
p
2
)
p
()d +

Z
p
(1
1
p
)
2

p
()d
=

aF

p
(
1
p
2
)
p
(
a
p
) + (1
1
p
)
2
.
Now, if p| then
p
(
a
p
) = 1 for all a, while if p then

aF

p

p
(
a
p
) =

aF
p

p
(
a
p
)
p
(0) = 1.
So the integral above is
=

1
2
p
if p ,
1
1
p
if p|.
Remark: Note that if p = 2, the above is 0 if 2 and
1
2
if 2|. Thus, the singular
series is aware that should be even.
4.4. The Second Summand. For the second summand, note that if Q
p

p
1
Z
p
,

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dx
1
dx
2
= 0
by the same reasoning as before. Moreover, if p
1
Z
p
Z
p
,

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dx
1
dx
2
=

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

1
p

p
(x
2
)dx
2
=
1
p
2
(1
1
p
).
Additionally, if Z
p
, we have

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dx =
1
p
(1
1
p
)
2
.
14 T. WRIGHT
So
2
V

Q
p

Z
p
pZ
p

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
=
2
V
(

p
1
Z
p
Z
p

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
+

Z
p

pZ
p
p
2
Z
p

Z
p
pZ
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd)
=
2
V
[
1
p
2
(1
1
p
)(

p
1
Z
p
Z
p

p
()d) +
1
p
(1
1
p
)
2
].
Again, p then the integral on the last line is -1, while if p| then the rst integral
is p 1. So the second summand is
=

2
pV
(1
1
p
) if p ,
0 if p|.
4.5. The Third Summand and Result. For the third summand, let
x
1
= py
1
,
x
2
= py
2
,
=
1
p
.
The aggregate change of measure is then
1
p
. So
1
V
2

Q
p

(pZ
p
p
2
Z
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd
=
1
pV
2

Q
p

(Z
p
pZ
p
)
2

p
(y
1
+y
2


p
)dyd
From our work in 4.3, we know that this is the same as
1
pV
2
((
1
p
2
)

p
1
Z
p
Z
p

p
(

p
)d + (1
1
p
)
2
)

Z
p

p
(

p
)d.
Note that if p then both of these are 0, since they can be rewritten as sums of
integrals of non-trivial characters over compact subgroups of Q
p
. So assume p|,
and let p = . Then the above can be rewritten as
1
pV
2
((
1
p
2
)

p
1
Z
p
Z
p

p
()d + (1
1
p
)
2
)

Z
p

p
()d,
which we evaluated in 4.3. So the third summand is
=

0 if p ,
1
pV
2
(1
2
p
) if p||,
1
pV
2
(1
1
p
) if p
2
|.
Thus,
S
p
() =

1
2
p
+
2
pV
(1
1
p
) if p ,
1
1
p
+
1
pV
2
(1
2
p
) if p||,
1
1
p
+
1
pV
2
(1
1
p
) if p
2
|.
ADELIC SINGULAR SERIES AND THE GOLDBACH CONJECTURE 15
4.6. The p-adic Place with 1 p U. Here, we have
S
p
() =

Q
p

Q
2
p

p
(x)
p
((f(x) ))dxd
=

Q
p

(Z
p
pZ
p
)
2

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd.
We have already computed this in the previous section. So
S
p
() =

1
2
p
if p .
0 if p|
Note that if > 2, we would likely assume is not prime, since is not odd.
4.7. The p-adic Place with p > U. For the last case, we have
S
p
() =

Q
p

Q
2
p

p
(x)
p
((f(x) ))dxd
=

Q
p

Z
2
p

p
(x
1
+x
2
)dxd.
If Z
p
then the integral is 0, while if Z
p
then the integral is 1. Thus,
S
p
() = 1.
4.8. The Final Result. Combining the results from the previous sections, if > 2,
we have
S() =
1

p, p<1
(1
2
p
+
2
pV
(1
1
p
))

p||
(1
1
p
+
1
pV
2
(1
2
p
))

p
2
|
(1
1
p
+
1
pV
2
(1
1
p
))

1pU
(1
2
p
).
It is an easy exercise to show that the above is larger than the value necessary for
the conjecture to hold. We do so here:
Theorem 4.1. S() >
1
V
2
Proof. To show this, recall that U
V

2
. Clearly, for every p such that 2 < p U,
the term in the above expression corresponding to p is 1
2
p
. Moreover, the term
corresponding to p = 2 is greater than
1
2
. So
S() >
1

2
(
1
2
)

3pU
(1
2
p
)
>
1

2
(
1
2
)

3nU,n odd
(
n 2
n
)

2
(
1
2
)(
2
U 1
U)
>
1

2
1
U
2
>
1
V
2
.
16 T. WRIGHT

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Department of Mathematics, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles St., Bal-
timore, MD 21218
E-mail address: wright@math.jhu.edu