A logarithmic improvement in the Bombieri-Vinogradov theorem

In this paper we improve the best known to date result of Dress-Iwaniec-Tenenbaum, getting (log x)^2 instead of (log x)^(5/2). We use a weighted form of Vaughan's identity, allowing a smooth truncation inside the procedure, and an estimate due to Barban-Vehov and Graham related to Selberg's sieve. We give effective and non-effective versions of the result.Comment: 17 page

A Moebius sum

We provide numerical bounds for $\Sigma(X)=\sum_{\substack{d_1,d_2\le X}}\frac{\mu(d_1)\mu(d_2)}{[d_1,d_2]}$. We show in particular that $0\le \Sigma(X)\le 17/25$ for every $X\ge2$

The ternary Goldbach problem

The ternary Goldbach conjecture, or three-primes problem, states that every odd number $n$ greater than $5$ can be written as the sum of three primes. The conjecture, posed in 1742, remained unsolved until now, in spite of great progress in the twentieth century. In 2013 -- following a line of research pioneered and developed by Hardy, Littlewood and Vinogradov, among others -- the author proved the conjecture. In this, as in many other additive problems, what is at issue is really the proper usage of the limited information we possess on the distribution of prime numbers. The problem serves as a test and whetting-stone for techniques in analysis and number theory -- and also as an incentive to think about the relations between existing techniques with greater clarity. We will go over the main ideas of the proof. The basic approach is based on the circle method, the large sieve and exponential sums. For the purposes of this overview, we will not need to work with explicit constants; however, we will discuss what makes certain strategies and procedures not just effective, but efficient, in the sense of leading to good constants. Still, our focus will be on qualitative improvements.Comment: 29 pages. To be submitted to the Proceedings of the ICM 201