On the variance of sums of arithmetic functions over primes in short intervals and pair correlation for L-functions in the Selberg class

We establish the equivalence of conjectures concerning the pair correlation of zeros of $L$-functions in the Selberg class and the variances of sums of a related class of arithmetic functions over primes in short intervals. This extends the results of Goldston & Montgomery [7] and Montgomery & Soundararajan [11] for the Riemann zeta-function to other $L$-functions in the Selberg class. Our approach is based on the statistics of the zeros because the analogue of the Hardy-Littlewood conjecture for the auto-correlation of the arithmetic functions we consider is not available in general. One of our main findings is that the variances of sums of these arithmetic functions over primes in short intervals have a different form when the degree of the associated $L$-functions is 2 or higher to that which holds when the degree is 1 (e.g. the Riemann zeta-function). Specifically, when the degree is 2 or higher there are two regimes in which the variances take qualitatively different forms, whilst in the degree-1 case there is a single regime

Twin prime correlations from the pair correlation of Riemann zeros

We establish, via a formal/heuristic Fourier inversion calculation, that the Hardy-Littlewood twin prime conjecture is equivalent to an asymptotic formula for the two-point correlation function of Riemann zeros at a height $E$ on the critical line. Previously it was known that the Hardy-Littlewood conjecture implies the pair correlation formula, and we show that the reverse implication also holds. A smooth form of the Hardy-Littlewood conjecture is obtained by inverting the $E \rightarrow \infty$ limit of the two-point correlation function and the precise form of the conjecture is found by including asymptotically lower order terms in the two-point correlation function formula.Comment: 11 page

The Selberg integral and a new pair-correlation function for the zeros of the Riemann zeta-function

The present paper is a report on joint work with Alessandro Languasco and Alberto Perelli on our recent investigations on the Selberg integral and its connections to Montgomery's pair-correlation function. We introduce a more general form of the Selberg integral and connect it to a new pair-correlation function, emphasising its relations to the distribution of prime numbers in short intervals.Comment: Proceedings of the Third Italian Meeting in Number Theory, Pisa, September 2015. To appear in the "Rivista di Matematica dell'Universita` di Parma

Theory of the Riemann Zeta and Allied Functions

[no abstract available

Correlations of sieve weights and distributions of zeros

In this note we give two small results concerning the correlations of the Selberg sieve weights. We then use these estimates to derive a new (conditional) lower bound on the variance of the primes in short intervals, and also on the so-called `form factor' for the pair correlations of the zeros of the Riemann zeta function. Our bounds ultimately rely on the estimates of Bettin--Chandee for trilinear Kloosterman fractions

From Quantum Systems to L-Functions: Pair Correlation Statistics and Beyond

The discovery of connections between the distribution of energy levels of heavy nuclei and spacings between prime numbers has been one of the most surprising and fruitful observations in the twentieth century. The connection between the two areas was first observed through Montgomery's work on the pair correlation of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. As its generalizations and consequences have motivated much of the following work, and to this day remains one of the most important outstanding conjectures in the field, it occupies a central role in our discussion below. We describe some of the many techniques and results from the past sixty years, especially the important roles played by numerical and experimental investigations, that led to the discovery of the connections and progress towards understanding the behaviors. In our survey of these two areas, we describe the common mathematics that explains the remarkable universality. We conclude with some thoughts on what might lie ahead in the pair correlation of zeros of the zeta function, and other similar quantities.Comment: Version 1.1, 50 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Open Problems in Mathematics", Editors John Nash and Michael Th. Rassias. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0909.491