arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D. R. Heath-Brown.
We generalise Birch's seminal work on forms in many variables to handle a system of forms in which the degrees need not all be the same. This allows us to prove the Hasse principle, weak approximation, and the Manin-Peyre conjecture for a smooth and geometrically integral projective variety, provided only that its dimension is large enough in terms of its degree.
For any positive integer $k$, we show that infinitely often, perfect $k$-th powers appear inside very long gaps between consecutive prime numbers, that is, gaps of size $$ c_k \frac{\log p \log_2 p \log_4 p}{(\log_3 p)^2}, $$ where $p$ is the smaller of the two primes.
Let $Q(x,y,z)$ be an integral quadratic form with determinant coprime to some modulus $q$. We show that $q\mid Q$ for some non-zero integer vector $(x,y,z)$ of length $O(q^{5/8+\varepsilon})$, for any fixed $\varepsilon>0$. Without the coprimality condition on the determinant one could not achieve an exponent below $2/3$. The proof uses a bound for short character sums involving binary quadratic forms, which extends a result of Chang.
This paper proves nontrivial bounds for short mixed character sums by introducing estimates for Vinogradov's mean value theorem into a version of the Burgess method.
We prove that a pair of integral quadratic forms in 5 or more variables will simultaneously represent "almost all" pairs of integers that satisfy the necessary local conditions, provided that the forms satisfy a suitable nonsingularity condition. In particular such forms simultaneously attain prime values if the obvious local conditions hold. The proof uses the circle method, and in particular pioneers a two-dimensional version of a Kloosterman refinement.
We investigate the Hasse principle for complete intersections cut out by a quadric and cubic hypersurface defined over the rational numbers.
We prove the Hasse principle and weak approximation for varieties defined over number fields by the nonsingular intersection of pairs of quadratic forms in 8 variables. The argument develops work of Colliot-Thelene, Sansuc and Swinnerton-Dyer, and centres on a purely local problem about forms which split off 3 hyperbolic planes.
We show that at least 19/27 of the zeros of the Riemann zeta-function are simple, assuming the Riemann Hypothesis (RH). This was previously established by Conrey, Ghosh and Gonek [Proc. London Math. Soc. 76 (1998), 497--522] under the additional assumption of the Generalised Lindelöf Hypothesis (GLH). We are able to remove this hypothesis by careful use of the generalised Vaughan identity.
We show that there is a positive constant $c_0$ such that \[\sum_{n\le x}μ^2(n^2+1)c_0x+O_{\varepsilon}(x^{7/12+\varepsilon})\] for any fixed $\varepsilon>0$. This improves a result of Estermann [3] from 1931, in which the error term had an exponent 2/3. The proof involves counting rational points near an algebraic curve, which is done via the "determinant method."
This survey describes work on the number of variables required to ensure that a system of r quadratic forms over the p-adics has a non-trivial common zero.
A conjecture of Serre concerns the number of rational points of bounded height on a finite cover of projective space P^{n-1}. In this paper, we achieve Serre's conjecture in the special case of smooth cyclic covers of any degree when n is at least 10, and surpass it for covers of degree 3 or higher when n > 10. This is achieved by a new bound for the number of perfect r-th power values of a polynomial with nonsingular leading form, obtained via a combination of an r-th power sieve and the q-analogue of van der Corput's method.
The Hasse principle and weak approximation is established for equations of the shape P(t)=N(x_1,x_2,x_3,x_4), where P is an irreducible quadratic polynomial in one variable and N is a norm form associated to a quartic extension of the rationals containing the roots of P. The proof uses analytic methods.
For irreducible integer polynomials $f(n)=n^d+c$ we prove an asymptotic formula for the number of $k$-th power free values taken by $f(n)$, for $n$ running up to $x$, subject to the condition $k\ge (5d+3)/9$. This improves earlier results in which the condition was $k\ge (3d+1)/4$. We also show that one can handle $f(p)$ for prime arguments $p$, for the same range of $k$.
An error in the author's paper (Functiones et Approximatio, 37 . pp. 203-211) is corrected.
This is an exposition of work on Artin's Conjecture on the zeros of $p$-adic forms. A variety of lines of attack are described, going back to 1945. However there is particular emphasis on recent developments concerning quartic forms on the one hand, and systems of quadratic forms on the other.
Let $k$ be a positive real number, and let $M_k(q)$ be the sum of $|L(\tfrac12,χ)|^{2k}$ over all non-principal characters to a given modulus $q$. We prove that $M_k(q)\ll_k ϕ(q)(\log q)^{k^2}$ whenever $k$ is the reciprocal $n^{-1}$ of a positive integer $n$. If one assumes the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis then the estimate holds for all positive real $k<2$.
We prove upper bounds for the number of rational points on non-singular cubic curves defined over the rationals. The bounds are uniform in the curve and involve the rank of the corresponding Jacobian. The method used in the proof is a combination of the "determinant method" with an m-descent on the curve.
A variant of Brauer's induction method is developed. It is shown that quartic p-adic forms with at least 9127 variables have non-trivial zeros, for every p. For odd p considerably fewer variables are needed. There are also subsidiary new results concerning quintic forms, and systems of forms.