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Joni Teräväinen

Publications and source records attributed to Joni Teräväinen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Higher order uniformity of the primes and cancellation of the Möbius function in shorter intervals

We prove the Gowers uniformity of the von Mangoldt function minus its Cramér model in all short intervals $[X,X+X^{3/5+\varepsilon}]$, improving on the work of the first and fourth authors with Shao and Tao, where the exponent was $5/8$. This also implies a local-to-global theorem for linear equations in primes in such short intervals. We also show that the Möbius function has cancellation in all intervals $[X,X+X^{19/35+\varepsilon}]$, improving on the work of the first and fourth authors, where the exponent was $11/20$. Both improvements are based on improved treatment of trilinear sums over short intervals which naturally reduces to estimating mean values of products of three Dirichlet polynomials. In a general setting, we reduce the task of estimating mean values of products of Dirichlet polynomials with given large value bounds to the task of showing that a certain piecewise linear function is positive. This reduction allows recent large value estimates to be incorporated. Combining this general framework with the most recent large value estimates stemming from the work of Guth and Maynard, we prove a Heath-Brown--Iwaniec type estimate for type I/II sums in intervals of length $X^{19/35+\varepsilon}$ and a Baker--Harman--Pintz parallelogram type estimate for general trilinear sums in intervals of length $X^{3/5+\varepsilon}$.

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arXiv2026

Sum-product patterns in the shifted primes

We show that the set $\mathbb{P}-1$ of shifted primes contains infinitely many sum-product patterns of the form $\{x,x+y,xy\}$ with $x,y$ arbitrarily large distinct integers. More strongly, we can also show that, for any $k\geq 1$, the set $\mathbb{P}-1$ contains longer patterns of the form $\{x,x+y,\ldots, x+ky,xy\}$ with $x,y$ arbitrarily large distinct integers, a statement that contains the Green--Tao theorem as a special case.

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arXiv2026

Quantitative Gowers uniformity of the primes in intervals of length $X^{5/8+\varepsilon}$

We prove the first quantitative bounds for the Gowers norms of the von Mangoldt function minus a Siegel corrected model function in short intervals. The result applies to intervals $(X,X+H]$ with $H\geq X^{5/8+\varepsilon}$ and gives quasipolynomial savings for the $U^k(X,X+H]$ norm. The main new ingredient is an efficient non-abelian Type II inverse theorem with explicit dependence on the nilsequence dimension. We prove this inverse theorem by applying Leng's efficient equidistribution theorem in four parameters directly to an unweighted corner correlation in four variables, hence replacing the factorisation and subgroup argument in the non-abelian Type II proof of Matomäki, Shao, Tao and the author. In joint work with Florian Richter, we use this quantitative result as one ingredient in proving the existence of infinitely many sum-product patterns of the form $\{x,x+y,xy\}$ in the shifted primes $\mathbb{P}-1$.

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arXiv2026

On the generation of multiplicative groups by small primes

Motivated by a question of Regev arising from his improved quantum factoring algorithm, we study how many small primes are needed to generate the group $({\mathbb Z}/q{\mathbb Z})^\times$ when each prime may be used with exponent only $0$ or $1$. We prove that, for every fixed $\varepsilon>0$ and $A>0$, there is an absolute constant $C_*$ and a set of at most $(\log Q)^{1+\varepsilon}$ primes, all at most $(\log Q)^{C_*(A+1)}$, such that for all but $O(Q(\log Q)^{-A})$ (with the implied constant depending only on $\varepsilon$ and $A$) integers $q\leq Q$, every element of $({\mathbb Z}/q{\mathbb Z})^\times$ is a product of a subset of these primes modulo $q$. The exponent $1+\varepsilon$ in the number of primes is best possible up to the arbitrary $\varepsilon$ in the exponent.

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arXiv2026

Quantitative bounds for sets lacking polynomial progressions with shifted prime difference

We prove quantitative polynomial Szemerédi-type theorems involving polynomial progressions with shift parameter restricted to the set of shifted primes $\mathbb{P}-1$. The types of configurations covered are distinct degree progressions and progressions involving integer multiples of a fixed polynomial. For nonlinear configurations of length at least three, these results provide the first quantitative versions of such theorems. In the linear case, our results improve on work by the last two authors. Our density bounds are strongest in the case of distinct degree polynomials, where they give polylogarithmic bounds, of the same shape as recent bounds by Shao and Wang with integer shifts. The proofs combine recent quantitative results for polynomial configurations in the integers with quantitative Gowers uniformity bounds of the primes. For multiples of a fixed polynomial, we adapt a comparison argument of Altman and Sawhney to obtain uniformity over the polynomial families produced by the $W$-trick. For distinct degree progressions, we establish a comparison between prime-weighted and unweighted polynomial counts that is uniform throughout the density increment argument and accounts for a possible Siegel zero.

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arXiv2026

Random linear configurations in dense sets and primes

We prove that every polylogarithmically dense subset of $[N]$ contains a nontrivial configuration $x+b_1m,\ldots,x+b_km$ for almost all choices of the coefficient vector $(b_1,\ldots, b_k)$ in a wide range of scales. We prove the same statement for polylogarithmically relatively dense subsets of the primes, in a shorter range of scales. The main ingredients are a new quantitative generalised von Neumann theorem, degree lowering to the $U^{1+}$ norm, and densification arguments that transfer the result to the primes.

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arXiv2026

The Exceptional Set in Goldbach's Problem with two Chen Primes

We show that all natural numbers $n\equiv 4\pmod 6$ are the sum of two Chen primes (primes $p$ such that $p+2$ has at most two prime factors), apart from a power-saving set of exceptions. This improves on various previous results and is optimal, barring substantial progress on the twin prime or binary Goldbach conjectures. The proof is based on constructing a non-negative model for the Chen primes in a suitable approximate sense. To do this, we develop an efficient sieving strategy that makes use of a power-saving variant of the Bombieri--Vinogradov theorem. Furthermore, we show that the primes are well approximated in additive problems by the Cramér model (rough numbers) with a sifting parameter of power size.

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arXiv2026

Linnik's problem for multiplicative functions

We study a multiplicative function analogue of Linnik's problem on the least prime in an arithmetic progression. Let $h\colon \mathbb{N}\to\mathbb{R}\setminus\{0\}$ be a multiplicative function, and let $a \pmod q$ be a reduced residue class. We ask how far one must go before finding square-free integers $n_1,n_2\equiv a \pmod q$ with $h(n_1)<0<h(n_2)$. We show that one can always find such integers with $n_1,n_2\le q^{2+o(1)}$, unless the sign of $h$ strongly pretends to be a real Dirichlet character modulo $q$. Thus, apart from this natural character obstruction, sign changes of a multiplicative function occur in every reduced residue class at a scale corresponding essentially to the square root barrier. In the special case of the Liouville function $λ$ this improves on a recent result of Ford and Radziwiłł and matches, up to $q^{o(1)}$ factors, what was previously known conditionally under the generalized Riemann hypothesis.

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arXiv2026

Bateman-Horn, polynomial Chowla and the Hasse principle with probability 1

With probability 1, we assess the average behaviour of various arithmetic functions at the values of degree d polynomials f that are ordered by height. This allows us to establish averaged versions of the Bateman-Horn conjecture, the polynomial Chowla conjecture and to address a basic question about the integral Hasse principle for norm form equations. Moreover, we are able to quantify the error term in the asymptotics and the size of the exceptional set of f, both with arbitrary logarithmic power savings.

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arXiv2026

Bounds on the exceptional set in the $abc$ conjecture

We study solutions to the equation $a+b=c$, where $a,b,c$ form a triple of coprime natural numbers. The $abc$ conjecture asserts that, for any $ε>0$, such triples satisfy $\mathrm{rad}(abc) \ge c^{1-ε}$ with finitely many exceptions. In this article we obtain a power-saving bound on the size of the exceptional set of triples. The proof is based on a combination of upper bounds for the density of integer points on certain high-dimensional varieties, coming from the geometry of numbers and from Fourier analysis.

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arXiv2026

Quantitative correlations and some problems on prime factors of consecutive integers

We consider several old problems involving the number of prime divisors function $ω(n)$, as well as the related functions $Ω(n)$ and $τ(n)$. Firstly, we show that there are infinitely many positive integers $n$ such that $ω(n+k) \leq Ω(n+k) \ll k$ for all positive integers $k$, establishing a conjecture of Erdős and Straus. Secondly, we show that the series $\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} ω(n)/2^n$ is irrational, settling a conjecture of Erdős. Thirdly, we prove an asymptotic formula conjectured by Erdős, Pomerance and Sárközy for the number of $n\leq x$ satisfying $ω(n)=ω(n+1)$, for almost all $x$, with similar results for $Ω$ and $τ$. Common to the resolution of all these problems is the use of the probabilistic method. For the first problem, this is combined with computations involving a high-dimensional sieve of Maynard-type. For the second and third problems, we instead make use of a general quantitative estimate for two-point correlations of multiplicative functions with a small power of logarithm saving that may be of independent interest. This correlation estimate is derived by using recent work of Pilatte.

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arXiv2026

On the Green-Tao theorem for sparse sets

We establish the following quantitative form of the Green--Tao theorem: if a set $\mathcal{A}$ of relative density $δ$ within the primes up to $N$ contains no nontrivial arithmetic progressions of length $k\geq 4$, then $δ\ll \exp(-(\log \log \log N)^{c_k})$ for some $c_k>0$. This improves on previous work of Rimanić and Wolf. The main new ingredients in the proof are a version of the Leng--Sah--Sawhney quasipolynomial inverse theorem for unbounded functions and a dense model theorem with quasipolynomial dependencies, which may be of independent interest.

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arXiv2026

Higher uniformity of arithmetic functions in short intervals II. Almost all intervals

We study higher uniformity properties of the von Mangoldt function $Λ$, the Möbius function $μ$, and the divisor functions $d_k$ on short intervals $(x,x+H]$ for almost all $x \in [X, 2X]$. Let $Λ^\sharp$ and $d_k^\sharp$ be suitable approximants of $Λ$ and $d_k$, $G/Γ$ a filtered nilmanifold, and $F\colon G/Γ\to \mathbb{C}$ a Lipschitz function. Then our results imply for instance that when $X^{1/3+\varepsilon} \leq H \leq X$ we have, for almost all $x \in [X, 2X]$, \[ \sup_{g \in \text{Poly}(\mathbb{Z} \to G)} \left| \sum_{x < n \leq x+H} (Λ(n)-Λ^\sharp(n)) \overline{F}(g(n)Γ) \right| \ll H\log^{-A} X \] for any fixed $A>0$, and that when $X^{\varepsilon} \leq H \leq X$ we have, for almost all $x \in [X, 2X]$, \[ \sup_{g \in \text{Poly}(\mathbb{Z} \to G)} \left| \sum_{x < n \leq x+H} (d_k(n)-d_k^\sharp(n)) \overline{F}(g(n)Γ) \right| = o(H \log^{k-1} X). \] As a consequence, we show that the short interval Gowers norms $\|Λ-Λ^\sharp\|_{U^s(X,X+H]}$ and $\|d_k-d_k^\sharp\|_{U^s(X,X+H]}$ are also asymptotically small for any fixed $s$ in the same ranges of $H$. This in turn allows us to establish the Hardy-Littlewood conjecture and the divisor correlation conjecture with a short average over one variable. Our main new ingredients are type $II$ estimates obtained by developing a "contagion lemma" for nilsequences and then using this to "scale up" an approximate functional equation for the nilsequence to a larger scale. This extends an approach developed by Walsh for Fourier uniformity.

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arXiv2026

Pointwise convergence of bilinear polynomial averages over the primes

We show that on a $σ$-finite measure preserving system $X = (X,ν, T)$, the non-conventional ergodic averages $$ \mathbb{E}_{n \in [N]} Λ(n) f(T^n x) g(T^{P(n)} x)$$ converge pointwise almost everywhere for $f \in L^{p_1}(X)$, $g \in L^{p_2}(X)$, and $1/p_1 + 1/p_2 \leq 1$, where $P$ is a polynomial with integer coefficients of degree at least $2$. This had previously been established with the von Mangoldt weight $Λ$ replaced by the constant weight $1$ by the first and third authors with Mirek, and by the Möbius weight $μ$ by the fourth author. The proof is based on combining tools from both of these papers, together with several Gowers norm and polynomial averaging operator estimates on approximants to the von Mangoldt function of ''Cramér'' and ''Heath-Brown'' type.

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arXiv2026

On Artin's conjecture on average and short character sums

Let $N_a(x)$ denote the number of primes up to $x$ for which the integer $a$ is a primitive root. We show that $N_a(x)$ satisfies the asymptotic predicted by Artin's conjecture for almost all $1\le a\le \exp((\log \log x)^2)$. This improves on a result of Stephens (1969). A key ingredient in the proof is a new short character sum estimate over the integers, improving on the range of a result of Garaev (2006).

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arXiv2024

Quantitative asymptotics for polynomial patterns in the primes

We prove quantitative estimates for averages of the von Mangoldt and Möbius functions along polynomial progressions $n+P_1(m),\ldots, n+P_k(m)$ for a large class of polynomials $P_i$. The error terms obtained save an arbitrary power of logarithm, matching the classical Siegel--Walfisz error term. These results give the first quantitative bounds for the Tao--Ziegler polynomial patterns in the primes result. The proofs are based on a quantitative generalised von Neumann theorem of Peluse, a recent result of Leng on strong bounds for the Gowers uniformity of the primes, and analysis of a ``Siegel model'' for the von Mangoldt function along polynomial progressions.

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arXiv2024

Pointwise convergence of ergodic averages with Möbius weight

Let $(X,ν,T)$ be a measure-preserving system, and let $P_1,\ldots, P_k$ be polynomials with integer coefficients. We prove that, for any $f_1,\ldots, f_k\in L^{\infty}(X)$, the Möbius-weighted polynomial multiple ergodic averages \begin{align*}\frac{1}{N}\sum_{n\leq N}μ(n)f_1(T^{P_1(n)}x)\cdots f_k(T^{P_k(n)}x) \end{align*} converge to $0$ pointwise almost everywhere. Specialising to $P_1(y)=y, P_2(y)=2y$, this solves a problem of Frantzikinakis. We also prove pointwise convergence for a more general class of multiplicative weights for multiple ergodic averages involving distinct degree polynomials. For the proofs we establish some quantitative generalised von Neumann theorems for polynomial configurations that are of independent interest.

math.DS↗
arXiv2024

On the local Fourier uniformity problem for small sets

We consider vanishing properties of exponential sums of the Liouville function $λ$ of the form $$ \lim_{H\to\infty}\limsup_{X\to\infty}\frac{1}{\log X}\sum_{m\leq X}\frac{1}{m}\sup_{α\in C}\bigg|\frac{1}{H}\sum_{h\leq H}λ(m+h)e^{2πihα}\bigg|=0, $$ where $C\subset\mathbb{T}$. The case $C=\mathbb{T}$ corresponds to the local $1$-Fourier uniformity conjecture of Tao, a central open problem in the study of multiplicative functions with far-reaching number-theoretic applications. We show that the above holds for any closed set $C\subset\mathbb{T}$ of zero Lebesgue measure. Moreover, we prove that extending this to any set $C$ with non-empty interior is equivalent to the $C=\mathbb{T}$ case, which shows that our results are essentially optimal without resolving the full conjecture. We also consider higher-order variants. We prove that if the linear phase $e^{2πihα}$ is replaced by a polynomial phase $e^{2πih^tα}$ for $t\geq 2$ then the statement remains true for any set $C$ of upper box-counting dimension $<1/t$. The statement also remains true if the supremum over linear phases is replaced with a supremum over all nilsequences coming form a compact countable ergodic subsets of any $t$-step nilpotent Lie group. Furthermore, we discuss the unweighted version of the local $1$-Fourier uniformity problem, showing its validity for a class of ``rigid'' sets (of full Hausdorff dimension) and proving a density result for all closed subsets of zero Lebesgue measure.

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