English

Distribution of random multiplicative functions in short intervals, with proper normalization

Number Theory 2026-06-27 v1 Probability

Abstract

We determine the limiting distribution of partial sums of a Steinhaus random multiplicative function xnx+yf(n)\sum_{x\le n \le x+y} f(n) over short intervals [x,x+y][x, x+y], where yy \rightarrow \infty but y=o(x)y=o(x). We show that with appropriate normalization, the limiting distribution is Gaussian for all such yy. A key new feature of our result is that the normalization factor is different from the standard deviation y\sqrt{y} when yy is very close to xx. In contrast, when yxy \asymp x there is no normalization for which the limiting distribution is a non-degenerate Gaussian.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2606.29040,
  title  = {Distribution of random multiplicative functions in short intervals, with proper normalization},
  author = {Adam J. Harper and Kannan Soundararajan and Max Wenqiang Xu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.29040},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

51 pages, including 11 page introduction

R2 v1 2026-07-22T20:14:27.205Z