English

Bounds on the M\"obius-signed partition numbers

Number Theory 2024-11-22 v2

Abstract

For nNn \in \mathbb{N} let Π[n]\Pi[n] denote the set of partitions of nn, i.e., the set of positive integer tuples (x1,x2,,xk)(x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_k) such that x1x2xkx_1 \geq x_2 \geq \cdots \geq x_k and x1+x2++xk=nx_1 + x_2 + \cdots + x_k = n. Fixing f:N{0,±1}f:\mathbb{N}\to\{0,\pm 1\}, for π=(x1,x2,,xk)Π[n]\pi = (x_1,x_2,\ldots,x_k) \in \Pi[n] let f(π):=f(x1)f(x2)f(xk)f(\pi) := f(x_1)f(x_2)\cdots f(x_k). In this way we define the {signed partition numbers} p(n,f)=πΠ[n]f(π). p(n,f) = \sum_{\pi\in\Pi[n]} f(\pi). Following work of Vaughan and Gafni on partitions into primes and prime powers, we derive asymptotic formulae for quantities p(n,μ)p(n,\mu) and p(n,λ)p(n,\lambda), where μ\mu and λ\lambda denote the M\"obius and Liouville functions from prime number theory, respectively. In addition we discuss how quantities p(n,f)p(n,f) generalize the classical notion of restricted partitions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2310.10609,
  title  = {Bounds on the M\"obius-signed partition numbers},
  author = {Taylor Daniels},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2310.10609},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

Updated to reflect grammatical/typographical edits made during publication; statement and proof of Proposition 5.4 have been greatly simplified, allowing for the deletion of the appendix; 35 pages, 1 figure

R2 v1 2026-06-28T12:52:21.750Z