An asymptotic expansion related to the Dickman function (Q1927658): Difference between revisions

The Dickman function \(\rho(u)\) satisfies the differential-difference equation \(u\rho'(u)=- \rho(u-1)\) for \(u\geq 1\) with \(\rho(u)= 1\) for \(0\leq u\leq 1\). Let \(F(\alpha)= \rho({1\over\alpha})\) for \(\alpha>0\) and write \[ F(\alpha)= \sum^\infty_{k=0} L_k(\alpha), \] where \(L_0(\alpha)= 1\) for all \(\alpha\) and the ``Dickman polylogarithm'' \(L_k\) is defined recursively by \(L_k(t)= 0\) for \(t\geq{1\over k}\) and for \(t<{1\over k}\), \[ L_k(t)=- \int^{{1\over k}}_t L_{k-1} \Biggl({x\over 1-x}\Biggr){dx\over x}. \] \textit{D. Broadhurst} in [``Dickman polylogarithms and their constants'',\newline \url{http://arxiv-web3.library.cornell.edu/abs/1004.0519v1}] conjectured that there exist constants \(C_k\) for \(k\geq 0\) such that as \(t\to 0\), \[ L_k(t)= \sum^k_{j=0} C_j{(\log t)^{k-j}\over (k-j)!}+ o(1) \] and furthermore that for all complex \(z\), \[ \sum^\infty_{k=0} C_k z^k= {e^{\gamma z}\over \Gamma(1-z)}. \] In this very interesting paper the author gives a readable and succinct analytic proof of these conjectures with \[ C_k= {1\over k!} {1\over 2\pi i} \int^{c+i\infty}_{c-i\infty} {e^s\over s}\,(\log s+\gamma)^k\,ds \] for \(k\geq 0\) where \(c>0\). It is known that the number of positive integers less than \(x\) such that all its prime factors are less than \(x^{{1\over u}}\) is asymptotic to \(x\rho(u)\) as \(x\to\infty\). The author concludes with a historical note that relates this and the ideas in his proof of the above conjectures to an entry in \textit{S. Ramanujan's} unpublished papers [The Lost Notebook and other unpublished papers. With an introduction by George E. Andrews. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; New Delhi: Narosa Publishing House (1988; Zbl 0639.01023)].