Conjectures on the dilogarithm

This intriguing paper explains a connection between K-theory and the dilogarithm function D(z). Let F be the imaginary quadratic field of discriminant d and let \(O_ F\) denote its ring of integers. By a conjecture of Lichtenbaum, \[ \#K_ 2O_ F=\frac{| d|}{D_ F}\sum_{1\leq j\leq | d| /2}(\frac{d}{j})D(\zeta^ j_{| d|}), \] where \(\zeta_ n=e^{2\pi i/n}\) and \(D_ F\) is a constant which can, in principle, be expressed as a linear combination of values of the dilogarithm. Although \(D_ F\) is not known for any field F, it turns out that ideas of Lewin can be used to find linear combinations of dilogarithms which, on the basis of Lichtenbaum's conjecture, are integral multiples of \(D_ F\). In the 15 cases in which {\#}K\({}_ 2O_ F\) is known, this gives a conjectural relation between values of the dilogarithm. The paper lists over 50 relations derived in this way, all of which check numerically, but few of which have been proved. The relation for \(D_ F\) is found by means of Lewin's cyclotomic equations, that is equations of the shape \(\prod (1-x^ r)^{a_ r}=x^{a_ 0}.\) The author describes a systematic method for finding quadratic irrationalities satisfying such an equation and lists the corresponding relations for the dilogarithm. To give one example, \(x=\frac{1}{4}(1+\sqrt{-15})\) satisfies a cyclotomic equation and leads to the relation \[ 5CL_ 2(t)-5CL_ 2(\pi -2t)-Cl_ 2(5t)=0,\quad t=\cos^{-1}\frac{1}{4}, \] where \(Cl_ 2\) denotes Clausen's function, \(Cl_ 2(t)=\sum^{\infty}_{n=1}\sin nt/n^ 2\), which can be expressed simply in terms of the dilogarithm. (In particular, \(D(z)=Cl_ 2(\arg_ z)\) when \(| z| =1\).)

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