The distribution of integers with a divisor in a given interval (Q2389118)

This paper considers the number of integers \(n\leq x\) having a divisor in a given interval \((y,z]\), denoted by \(H(x,y,z)\). The principal result gives the order of magnitude of \(H(x,y,z)\) uniformly in all parameters, irrespective of the size of \(z- y\) relative to \(x\) and \(y\). Similarly one may write \(H_r(x,y, z)\) for the number of integers \(n\leq x\) with exactly \(r\) divisors in \((y, z]\). For \(r= 1\) the exact order of magnitude is found for any \(x\), \(y\), \(z\) with \(z\leq x^{1/2-\varepsilon}\), where \(\varepsilon\) is any fixed positive constant. When \(r\geq 2\) is fixed the order of magnitude of \(H_r(x,y,z)\) is also determined for large \(y\) and \(z\) in the range \[ y+{y\over (\log y)^{\log 4-1-\varepsilon}}\leq z\leq\min\{y^C, x^{1/2-\varepsilon}\}, \] for any fixed \(\varepsilon> 0\) and \(C> 1\). These questions have previously been investigated by \textit{R. R. Hall} [Sets of multiples, Cambridge Tracts in Mathematics. 118. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1996; Zbl 0871.11001)] and by \textit{G. Tenenbaum} [(*) Compos. Math. 51, 243--263 (1984; Zbl 0541.10038) and Acta Arith. 49, No. 2, 165--187 (1987; Zbl 0636.10038)] amongst others. This second paper of Tenenbaum makes two conjectures on the relative sizes of \(H(x,y,z)\) and \(H_r(x,y,z)\). One of these is established in the present paper apart from one small range of the variables. The other conjecture states that if \(r\geq 1\) and \(\varepsilon> 0\) are fixed then for \(y\leq x^{1/2-\varepsilon}\) one has \[ H_r(x,y,z)= o(H(x,y,z)) \] as \(z/y\to\infty\). The present paper proves this completely. It is not hard to show that both \(x^{-1}H(x,y,z)\) and \(x^{-1}H_r(x,y,z)\) tend to limits as \(x\to\infty\). These limits are denoted by \(\varepsilon(y, z)\) and \(\varepsilon_r(y, z)\), respectively. It was conjectured by \textit{P. Erdős} [Vestn. Leningr. Univ. 15, No. 13 (Ser. Mat. Mekh. Astron. No. 3), 41--49 (1960; Zbl 0104.26804)] that \(\varepsilon_1(y, 2y)/\varepsilon(y, 2y)\to 0\) as \(y\to 0\). This is now shown to be false. More generally, one has \[ {\varepsilon_r(y,\lambda y)\over \varepsilon(y,\lambda y)}\gg_{r,\lambda} 1 \] for any fixed \(\lambda> 1\) and \(r\in\mathbb N\). The paper presents a number of corollaries of the main theorems. We mention just one. If \(\rho(n)\) denotes the largest divisor \(d\) of \(n\) with \(d\leq\sqrt{n}\), then \(\sum_{n\leq x}\rho(n)\) has exact order \[ x^{3/2}(\log x)^{-\delta}(\log\log r)^{-3/2}. \] The detailed estimates for \(H_r(x,y, z)\) are quite complicated, but we shall describe here the results for \(H(x,y,z)\), which will suffice to give the general flavour. Given \(z> y\geq 4\) define \(\eta\), \(u\), \(\beta\) and \(\xi\) by \(z= e^ny= y^{1+u}\), \(\eta= (\log y)^{-\beta}\), and \[ \beta= \log 4- 1+{\xi\over\sqrt{\log\log y}}, \] and set \(\delta= 1-{1+ \log\log 2\over\log 2}\) and \[ G(\beta)= \begin{cases} 1+ {1+\beta\over\log 2}\log({1+\beta\over e\log 2}),\quad & 0\leq\beta\leq\log 4-1,\\ \beta,\quad & \beta\geq\log 4-1.\end{cases} \] In his paper (*), \textit{G. Tenenbaum} showed that \(H(x,y,z)\) has changes in behaviour around \(z- y^2\), near \(z= 2y\), and in the vicinity of \[ z= z_0(y):= y\exp\{(\log y)^{1-\log 4}\}. \] The main theorem of the paper then states that for \(1\leq y\leq y\leq x\) one has firstly four preliminary cases, namely \(H(x,y,z)= 0\) for \(z< [y]+ 1\); \(H(x,y,z)= [x([y]+ 1)^{-1}]\) for \([y]+ 1\leq z< y+ 1\); \(H(x,y,z)\) is of order \(1\) for \(z> y+1\) and \(x\leq 100000\); and \(H(x,y,z)\) is of order \(x\) for \(z> y+ 1\), \(y\leq \max(100,\sqrt{2})\) and \(x> 100000\). The main case is that in which \(x> 100000\) and \(100\leq y\leq\min(z- 1,\sqrt{x})\), and here there are three subranges. When \(y+ 1\leq z\leq z_0(y)\) the function \(H(x,y,z)\) has order of magnitude \(\eta x\); for \(z_0(y)\leq z\leq 2y\) it has order \[ {x\beta\over\max(1, -\xi)(\log y)^{G(\beta)}}; \] and for \(2y\leq z\leq y^2\) it has order of magnitude \(u^\delta(\log 2/u)^{-3/2}\). Finally, when \(x> 100000\), \(\sqrt{x}< y< z\leq x\) and \(z\geq y+ 1\) the function \(H(x,y,z)\) has the same order of magnitude as \(H(x,x/z, x/y)\) if \(x/y\geq x/z+ 1\), and otherwise is of order \(\eta x\). In all these cases, when we say ``\(H(x,y,z)\) has order of magnitude \(F(x,y,z)\)'', say, we mean that \(F(x,y,z)\ll H(x,y,z)\ll F(x,y, z)\) with absolute implied constants.