Some asymptotes related to \(k\)th-power free numbers (Q2495231)

For \(k> 1\), let \(g_k(n)\) denote the characteristic function and \(Q_k(x)\) the counting function of the \(k\)-free natural numbers. Then \(Q_k(x)= \sum_{n\leq x} g_k(n)={x\over \zeta(k)}+ R_k(x)\) where the estimate \(R_k(x)\ll x^{1/k}\) is easily shown, and stronger ones are known. The objective of this paper is to investigate the average behaviour of \(R_k(x)\) by obtaining asymptotic formulae for various sums involving \(g_h(n)\) and/or \(R_k({x\over m})\) were \(m= n^k\) or \(n\) and \(h\), \(k\) may be unequal. For example, the fourth formula states that \(\sum_{n\leq x} g_k(n) R_k({x\over n})= Cx+ O(x^\theta\log x)\), where \(C= {\gamma-1\over \zeta^2(k)}- k{\zeta'(k)\over \zeta^3(k)}\) and \(\theta= {1\over 2}+{1\over 2k}\). The proofs involve mainly elementary manipulations.