Sums of Two Squares in Short Intervals (Q4514477)

The authors establish an analogue, for the set \(\mathcal S\) of numbers that are sums of two squares, of a theorem of \textit{H. Maier} about primes. Maier's theorem [Mich. Math. J. 32, 221-225 (1985; Zbl 0569.10023)] is to the effect that for each \(N>0\) there are intervals \([x,x+y]\), with \(y=\log^N x\), containing a positive proportion more (or less) than the expected number of primes. The number of members of \(\mathcal S\) not exceeding \(x\) is asymptotic to \(Bx/\sqrt{\log x}\), for a certain constant \(B\). Take \(y\) as in Maier's theorem, and let \(F\) and \(f\) be the functions arising in the half-dimensional sieve, so that \(f(N)<1<F(N)\) for all \(N\). Then the authors find a sequence of numbers \(x\), tending to infinity, such that the number of members of \(\mathcal S\) in \([x,x+y]\) exceeds \(By(F(N)+o(1))/\sqrt{\log x}\), with an analogous inequality in the opposite sense involving \(f\) in place of \(F\). The proof, which does not explicitly involve the half-dimensional sieve, also establishes the following formula, analogous to results of de Bruijn and others. Let \(\Lambda(y,z)\) denote the number of members \(n\) of \(\mathcal S\) with \(n \equiv 1 \bmod\;4\) not divisible by any prime exceeding \(z=y^{1/s}\). Then \[ \Lambda(y,z) = By \sigma(s) \big/\sqrt{\log z} + y E(y,z) , \] where \(\sigma\) is defined by a certain integral equation and \(E(y,z)\) is of order \(1/ \log z+1/ \log^{3/2} y\). The method of proof uses an inductive argument based on an identity of Buchstab's type. The authors remark that it could be developed to yield a better estimate for the quantity \(E(y,z)\). They also suggest that small-scale deviations of the type given by Maier's result and by their own may be a property of more general sieve-generated sequences.