A monotonicity property of Riemann's xi function and a reformulation of the Riemann hypothesis (Q532110)

Riemann \(\xi\) function \(\xi(s)\) is defined as the product \[ \xi(s)=\frac12s(s-1)\pi^{-\frac12s} \Gamma\left(\frac12s\right)\zeta(s), \] where \(\zeta(s)\) is the Riemann zeta-function and \(\Gamma(s)\) is the Euler gamma function. The authors prove that the xi function is strictly increasing in modulus along every horizontal half-line lying in any open right half-plane that contains no zeros of xi. Similarly, the modulus strictly decreases on each horizontal half-line in any zero-free, open left half-plane. Under the Riemann hypothesis this statement appears as Exercise 1 (e) in Section 13.2 of \textit{H. L. Montgomery} and \textit{R. C. Vaughan} [Multiplicative Number Theory. I. Classical Theory, Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics 97, Cambridge University Press (2007; Zbl 1142.11001)]