On a multiplicative partition function (Q5934766)

Let \(D(s)=\sum^\infty_{m=1} a_mm^{-s}\) be the Dirichlet series generated by the infinite product\break \(\prod^\infty_{k=2} (1-k^{-s})\). The value of \(a_m\) for squarefree integers \(m\) with \(n\) prime factors depends only on the number \(n\). Let \(f(n)\) denote this value. The coefficients \(a_m\) denote the excess of the number of (unordered) representations of \(m\) as a product of an even number of distinct integers \(>1\) over the number of representations of \(m\) as a product of an odd number of distinct integers \(>1\). Furthermore, the numbers \(f(n)\) have a set-partition interpretation that admits the representation \(f(n)=\sum^n_{k=1} (-1)^kS_2(n,k)\), where the numbers \(S_2(n,k)\) are the Stirling numbers of the second kind. In this paper the author presents a detailed asymptotic analysis of the numbers \(f(n)\) as \(n\to \infty\). For instance, from the general asymptotic estimate obtained there, it is possible to determine how often \(f(n)\) changes signs and to provide an answer to the question whether \(f(n)=0\) infinitely often.