Hua's theorem with nine almost equal prime variables (Q950287)

The main result is the following theorem: Each sufficiently large odd integer \(N\) can be written as \(N=p^3_1+\dots +p^3_9\) where \(\big| p_j-\root 3\of{\frac N 9}\big| \leq U=N^{\frac 13 -\frac 1{198}+\varepsilon}\) and \(p_j\) are primes. Under the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis, \textit{X. M. Meng} [J. Shandong Univ. 32, 397--404 (1997; Zbl 0917.11038)] proved this theorem first. The authors used the circle method, together with the iterative idea of \textit{J. Y. Liu} [Q. J. Math., Oxf. (2) 54. No. 4, 453--462 (2003; Zbl 1080.11071)].