Hidden Multiscale Order in the Primes

DOI10.1088/1751-8121/AB0588MaRDI QIDQ6300461arXivWikidataFDO

Authors Salvatore Torquato, Ge Zhang, Matthew De Courcy-Ireland

Publication date 15 April 2018

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Nonreal zeros of (zeta (s)) and (L(s, chi)); Riemann and other hypotheses (11M26) Distribution of primes (11N05) Primes (11A41) Primes in congruence classes (11N13) Primality (11Y11)

Abstract: We study the {pair correlations between} prime numbers in an interval $MleqpleqM+L$ with $Mightarrowinfty$, $$. By analyzing the emph{structure factor}, we prove, conditionally on the {Hardy-Littlewood conjecture on prime pairs}, that the primes are characterized by unanticipated multiscale order. Specifically, their limiting structure factor is that of a union of an infinite number of periodic systems and is characterized by dense set of Dirac delta functions. Primes in dyadic intervals are the first examples of what we call {it effectively limit-periodic} point configurations. This behavior implies anomalously suppressed density fluctuations compared to uncorrelated (Poisson) systems at large length scales, which is now known as hyperuniformity. Using a scalar order metric $au$ calculated from the structure factor, we identify a transition between the order exhibited when $L$ is comparable to $M$ and the uncorrelated behavior when $L$ is only logarithmic in $M$. Our analysis for the structure factor leads to an algorithm to reconstruct primes in a dyadic interval with high accuracy.

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