:"This article is not about Ramanujan summation."
In number theory, a branch of mathematics, Ramanujan's sum, usually denoted "c""q"("n"), is a function of two positive integer variables "q" and "n" defined by the formula
:
where ("a","q") = 1 means that "a" only takes on values coprime to "q".
Srinivasa Ramanujan introduced the sums in a 1918 paper. [Ramanujan, S. "On Certain Trigonometric Sums and their Applications in the Theory of Numbers", "Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society", 22, No. 15, (1918), pp 259-276. (pp. 179-199 of his "Collected Papers".) He says "These sums are obviously of great interest, and a few of their properties have been discussed already. But, so far as I know, they have never been considered from the point of view which I adopt in this paper; and I believe that all the results which it contains are new.", and in a footnote references pp. 360-370 of the Dirichlet-Dedekind "Vorlesungen über Zahlentheorie", 4th ed.]
Notation
For integers and is read "a" divides "b" and means that there is an integer such that Similarly, is read "a" does not divide "b". The summation symbol means that "d" goes through all the positive divisors of "m", e.g.:
is the greatest common divisor,
is Euler's totient function,
is the Möbius function, and
is the Riemann zeta function.
Formulas for "c""q"("n")
Trigonometric
These formulas come from the definition, Euler's formula and elementary trig identities.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
and so on. They show that "c""q"("n") is always real.
Kluyver
Let
Then ζ"q" is a root of the equation "x""q" – 1 = 0. Each of its powers ζ"q", ζ"q"2, ... ζ"q""q" = ζ"q"0 = 1 is also a root. Therefore, since there are "q" of them, they are all of the roots. The numbers ζ"q""n" where 1 ≤ "n" ≤ "q" are called the "q" th roots of unity. ζ"q" is called a primitive "q" th root of unity because the smallest value of "n" that makes ζ"q""n" = 1 is "q". The other primitive "q" th roots of are the numbers ζ"q""a" where ("a", "q") = 1. Therefore, there are φ("q") primitive "q" th roots of unity.
Thus, the Ramanujan sum "c""q"("n") is the sum of the "n" th powers of the primitive "q" th roots of unity.
It is a fact that the powers of ζ"q" are precisely the primitive roots for all the divisors of "q".
For example, let "q" = 12. Then:ζ12, ζ125, ζ127, and ζ1211 are the primitive twelfth roots of unity,
:ζ122 and ζ1210 are the primitive sixth roots of unity,
:ζ123 = "i" and ζ129 = −"i" are the primitive fourth roots of unity,
:ζ124 and ζ128 are the primitive third roots of unity,
:ζ126 = −1 is the primitive second root of unity, and
:ζ1212 = 1 is the primitive first root of unity.
Therefore, if :
is the sum of the "n" th powers of all the roots, primitive and imprimitive,
:
and by Möbius inversion,
:
It follows from the identity "x""q" – 1 = ("x" – 1)("x""q"–1 + "x""q"–2 + ... + "x" + 1) that
:
and this leads to the formula
: published by Kluyver in 1906. [Ramanujan, "Papers", notes p. 343]
This shows that "c""q"("n") is always an integer. Compare it with
von Sterneck
It is easily shown from the definition that "c""q"("n") is multiplicative when considered as a function of "q" for a fixed value of "n": i.e.
:
From the definition (or Kluyver's formula) it is straightforward to prove that, if "p" is a prime number,
:
and if "p""k" is a prime power where "k" > 1,
:
This result and the multiplicative property can be used to prove : This is called von Sterneck's arithmetic function. [Ramanujan, "Papers", notes p. 371]
Other properties of "c""q"("n")
For all positive integers "q",
:
:
For a fixed value of "q" both of the sequences "c""q"(1), "c""q"(2), ... and "c"1("q"), "c"2("q"), ... remain bounded.
If "q" > 1
:
Table
Ramanujan expansions
If "f"("n") is an arithmetic function (i.e. a complex-valued function of the integers or natural numbers), then a convergent infinite series of the form
: where the "a""q" are complex numbers, or of the form
: where the "a""n" are complex numbers,
is called a Ramanujan expansion [Ramanujan, "Papers", notes pp. 369-371] of "f"("n"). Ramanujan found expansions of some of the well-known functions of number theory. All of these results are proved in an "elementary" manner (i.e. only using formal manipulations of series and the simplest results about convergence). [Ramanujan, op. cit.; Hardy, ch. IX (pp. 132-160); Hardy & Wright, Thms 292-293 (pp.250-251); Knopfmacher, ch. 7 (pp. 183-216)]
The expansion of the zero function depends on a result from the analytic theory of prime numbers, namely that the series converges to 0, and the results for "r"("n") and "r"′("n") depend on theorems in an earlier paper. [Ramanujan, S., "On Certain Arithmetical Functions", "Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society", 22 No. 9, (1916), 159-184; "Collected Papers" pp. 136-163]
All the formulas in this section are from Ramanujan's 1918 paper.
Generating functions
The generating functions of the Ramanujan sums are Dirichlet series.
:
is a generating function for the sequence "c""q"(1), "c""q"(2), ... where "q" is kept constant and
:
is a generating function for the sequence "c"1("n"), "c"2("n"), ... where "n" is kept constant.
There is also the double Dirichlet series
:
σ"k"("n")
σ"k"("n") is the divisor function (i.e. the sum of the "k"th powers of the divisors of "n", including 1 and "n"). σ0(n), the number of divisors of "n", is usually written "d"("n") and σ1(n), the sum of the divisors of "n", is usually written σ("n").
If "s" > 0,
:
and
:
Setting "s" = 1 gives
:
If the Riemann hypothesis is true, and