Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
Quantitative estimates for finite mean values
of multiplicative functions are highly applicable tools in analytic and probabilistic number theory. Extending a result of Hall [4], Halberstam and Richert[3] proved a useful inequality valid for real, non-negative g satisfying for instance a Wirsing type condition, viz for all primes p, with constants λ1 ≥ 0, 0 ≤ λ2 < 2. Their upper bound is sharp to within a factor (l + o(l)), but even a weaker and easier to prove estimate, such as
(where the implied constants depend on λ1 and λ2), may become a surprisingly strong device. For instance, setting g(p) = l ± ε, where ε is an arbitrarily small positive number, provides immediately a proof of the famous Hardy–Ramanujan theorem on the normal order of the number of prime factors of an integer. This example, and many others, are discussed in detail in our book [5] where we make extensive use of (2) for various problems connected with the structure of the set of divisors of a normal number.