Mobius function
The Möbius function is a multiplicative number theoretic function defined as follows: Hence, we see that , and .
Contents
[hide]Multiplicity of the Function
One of the most important results of the Möbius function is that it is multiplicative, or that .
Proof. Let denote the number of integers not greater than and divisible by . If and are coprime then denotes the number of integers not greater than and divisible by and . Via a combinatorial argument using the Principle of Inclusion-Exclusion (PIE), it can be seen that the number of integers less than or equal to and not divisible by any one of a coprime set of integers is
and by taking the coprime set of integers to be the different (and distinct) prime factors of we get
Now the proof of the multiplicity of comes naturally from its definition and what we previously established. We see that
completing the proof
Sums of Divisors
While the multiplicity of the Möbius function is its most crucial component, there are other relationships that we can draw from as well. One of the most notable is the following:
Proof.If where then
To finish, we simply can use the fact that , completing the proof. By a similar argument, one can also prove that
where is the number of distinct prime factors of
Implications to Other Functions
Let be a multiplicative function with respect to . If there is such an , then
is also multiplicative.
Proof. If, for some , that , and then and runs through all divisors of . This means we have
which completes the proof. On a different note, this also provides an alternative proof for the theorem we proved earlier. By letting
the result follows by taking and for
Applications
One of the major uses of the Möbius function is in the Mobius inversion formula. It also has ties to the Riemann zeta function, mainly that for ,
This comes from a couple of theorems. Firstly, if then
Secondly, if is an arithmetic function such that and is multiplicative such that is convergent, then
Our theorem follows by using the multiplicity of lastly. Doing so gives
which is what we wanted. The reason why this is important is because we can do more things by using this as a baseline. For example, it follows trivially that for