n ∈ N, which maps to a complex number such that f N C Exam.pdfVIP

AVERAGE VALUES OF ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS ROSE WONG Abstract. In this paper, we will present problems involving av­ erage values of arithmetic functions. The arithmetic functions we discuss are: (1)the number of representations of natural numbers as a sum of two squares and (2)as a sum of three squares, (3)the number of decompositions of natural numbers into sums of con­ secutive primes, (4)the number of primitive pythagorean triangles with a hypotenuse of a given length, and (5)the number of divisors of natural numbers. 1. Introduction An arithmetic function is defined to be a function f (n), defined for n ∈ N, which maps to a complex number such that f: N → C. Exam­ ples of arithmetic functions include: the number of primes less than a given number n, the number of divisors of n, and the number of ways n can be represented as a sum of two squares. While the behavior of values of arithmetic functions are hard to predict, it is easier to analyze the behavior of the averages of arithmetic functions which we define as: f (1) + ... + f (n) lim = L n→∞ n where L the average value of f (n). In this paper, we will examine averages of several different arithmetic functions. 2. Average number of representations of a natural number as a sum of two squares Let r (n) be the number of representations of n as a sum of two squares 2 2 n = x + y . Theorem 2.1. The average number of representations of a natural number as a sum of two squares is π . That is, Date: November 30, 2006. 1 2