I What is the inequality for prime numbers in the Prime Number Theorem proof?

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The discussion centers on understanding an inequality related to the Prime Number Theorem, specifically the expression involving the sum of logarithms of prime numbers. Participants clarify that "O" likely refers to zero in this context, while also discussing the implications of big O notation. There is confusion regarding the inequality's formulation, with suggestions that it may contain typos. The key point is that the inequality asserts that for primes p, the condition x^(1-ε) < p holds, allowing for logarithmic manipulation to derive the stated relationship. Overall, the conversation seeks clarity on the mathematical reasoning behind the inequality in the proof of the Prime Number Theorem.
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I believe this is probably a high level undergraduate question, but i could easily be underestimating it and it's actually quite a bit higher than that.

I'm reading the Prime number theorem wikipedia page and I'm in part 4 under Proof sketch where sometime down they give in inequality:

x is a natural number, p is for prime's obviously: ##\sum_{x^{1-\epsilon }\geq p\geq x}^{} \log p \geq \sum_{p\leq x}^{} logx##

Where epsilon is any value greater than O. (O is some special value that they use in computer science a lot apparently, I might need to understand this value better to understand this inequality, I'm not sure.

Can somebody help me understand this inequality? C'mon I know there are some really smart people here!
 
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PsychonautQQ said:
O is some special value that they use in computer science a lot apparently
Hi PsychonautQQ:

I am not into number theory, but I am almost certain that the "O" is zero, i.e., "0".

Regards,
Buzz
 
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Buzz Bloom said:
Hi PsychonautQQ:

I am not into number theory, but I am almost certain that the "O" is zero, i.e., "0".

Regards,
Buzz
My guess is ##O(something)##, e.g. ##O(1)\, , \,O(\log x) \, , \, O(\log \log x)## or even ##o(1)##. In any case I assume there is more than one typo in it, e.g. the ##\log x## in a summation over ##p## looks suspicious.
 
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Here is a link to the article, the inequality discussed is the 6th formula in this section.
"for any ε > 0" is a comparison with the number 0. The big O notation (with the letter O) is mentioned because it is used later in the same line.
 
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mfb said:

I found the equation in post #1 in the the linked article, although the post #1 version seems to have omitted a detail. It seems clear that the intent is
ε > zero​
and
O(x1-ε)​
is using the "big O" notation.

Regards,
Buzz
 
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I thought it is the 6th formula there, but the right hand side is not identical.
 
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Wow, I am so smart for confusing 0 and O haha.

I still don't understand the inequality though, can somebody explain why it makes sense intuitively or link a proof to me?
 
With the correct inequality from the Wikipedia article: We know ##x^{1-\epsilon} < p##. Take the logarithm on both sides and you get the inequality used in the article.
 
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mfb said:
With the correct inequality from the Wikipedia article: We know ##x^{1-\epsilon} < p##. Take the logarithm on both sides and you get the inequality used in the article.
And we know that x^(1-epsilon) < p because of the domain which is being summed over? p is required to be bigger?
 
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We know it because the sum only runs over p satisfying this condition, right.
 
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