ON

THE ZEROES OF THE RIEMANN ZETA

FUNCTION IN THE CRITICAL STRIP

Alekcander Mikolaj Czajka 2016


ABSTRACT. For the Riemann zeta function , , I study the behavior of
in the critical strip 0 () 1. I prove the following:

There exists a constant ! such that for all complex s with [] > ! ,
1
= 0 =
2
i.e. the Riemann Hypothesis holds.

I then use numerical techniques to show that ! < 209.5765097168562. This result
in conjunction with empirical data due to Andrew M. Odlyzko proves the Riemann
Hypothesis.

Remark. The creation of this paper would not have been possible without a number of
online resources. Without them, I would not have had access to most of the research
material that was used in writing this paper. I would like to salute websites such as
Wolfram Alpha and Arxiv, as well as all other free online mathematics archives for the
incredible service that they provide to the mathematics community. I would also like to
thank my friend and fellow mathctor (mathematician + actor) Paul Carpenter for
igniting my interest in the Riemann hypothesis a little over three years ago when he
gifted me Karl Sabbaghs book The Riemann Hypothesis, as well as for staying up
late at night exchanging his insight with me through Facebook.

INTRODUCTION
In 1838, P. G. L. Dirichlet [9] defined for real numbers > 1 the function as
=
!!!

1
=
!

1
1 !

!!

(1)


where the product, due to Euler [6], extends over all prime . This connection
between the set of prime numbers and intrigued Bernhard Riemann, who was
looking to find an analytic expression for the prime counting function (). Riemann
was convinced that the function defined by (1) was merely part of an even larger
function, defined over the complex plane. So Riemann, being Riemann, extended
to all complex 1 via the contour integral
1
=
2

!!!
(2)
!! 1
!

In the same paper [6], Riemann first conjectured the so-called Riemann hypothesis:
0 1 & = 0 = 1 2
which, for Riemanns purposes, would mean that
= Li +

log .

Riemann said that he believed his hypothesis to be very likely [1] but that he had
not been able to construct a proof. Such is the task I set out to complete. While I
most certainly lack Riemanns prestige and intuition, that does not justify me in not
trying hard.

THE FUNCTIONAL EQUATION

In his paper, Riemann also proves the very important functional equation of

the Riemann zeta function, which forms the basis of my proof. This equation reads

sin 2
= 2 ! 1 1

And thus

1
+ = 2
2

! !!!

!"

1
+ +
2

1
sin 2 2 +

1
+ +
2

where I have made use of the identities = and = . From this, one
can show
1
+
2

! !!!

1
+ +
2

sin

1
+
2 2

1
+ +
2

I define the function (, ) to be

1
2 +
(, )
(3)
1
2 + +
and by the functional equation, as I derived above
(, ) =

! !!!

1
+ +
2

sin

1
+
2 2

(4)

Note: This same result was obtained by Saidak and Svengrowski [2]
For the sake of convenience throughout, I define the function , such that
sin

1
+
2 2

1
2

, (5)

I introduce this notation mostly as shorthand for computational convenience. With

this definition, (4) can be rewritten.
(, ) =

! !!!

1
+ + (6)
2

A number of things can be noted about the function (, ). Firstly, (0, ) =

1 for all . This is plain as it is equivalent to the statement

!
!

!
!

for all . Secondly, since it is the ratio of two necessarily positive values, (, ) 0.
This can be strengthened by noting that a simple consequence of the functional
equation is that

!
!

= 0

!
!

+ +

= 0 and so it has

removable singularities at all values where (, ) = 0 could possibly hold. These

singularities can be removed by setting all values of (, ) where

!
!

+ +

!
!

= 0 to be 1. This is consistent with equation (6), and hence the

actual behavior of , because lim!! (, ) = 1 for the reason noted above.

Hence, (, ) > 0 holds. This ensures that all of the factors on the R. H. S. of (6) are
nonzero and positive, meaning that no extra care must be taken when dividing by
them.
In the proof that follows, I will rely on a theorem due to Saidak and Svengrowski [2]:
THEOREM 0. For 0 1/2 and 2 + 1, we have
(, ) 1



THE FUNCTION ,
The function , is merely the modulus of the sine function premultiplied
by 2, so I will begin by developing a particular representation of the sine function
of which will simplify calculations. The sine function is traditionally defined only for
real arguments, but it has a natural analytic extension to the entire complex plane.
Begin with the following well known theorem due to Euler
!" = cos + sin
from this we have = !" or

sin = ( !!" !" )

2
this representation is an entire function. Letting =

1
+
2 2
=

!!!
!
2

=
!
!!
!

!"
1
! cos

2
2 2
!"

!!

! !
!!
!

! !

!"

! !
!!!!"
!

!"

2 2

2 2

+ sin

2 2

cos
sin
sin
4
2
2
4

!"

! ! cos
+ sin
!"

+ , we have

!"

! cos
cos
+ sin
sin
2
4
2
4
2
sin

!"

cos
+ sin
sin
4
2
4
2

cos
sin
cos
4
2
2
4

! ! !

=
cos + sin
2
2
2

! !

!
!!!!"
!

! !!
sin

! ! cos
=

!!!
!
2

! !

!"

!"

! + ! !

cos
sin
2
2
2

1
2

cosh

cos

sin
2
2

+ sinh

cos

+ sin
2
2

from this it is surely evident why I defined , in the way I did. It is now simple
to show that

!
, = cosh
cos
sin
+ sinh!
2
2

= cosh!
cos !
+ sin!
2 cos
2
2
2
2

+ sinh!
cos !
+ sin!
2
2
2

= cosh!
1 2 cos
sin
+ sinh!
2
2
2
2
!

!
cos
+ sin

2
2

sin
2

+ 2 cos
sin

2
2

1 + 2 cos
sin

2
2

and using the double angle formula, sin 2 = 2sincos, this simplifies greatly,
returning this simple representation of ! ,
! , = cosh!

1 sin + sinh!

1 + sin

= cosh() sin (7)

(7) is the expression for ! , that will be used from this point forward.
Obviously the expression for , would be the square root of (7), however such
will not be needed for the proof at hand. The reader may be pleased to know that
with the result (7), the most tedious segment of the paper is now complete.
Applying the operator ! to both sides of (7),
! ! , = ! sin
! ! , = cos (8)
These results will be very useful in what follows.

COEFFICIENT OF ! ,
Before moving onto the gamma function, for completeness I will quickly evaluate
!

the derivative of the coefficient = ! 2

! =

1
2
!

!!!

1
!! !"# !!
!

!!!

that appears in ! , .

2log(2)
2

!!!

= 2log(2) (9)

THE MODULUS-SQUARED OF
K. Kono [3] proves the following identity to hold for complex , :
!

!!!

!
1
=

+
+

1+
+

letting = and =
!

!!!

1+
+

!
!
=
=
+
+

And so, writing = + , we have

!
!

= !
!!!

1+
+

!!

(10)

We are mostly interested in the partial derivative of this expression with respect to
= . Write ! = 1 +

!!!
!

! !!

= !
!!!

and apply the operator ! to both sides of (10)

1+
+

!!

!
!

+ !
!!!

1+
+

!!

The derivative of ! is simple. Letting ! denote the th polygamma function,

! ! = 2 ! = 2 ! ! (11)
The derivative of the product in the second term of (10) is not so easy, but it can be
calculated as follows.
!

! = ! ! ! ! ! + ! ! ! ! ! + ! ! ! ! ! +
!!!

where
! ! = !

1+
+

! !!

2 !
=
+

1+
+

! !!

2 !
+

! !

and so
!

! =
!!!

2 !
+

! ! ! ! + !
! !
+! !

2 !
+

2 !
+

! ! ! !

! ! ! +

And we have
!

! =
!!!

!!!

Reinserting the value ! = 1 +

!

!!!

2 !
+

! !!

!
!!!

1+
+

2 !
+

! . (12)
!!!

into the sum in (12) gives

!

! !!

=2
!!!

1
!

(13)
+ + ! + !

The sum on the RHS of (13) is critical in the proof that follows. (11 - 13) combine
with the expression for !
!

= 2
!!!

to give

1+
+

!!

! +
!!!

1
!


+ + ! + !

and from (10) we have

!

=2

! +
!!!

1
!

(14)
+ + ! + !

THE PROOF

LEMMA 1. Let , be the function : ! defined by the convergent sum

!

1
!
,

1
1

+
+

!!!
+2+
2

.
+

The function , is monotonic increasing in for all > 0, > 0

PROOF. Apply the operator ! to both sides of the definition of , .
!

! , =

1
!
!
1
1
!!! + +
+2+
2

+ !

Let ! = + ! + . The derivative of the term in the sum that defines , is

then
1
!
2!
! !
=
!
! ! + !
! ! + !
so that the partial derivative of , reads
!

2!

! , =

! ! + !

!!!

! .

for > 0 > 0, 2! > 0 and so ! , , being a sum of positive terms,

satisfies ! , > 0. Thus, since its derivative is positive over the entire interval in
question, the function , is monotonic increasing over this interval.

LEMMA 2. On the interval 0 1/2, the rate at which , increases in is
minimized when = 1/2.
PROOF. Apply the operator ! to both sides of the expression for ! ,
!

! ! , =

!
!!!

2!
! ! + !

From the definition of the ! , the operator relationship ! ! = !! ! is

evidently so for arbitrary ! . From this, the partial derivative of the th term of
! , is
!!

2!
! ! + !

2 4! ! 4!!
! ! + !

the negative contribution from the ! terms shows that the terms are monotonic
decreasing in ! . This implies that on any interval ! all the terms of
! ! , , ! ! , , are minimized for the extreme value of
! , which corresponds to, on the interval + 1/2 ! + 1, the statement
= 1/2.

LEMMA 3. There exists a (not unique) constant ! such that for all > ! the
inequality ! ! , > 0 holds.
PROOF. Equation (6) above reads
(, ) =

! !!!

1
+ + .
2

Squaring this, one obtains

1
, = 2

!!!

1
, + +
2

The partial derivative of this expression with respect to then reads, letting
!

= ! 2

!!!

1
! , = ! , + +
2
!

1
+ ! , + +
2

+ ! , !

1
+ +
2

And combining this with (8), (9), and (14), letting ! + =

! ! , = 2 log 2 ! ,

1
+ +
2

+ cos

1
+ +
2

1
+ 2 , + +
2

! +
!!!

1
!


+ + ! + !

1
= + +
2

2 log 2 ! , cos
!
!

+ ,

! +
!!!

1
!


+ + ! + !

Since both and

+ +
!

must be greater than 0 as a result of the functional

equation, the statement that ! ! , > 0 is equivalent to the statement that

!

1
!
,

1
1
!!! + + + +
2
2
!

+ !

> 2log(2) ! , + cos ! , !

1
+
2

dividing both sides of this by ! , , which can be done without problem because
! , > 0, results in the inequality
!

1
!

1
1
!!! + + + +
2
2

> 2log(2) +
+ !

cos
1
! + (15)
!
,
2

Note that the LHS of (15) is the function , , which by Lemma 2 satisfies
, >

!
!

, for 0 < < 1/2, or

1
!

1
1
!!! + + + +
2
2

!
!

>
+ !

!!!

1
!

=
+ 1 + 1 ! + !

!!!

1
!
!
(16)
+ !

It can be seen from the series expansion of ! () given by Abramowitz and Stegun
[5],
!

! = +
!!!

1
1

,
+1 +

that the series on the RHS of (16) converges to + !

!

!!!

1
!

= + ! (17)
! + !

The RHS of (15) satisfies the inequality

2 log 2 +

cos
1

+
!
! ,
2
2 log 2 + !,!

cos
1
! + (18)
!
,
2

where the functional , gives the maximum value of on

! !"# !!

. Since

!! !,!

!
!

+ is decreasing in t we have that for all >

 !,!

cos
1

+
!
! ,
2

< !,!

cos
1

+
!
! ,
2

Arbitrarily letting = 1, we have

!,!

cos
1

+
!
! ,
2
! !"# !!

The maximum of !"#$ !

!,!

!!"# !!

= !,!

!
!

cos
1
! +
cosh sin
2

+ evidently occurs at = 0 so

cos
1
! +
cosh sin
2

cos 0
1
!
cosh sin 0
2

+ 2log(2) + 2.23452497742
()

this in conjunction with (18) gives for all > 1

2 2 +

cos
1

! + <
+ 2log(4) + (19)
!
,
2
()

From (16), (17), and (19) we have that the inequality

! >
+ 2log(4) (20)
()
implies (15) and thus that ! ! , > 0. However, by Lemma 1, the LHS of (20)
increases monotonically for > 0. Because of this, it will increase without bound
from its value at = 0 to infinity and hence it must either begin above the line
!

= !"#!(!) + 2log(4), or it must cross this line at some finite point ! . In either
case, the inequality (20) must hold at all points beyond some critical point, and
hence there exists ! such that for all > ! the inequality ! ! , > 0 holds.

THEOREM 1.
!

For 0 < < ! and all > ! for some ! , the inequality , > 1
holds.

Note. This was originally conjectured, but not proved, by Saidak and Svengrowski [2].

PROOF. By Lemma 3, we have for all > ! for some !
! ! , = 2 , , > 0 .

Then, using the fact that , > 0 over its entire domain, we have , > 0
i.e. that , is monotonic increasing in for all > ! . With this,

!
!

, would be

the maximum value of , at a given . From (6), (7), (10), and (17) we can write
!

1
1
2
, =
cosh
2
2
2

! () +

From this, by Lemma 1 and the fact that cosh is increasing for > 0, it is evident
!

that !

!
!

, , and hence

!
!

, , is monotonic increasing in for > 0. The value of

, 1 is
1

1
,1 =
2
and so

!
!

2
cosh() 2
2
3.00103508437
1+ 1

, > 3.00103508437 for all > 1. Thus, for all > ! , so long as ! 1,

, must increase monotonically from a value 0 < ! 1 to a value !"#

3.00103508437 as is increased. Furthermore, by Theorem 0, we have that ! = 1
when ! 2 + 1. Hence, for > ! 2 + 1, , increases monotonically from
!

1 to !"# as is increased, and so for 0 < < ! we have , > 1

COROLLARY 1. The Riemann Hypothesis (weak form)
There exists a constant ! such that for all complex s with [] > ! ,
1
= 0 =
2
i.e. the Riemann Hypothesis holds.
PROOF. Assume temporarily that there exists a zero of in the critical strip
!

with ! , [] > ! . can then be written as ! + . The functional

equation of , as is written in the section on it above, then reads
0 = ,

1
+ +
2

where , is the function

, ; 0
1
,

; < 0
,

since , is an entire function, this implies that

+ +

= 0. Hence, the

existence of implies the existence of three zeros other than that do not lie on the
!

line = !: = ! + , = ! + , and = ! . However, when

> ! , by Theorem 1 we have , > 1 which from the definition of , gives

1
+
2

>

1
+ + .
2

This contradicts existence of the zeroes and , and hence the existence of .
!

Therefore, there are no zeros with [] > ! that do not lie on the line = ! .

CALCULATION The value of ! is the first > 1 that satisfies the conditions

! >
+ 2log(4)
cosh()
> 2 + 1
Andrew M. Odlyzko [6] has computed the first 100 zeros of with incredible
!

accuracy and has shown that they all lie on the line = ! . I have tabulated the
values of ! for all of these zeros in Appendix A. The 85th zero of the has
!" 209.5765097168562. The value of ! for this zero
! !"

5.345090771

This value satisfies the necessary conditions for Theorem 1, and hence Corollary 1,
to hold and so I have proven

THEOREM 2 The Riemann Hypothesis
The Riemann Zeta function, , has its zeros only at the negative
!

even integers and complex numbers with Real part ! .

REFERENCES
[1] Edwards, Harold M. Riemann's Zeta-function. Mineola, N. Y.: Dover, 2014. Print.

[2] Saidak, Filip; Svengrowski, Peter On the modulus of the Riemann zeta function in
the critical strip. (English). Mathematica Slovaca, vol. 53 (2003), issue 2, pp. 145-172

[3] K. Kono , , {http://www.geocities.jp/uchu_tak
o/sugaku/jx09.pdf}

[4] EULER L.: Variae observationes circa series infinitas. Comm. Acad. Sci. Petrop. 9
(1737), 222-236.

[5] Abramowitz, M.; Stegun, I. A., eds. (1972). "6.3 psi (Digamma) Function.".
Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical
Tables (10th ed.). New York: Dover. pp. 258259.

[6] Plouffe, Simon. The First 100 (non Trivial) Zeros of the Riemann Zeta Function.
Plouffe.fr. N.p., n.d. {www.plouffe.fr/simon/constants/zeta100.html}

[7] Weisstein, Eric W. Digamma Function. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web
Resource. {http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DigammaFunction.html}

[8] Sondow, Jonathan and Weisstein, Eric W. "Riemann Zeta Function." From
MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. {http://mathworld.wolfram.com/
RiemannZetaFunction.html}

[9] DIRICHLET P. G. L.: Sur l'usage des series infinies dans la thorie des nombres. J.
Reine Angew. Math. 18 (1838), 257-274.

Appendix A: The values of [! ()] for the first 100 zeros of ()

!! ()! !! ()!

14.134725142 2.64905185869731672
95.870634228 4.56300878933048732

21.022039639 3.04576000517047652
98.831194218 4.59342181756363814

25.010857580 3.21944327269296575
101.317851006 4.618270732977480787

30.424876126 3.41535060172385445
103.725538040 4.641756098917708841

32.935061588 3.49461462402577298
105.446623052 4.658212377001603396

37.586178159 3.62669537266597375
107.168611184 4.674410655475080715

40.918719012 3.71163740968319323
111.029535543 4.709803011867908496

43.327073281 3.76882208249404139
111.874659177 4.717385788357506450

48.005150881 3.87134447796104335
114.320220915 4.739009842452344766

49.773832478 3.90752303198970385
116.226680321 4.755548593891996897

52.970321478 3.96976148545545748
118.790782866 4.777369724111116791

56.446247697 4.03331497257189288
121.370125002 4.798850418198097078

59.347044003 4.08342597462109046
122.946829294 4.811757492735852062

60.831778525 4.10813484559051806
124.256818554 4.822355938525734545

65.112544048 4.17613687576664772
127.516683880 4.848252334922338059

67.079810529 4.20590163255899991
129.578704200 4.864293414083804586

69.546401711 4.24201141003660032
131.087688531 4.875871326872448620

72.067157674 4.27761447521732223
133.497737203 4.894089203894328861

75.704690699 4.32685466339067329
134.756509753 4.903474107515336776

77.144840069 4.34569869748696564
138.116042055 4.928098584772903188

79.337375020 4.37372256878763792
139.736208952 4.939760691249262001

82.910380854 4.41777239862133519
141.123707404 4.949641047482575121

84.735492981 4.43954616365083417
143.111845808 4.963630531897984068

87.425274613 4.47079532718200053
146.000982487 4.983617260440841919

88.809111208 4.48649981439452621
147.422765343 4.993308248196369318

92.491899271 4.52713080652395211
150.053520421 5.010995734342509851

94.651344041 4.55020937953570825
150.925257612 5.016788390015906911


!! ()! !! ()!

153.024693811 5.030602864577521753
204.189671803 5.319051324343192823

156.112909294 5.050582942319380839
205.394697202 5.324935455565976523

157.597591818 5.060048252187072755
207.906258888 5.337089227592765720

158.849988171 5.067963588773949961
209.576509717 5.345090771499052858

161.188964138 5.082580574422175279
211.690862595 5.355128874746667466

163.030709687 5.093941721366546505
213.347919360 5.362926088156698882

165.537069188 5.109198193839527914
214.547044783 5.368530847718313337

167.184439978 5.119100615444828120
216.169538508 5.376064783636656299

169.094515416 5.130460735891485829
219.067596349 5.389382077773284462

169.911976479 5.135283404040192303
220.714918839 5.396873619429349747

173.411536520 5.155670364567286994
221.430705555 5.400111398391014455

174.754191523 5.163383095409425822
224.007000255 5.411678963225213695

176.441434298 5.172991681120308033
224.983324670 5.416027933217976226

178.377407776 5.183904193129423814
227.421444280 5.426806490120280894

179.916484020 5.192495339965392820
229.337413306 5.435195924103444388

182.207078484 5.205146344239665746
231.250188700 5.443501750707644340

184.874467848 5.219679480766799267
231.987235253 5.446683898120729112

185.598783678 5.223589686060374770
233.693404179 5.454011543595367791

187.228922584 5.232334430338302197
236.524229666 5.466052143298442741

189.416158656 5.243948814747928023

192.026656361 5.257636457544517982

193.079726604 5.263105430173968566

195.265396680 5.274361827439531516

196.876481841 5.282578686331982586

198.015309676 5.288346474611516831

201.264751944 5.288346474611516831

202.493594514 5.310710286360726542