Prime pairs and the zeta function

AbstractAre there infinitely many prime pairs with given even difference? Most mathematicians think so. Using a strong arithmetic hypothesis, Goldston, Pintz and Yildirim have recently shown that there are infinitely many pairs of primes differing by at most sixteen.There is extensive numerical support for the prime-pair conjecture (PPC) of Hardy and Littlewood [G.H. Hardy, J.E. Littlewood, Some problems of ‘partitio numerorum’. III: On the expression of a number as a sum of primes, Acta Math. 44 (1923) 1–70 (sec. 3)] on the asymptotic behavior of π2r(x), the number of prime pairs (p,p+2r) with p≤x. Assuming Riemann’s Hypothesis (RH), Montgomery and others have studied the pair-correlation of zeta’s complex zeros, indicating connections with the PPC. Using a Tauberian approach, the author shows that the PPC is equivalent to specific boundary behavior of a function involving zeta’s complex zeros. A certain hypothesis on equidistribution of prime pairs, or a speculative supplement to Montgomery’s work on pair-correlation, would imply that there is an abundance of prime pairs