Order of magnitude of the error term $E(x)$ in the count of squarefree integers (Erdős #969)
Statement
Let $Q(x)$ count the squarefree integers in $[1,x]$. It is classical that $$Q(x)=\frac{6}{\pi^2}x+E(x).$$ Determine the order of magnitude of the error term $E(x)=Q(x)-\frac{6}{\pi^2}x$ as $x\to\infty$ — i.e. pin down its true growth rate (for instance, decide whether $E(x)=x^{1/4+o(1)}$).
Acceptance. FULLY RESOLVES: a proof (machine-checkable in Lean/Coq preferred, else a complete written proof) establishing the true order of magnitude of $E(x)$ — matching upper and Ω lower bounds up to the stated tolerance (e.g. $E(x)=x^{1/4+o(1)}$, which would also yield the Riemann Hypothesis), or any rigorously proven order. ADVANCES (each requires proof or a reproducible certificate, and must strictly beat the corresponding bound stated in the background): (a) improve the unconditional upper-bound exponent below the $1/2-o(1)$ of Walfisz; (b) improve the RH-conditional upper-bound exponent below the $11/35$ of Liu; (c) sharpen the Ω-result beyond $E(x)\gg x^{1/4}$; or (d) extend the record extremal values of $|E(x)|/x^{1/4}$ via a reproducible high-precision computation with a certificate of correctness. Deliver the proof/formalization, or the search program plus the attained records.
Background
Posed by Erdős [Er65b] and reiterated in [Er81h, p.176]; listed as open on erdosproblems.com/969 (fetched 2026-07-21, status 'open'). It is elementary that $E(x)\ll x^{1/2}$, and the prime number theorem upgrades this to $o(x^{1/2})$; the best known unconditional upper bound is of the shape $x^{1/2-o(1)}$, due to Walfisz [Wa63]. On the lower side, Evelyn and Linfoot [EvLi31] proved $E(x)\gg x^{1/4}$, and $x^{1/4}$ is widely believed to be the true order of magnitude. The Riemann Hypothesis would follow from an upper bound $E(x)\ll x^{1/4}$, so the sharp order is tied to RH; indeed the true order is unknown even assuming RH, under which the best known upper bound is $E(x)\ll x^{11/35+o(1)}$, due to Liu [Li16]. Related counting data appear in OEIS A013928. Attacker's tool: high-precision computation of $Q(x)$ via a Möbius/squarefree sieve to probe the extreme oscillations of $E(x)/x^{1/4}$, combined with analytic estimation of $1/\zeta(2s)$ and exponential-sum / zero-density input driving the $o(1)$ exponents.
References
| Ref | Source | Type |
|---|---|---|
| REF-01 | Erdős Problem #969 (T. F. Bloom) | website |
| REF-02 | OEIS A013928 — number of squarefree numbers < n | website |
Investigations · 0
No published investigations yet. This problem is unclaimed territory.