Biased behavior of weighted Mertens sums

Abstract

Using convexity properties of reciprocals of zeta functions, especially the reciprocal of the Riemann zeta function, we show that certain weighted Mertens sums are biased in favor of square-free integers with an odd number of prime factors. We study such type of bias for different ranges of the parameters and then consider generalizations to Mertens sums supported on semigroups of integers generated by relatively large subsets of prime numbers. We further obtain a wider range for the parameters both unconditionally and then conditionally on the Riemann Hypothesis. At the same time, we extend to certain semigroups, two classical summation formulas originating from the works of Landau concerning the behavior of derivatives of the reciprocal of the Riemann zeta function at [Formula: see text].