The complete positive bias conjecture for Gaussian-prime representations

Let

D2(x)={p<x:p=a2+4b2, a1mod4}{p<x:p=a2+4b2, a3mod4}.D_2(x)=\lvert\{p<x:p=a^2+4b^2,\ \lvert a\rvert\equiv1\bmod4\}\rvert-\lvert\{p<x:p=a^2+4b^2,\ \lvert a\rvert\equiv3\bmod4\}\rvert.

Here pp ranges over primes, and logarithmic scale is measured by logarithmic density, using the variable y=logxy=\log x; thus a property holds for almost all xx in logarithmic scale when the corresponding set has logarithmic density one. Complete positive bias conjecture. The values of D2D_2 have a complete bias towards positive values: for almost all x[2,)x\in[2,\infty) in logarithmic scale, more than half of the primes below xx have a representation p=a2+4b2p=a^2+4b^2 with a1mod4\lvert a\rvert\equiv1\bmod4. Precisely,

D2(x)0D_2(x)\geq0

for almost all xx in logarithmic scale, and

D2(x)=Ω+(xlogx).D_2(x)=\Omega_{+}\left(\frac{\sqrt{x}}{\log x}\right).

This conjecture predicts a one-sided prime-number race for the two congruence classes of the odd square parameter in representations p=a2+4b2p=a^2+4b^2. It is part of the paper's heuristic model for the distribution of D2D_2; the source supplies no proof or resolution.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Lucile Devin, “Discrepancies in the distribution of Gaussian primes”, arXiv:2105.02492 (2025).

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