Arithmetic functions and learning theory

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Hauptverfasser: Burstein, W., Iosevich, A., Sant, A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Burstein, W.
Iosevich, A.
Sant, A.
author_facet Burstein, W.
Iosevich, A.
Sant, A.
contents We establish a connection between analytic number theory and computational learning theory by showing that the Möbius function belongs to a class of functions that is statistically hard to learn from random samples. Let $μ_R$ denote the restriction of the Möbius function to the squarefree integers in $\{1,\dots,R\}$. Using a recent lower bound of Pandey and Radziwiłł for the $L^1$ norm of exponential sums with Möbius coefficients, we prove that \[ \FR(μ_R) \gg R^{-1/4-ε} \] for every $ε>0$. We then show that, for a suitable absolute constant $c_0>0$, the class of $\{-1,1\}$-valued functions on the squarefree integers with Fourier Ratio at least $c_0$ has Vapnik--Chervonenkis dimension at least $cR$. It follows that any distribution-independent learning algorithm that succeeds uniformly on the class $\mathcal{H}_R(η_R)$ containing $μ_R$, where $η_R \to 0$, requires at least $Ω(R)$ samples. We also discuss a conditional improvement under a strong uniform bound for additive twists of the Möbius function, and we note that the same method applies to the Liouville function.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_14482
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Arithmetic functions and learning theory
Burstein, W.
Iosevich, A.
Sant, A.
Number Theory
Classical Analysis and ODEs
Statistics Theory
42B10, 42B05, 58J51, 35P20, 68Q32
We establish a connection between analytic number theory and computational learning theory by showing that the Möbius function belongs to a class of functions that is statistically hard to learn from random samples. Let $μ_R$ denote the restriction of the Möbius function to the squarefree integers in $\{1,\dots,R\}$. Using a recent lower bound of Pandey and Radziwiłł for the $L^1$ norm of exponential sums with Möbius coefficients, we prove that \[ \FR(μ_R) \gg R^{-1/4-ε} \] for every $ε>0$. We then show that, for a suitable absolute constant $c_0>0$, the class of $\{-1,1\}$-valued functions on the squarefree integers with Fourier Ratio at least $c_0$ has Vapnik--Chervonenkis dimension at least $cR$. It follows that any distribution-independent learning algorithm that succeeds uniformly on the class $\mathcal{H}_R(η_R)$ containing $μ_R$, where $η_R \to 0$, requires at least $Ω(R)$ samples. We also discuss a conditional improvement under a strong uniform bound for additive twists of the Möbius function, and we note that the same method applies to the Liouville function.
title Arithmetic functions and learning theory
topic Number Theory
Classical Analysis and ODEs
Statistics Theory
42B10, 42B05, 58J51, 35P20, 68Q32
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14482