Small gaps between primes

Abstract

We introduce a refinement of the GPY sieve method for studying prime $k$-tuples and small gaps between primes. This refinement avoids previous limitations of the method and allows us to show that for each $k$, the prime $k$-tuples conjecture holds for a positive proportion of admissible $k$-tuples. In particular, $\liminf_{n}(p_{n+m}-p_n)<\infty$ for every integer $m$. We also show that $\liminf(p_{n+1}-p_n)\le 600$ and, if we assume the Elliott-Halberstam conjecture, that $\liminf_n(p_{n+1}-p_n)\le 12$ and $\liminf_n (p_{n+2}-p_n)\le 600$.

Authors

James Maynard

Magdalen College, Oxford, Oxford OX1 4AU, United Kingdom