A New Sieve Framework Circumventing the Parity Problem

The parity problem is a fundamental limitation in classical sieve theory: any sieve based on a self-dual quadratic form cannot distinguish integers with an odd number of prime factors from those with an even number. In this paper, we construct a new sieve framework that circumvents this barrier. The framework rests on three pillars: (1) a linear (non-quadratic) counting function, (2) a parameter space with CRT product structure enabling mean-square estimation, and (3) a Product Decomposition Theorem that provides strong algebraic cancellation of off-diagonal terms. We prove rigorously that the classical parity problem theorem does not apply to this framework, both formally (the counting function lacks the self-dual quadratic form) and substantively (the estimation chain never degenerates into a quadratic form). The framework demonstrates that the parity barrier, long considered intrinsic to sieve theory, is actually an artifact of the quadratic algebraic structure employed by classical sieves.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-05-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20407171
Primary Topic
Analytic Number Theory Research
Type
preprint
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preprint

A New Sieve Framework Circumventing the Parity Problem

Haizhu Wu
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Analytic Number Theory Research
preprint

A New Sieve Framework Circumventing the Parity Problem

Haizhu Wu
preprint en

Abstract

The parity problem is a fundamental limitation in classical sieve theory: any sieve based on a self-dual quadratic form cannot distinguish integers with an odd number of prime factors from those with an even number. In this paper, we construct a new sieve framework that circumvents this barrier. The framework rests on three pillars: (1) a linear (non-quadratic) counting function, (2) a parameter space with CRT product structure enabling mean-square estimation, and (3) a Product Decomposition Theorem that provides strong algebraic cancellation of off-diagonal terms. We prove rigorously that the classical parity problem theorem does not apply to this framework, both formally (the counting function lacks the self-dual quadratic form) and substantively (the estimation chain never degenerates into a quadratic form). The framework demonstrates that the parity barrier, long considered intrinsic to sieve theory, is actually an artifact of the quadratic algebraic structure employed by classical sieves.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Analytic Number Theory Research
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