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Analysis of the Riemann Zeta Function via Recursive Taylor Expansions

Published 5 Mar 2026 in math.NT | (2603.05122v1)

Abstract: We present an unconditional proof that non-trivial zeros of the Riemann Zeta function must lie strictly on the critical line Re(s)=0.5\text{Re}(s) = 0.5. By defining a recursive path of Taylor expansions originating from the domain of absolute convergence, we translate the zeta function towards the critical region, which is an easy-to-understand form of the analytical continuation. We then assume the existence of off-critical-line (off-line) zeros, which exist in pairs symmetric by the critical line. If the pairs are zero in value, their real and imaginary components differences should be both zero. However, we derive a contradiction against the assumption via basic logical deduction, proving the non-existence of the off-line zeros.

Authors (1)

Summary

  • The paper constructs analytic continuation of the Riemann zeta function through overlapping Taylor-expansion disks and derives explicit real and imaginary recurrences from a base point in the convergence region.
  • The paper argues that symmetric off-line zeros would force simultaneous cancellation of real and imaginary differences, then uses graph-based imbalance and log-convexity arguments to claim such cancellation is impossible.
  • The paper’s central conclusion remains unverified because it does not fully justify infinite-sum rearrangements, coefficient growth, global trigonometric factors, or the claimed coverage of the critical strip.

Overview

This paper presents an attempted unconditional proof of the Riemann Hypothesis via a recursive Taylor-expansion construction of the analytic continuation of ζ(s)\zeta(s). The author constructs a "chained disk" path of Taylor expansions starting from a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i in the domain of absolute convergence, derives explicit real and imaginary representations of the continued function along this path, and then argues that two points symmetric about the critical line cannot both be zeros because their real and imaginary component differences (RealDiff and ImagDiff) cannot simultaneously vanish. The claimed conclusion is that all non-trivial zeros lie on Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/2. The argument is elementary in character: no deep tools beyond the Dirichlet series, the functional equation, and the Schwarz reflection principle are used.

Recursive Taylor continuation via chained disks

The construction begins at a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i, where all mixed partial derivatives of ζ(s)\zeta(s) can be computed termwise from the absolutely convergent Dirichlet series:

∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},

whose real and imaginary parts involve cos⁡(π2θ20+2ln⁡n)\cos(\tfrac{\pi}{2}\theta_2^0 + 2\ln n) and −sin⁡(π2θ20+2ln⁡n)-\sin(\tfrac{\pi}{2}\theta_2^0 + 2\ln n) respectively.

The path consists of vertical shifts of length $0.5$ (final step v2∈[0,0.5]v_2 \in [0,0.5]), followed by three leftward steps of a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i0 and a final horizontal shift a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i1. Each disk of radius a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i2 overlaps the next, with the top tip of one disk serving as the center of the next; since all disks avoid the pole at a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i3, each Taylor expansion is valid on its disk, and the coefficients propagate recursively through a multi-index recurrence a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i4 defined by summing over higher-order coefficients from the previous stage with binomial weights in the purely real step vector a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i5.

Because every geometric shift a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i6 is real, the real/imaginary split established at the base propagates exactly through the chain: the coefficients a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i7 and a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i8 satisfy identical recurrences with real multipliers. Unrolling the recursion produces nested summations linking stage-a0=2+2ia_0 = 2 + 2i9 coefficients to the base derivatives at Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/20. This yields an explicit algebraic form of analytic continuation covering the upper critical strip above Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/21; the lower half is handled by conjugate symmetry (Appendix B).

Symmetric-pair differences

The core object is the difference between evaluations at symmetric off-line points Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/22 and Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/23. Appendix A establishes, correctly and standardly, that if Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/24 then Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/25: real Dirichlet coefficients give Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/26, and within the critical strip the prefactor of the functional equation is non-vanishing, so zeros reflect across both the critical line and the real axis, forming a symmetric quartet. Hence RealDiff Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/27 is a necessary condition for any off-line zero.

After collapsing constant factors into Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/28 and applying trigonometric addition formulas, the difference decomposes into two terms indexed by Re⁡(s)=1/2\operatorname{Re}(s) = 1/29 and a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i0. Because a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i1 determines whether each base component contributes positively/negatively and real/imaginary, the sums partition into four residue classes modulo 4.

The imbalance argument

For fixed a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i2 and a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i3, the base component magnitude as a function of a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i4 is proportional to a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i5, which the author classifies into graph types: Type A (identically zero, a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i6), Type B (monotone decreasing, a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i7), Type C (unimodal, concave before peak), and Type D (unimodal with an inflection). Under an assumed positivity balance (a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i8), the positivity graph serves as a "ground truth" shape; the realness graph, built from the same magnitudes grouped differently (indices 0,2 versus 0,1), differs by exactly a0=2+2ia_0 = 2+2i9 per index group. Summing over groups yields a systematic shortfall: the real area falls short of the positive area by ζ(s)\zeta(s)0 while the imaginary area exceeds the negative area by only ζ(s)\zeta(s)1, producing an "imaginary overflow" that forbids single-term cancellation. Appendix D proves the required asymmetry rigorously via log-convexity of ζ(s)\zeta(s)2: using ζ(s)\zeta(s)3 (from ζ(s)\zeta(s)4) and Jensen's inequality, the right tail after the mode strictly dominates the mirrored left tail.

The cross-term analysis compares Term 1 and Term 2: the Term 2 imaginary area always dominates the Term 1 imaginary area (its region lies after the larger right side of the turning point), while the Term 2 real area is smaller. Cross-term balance would require simultaneously ζ(s)\zeta(s)5 and ζ(s)\zeta(s)6 for the weights ζ(s)\zeta(s)7 attached to the cosine and sine factors — a direct contradiction.

A notable structural claim is that non-exact turnings-point groupings are impossible: the paper argues the turning point must fall exactly at index 3 within each residue cycle, since positions 0, 1, or 2 contradict either the sign assignment or smoothness (ζ(s)\zeta(s)8 near-coincident indices). This exactness is what makes the per-group inequalities globally consistent.

Limitations and open questions

Several aspects of the argument warrant scrutiny. First, the contradiction rests on treating the sums ζ(s)\zeta(s)9 as areas whose pairwise comparisons transfer across the infinite double sum over ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},0 and ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},1; the paper does not establish absolute convergence or justify interchange of the order of summation and comparison for these conditionally structured quantities. Second, the cross-term argument introduces constants ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},2 and ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},3 ("caused by the different ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},4 and ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},5 factors") without defining them precisely; since ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},6 and ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},7 vary with ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},8, factoring them out as global constants is not obviously legitimate. Third, the classification of base-component graphs assumes the mode location behaves uniformly across the relevant range of ∂(θ10,θ20)ζ(a0)=(−1)θ10(−i)θ20∑n=1∞n−2(ln⁡n)θ10+θ20e−i 2ln⁡n,\partial^{(\theta_1^0,\theta_2^0)}\zeta(a_0) = (-1)^{\theta_1^0}(-i)^{\theta_2^0}\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-2}(\ln n)^{\theta_1^0+\theta_2^0} e^{-i\,2\ln n},9, and the treatment of Type A/B cases (cos⁡(π2θ20+2ln⁡n)\cos(\tfrac{\pi}{2}\theta_2^0 + 2\ln n)0) is brief. Fourth, the claim that the construction covers the entire strip above cos⁡(π2θ20+2ln⁡n)\cos(\tfrac{\pi}{2}\theta_2^0 + 2\ln n)1 requires that the finite number of chained disks suffices for arbitrarily large cos⁡(π2θ20+2ln⁡n)\cos(\tfrac{\pi}{2}\theta_2^0 + 2\ln n)2 with controlled coefficient growth; no error or convergence bound for the unrolled nested sums is given. Finally, the paper's own remark that the proof "shows it is possible to have 0 on the critical line itself" indicates the method distinguishes on-line from off-line behavior but does not itself construct or verify on-line zeros. Whether the area-comparison inequalities survive rigorous regularization of the infinite sums is the central open question left by the manuscript.

Conclusion

The paper proposes a self-contained route to the Riemann Hypothesis: an explicit recursive Taylor representation of the analytic continuation, reduction of off-line zeros to a necessary vanishing condition on symmetric differences, and a combinatorial-graphical demonstration that this condition fails due to systematic real/imaginary area imbalances. The symmetry preliminaries are standard and sound, and the log-convexity lemma in the appendix is proved carefully. The decisive step — the global imbalance deduction over infinite sums with undetermined constants — remains the point where independent verification is most needed.

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