On the singular series in the prime k-tuple conjecture

Abstract

In the present work a new simple proof of the theorem of Gallagher about the average of the singular series in the Hardy-Littlewood prime k-tuple conjecture is proved (in an even stronger form) which is uniform with respect to k (if the length of the interval $H$ is sufficiently large as a function of $k$). This result of Gallagher played a key role in our original joint work with D. A. Goldston and C. Y. Yildirim, where we showed the existence of infinitely many small gaps between consecutive primes. In the present work some weaker variants of Gallagher`s result are also proved (in an even easier way) which are still sufficient for the above mentioned applications.