The distribution of intermediate prime factors

Abstract

Let $P^{\left(\frac 12\right)}(n)$ denote the middle prime factor of $n$ (taking into account multiplicity). More generally, one can consider, for any $\alpha \in (0,1)$, the $\alpha$-positioned prime factor of $n$, $P^{(\alpha)}(n)$. It has previously been shown that $\log \log P^{(\alpha)}(n)$ has normal order $\alpha \log \log x$, and its values follow a Gaussian distribution around this value. We extend this work by obtaining an asymptotic formula for the count of $n\leq x$ for which $P^{(\alpha)}(n)=p$, for primes $p$ in a wide range up to $x$. We give several applications of these results, including an exploration of the geometric mean of the middle prime factors, for which we find that $\frac 1x \sum_{1<n \le x} \log P^{\left(\frac 12 \right)}(n) \sim A(\log x)^{\varphi-1}$, where $\varphi$ is the golden ratio, and $A$ is an explicit constant. Along the way, we obtain an extension of Lichtman's recent work on the ``dissected'' Mertens' theorem sums $\sum_{\substack{P^+(n) \le y \\ \Omega(n)=k}} \frac{1}{n}$ for large values of $k$.