A generalization of the Titchmarsh divisor problem

Abstract

Let $d^{(k)}(n)$ be the $k$-free divisor function for integer $k\ge2$. Let $a$ be a nonzero integer. In this paper, we establish an asymptotic formula \begin{equation*} \sum_{p\leq x} d^{(k)}(p-a) =b_k \cdot x+O\left(\frac{x}{\log x}\right) \end{equation*} related to the Titchmarsh divisor problem, where $b_k$ is a positive constant dependent on $k$ and $a$. For the proof, we apply a result of Felix and show a general asymptotic formula for a class of arithmetic functions including the unitary divisor function, $k$-free divisor function and the proper Pillai's function.