The shape of quadratic Gauss paths

Justine Dell, Djordje Milićević

Published: 2025/8/29

Abstract

We consider the distribution of quadratic Gauss paths, polygonal paths joining partial sums of quadratic Gauss sums to square-free fundamental discriminant moduli in a dyadic range [Q,2Q]. We prove that this striking ensemble converges in law, as Q->\infty, to a random Fourier series we explicitly describe, and we prove a convergence in probability result and a classification result for the limiting shapes that explain the visually remarkable properties of these Gauss paths.

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