Operator-valued zeta functions and Fourier analysis

Abstract: The Riemann zeta function $\zeta(s)$ is defined as the infinite sum $\sum_{n=1}^\infty n^{-s}$, which converges when ${\rm Re}\,s>1$. The Riemann hypothesis asserts that the nontrivial zeros of $\zeta(s)$ lie on the line ${\rm Re}\,s= \frac{1}{2}$. Thus, to find these zeros it is necessary to perform an analytic continuation to a region of complex $s$ for which the defining sum does not converge. This analytic continuation is ordinarily performed by using a functional equation. In this paper it is argued that one can investigate some properties of the Riemann zeta function in the region ${\rm Re}\,s<1$ by allowing operator-valued zeta functions to act on test functions. As an illustration, it is shown that the locations of the trivial zeros can be determined purely from a Fourier series, without relying on an explicit analytic continuation of the functional equation satisfied by $\zeta(s)$.