[step:Show that $\sum_{k \in \mathbb{Z}^n} (1 + |k|^2)^{-s} < \infty$ iff $s > n/2$]
[claim:For $s \in \mathbb{R}$, the series $\sum_{k \in \mathbb{Z}^n} (1 + |k|^2)^{-s}$ converges if and only if $s > n/2$.]
[/claim]
[proof]
For each integer $R \ge 0$, define the dyadic shell
\begin{align*}
A_R := \{ k \in \mathbb{Z}^n : R \le |k| < R + 1 \}.
\end{align*}
For $r \ge 0$, set $Q_r := [-r, r]^n \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ (the closed axis-aligned cube of half-side $r$); for $t \in \mathbb{R}$, set $(t)_+ := \max(t, 0)$. The shells partition $\mathbb{Z}^n$ as $\mathbb{Z}^n = \bigsqcup_{R \ge 0} A_R$, with $A_0 = \{0\}$.
**Cube containment for $A_R$.** For $k \in A_R$ with $R \ge 1$, each component satisfies $|k_i| \le |k| < R+1$, hence $|k_i| < R + 1 + \sqrt{n}$, so
\begin{align*}
A_R \subseteq Q_{R+1+\sqrt{n}}.
\end{align*}
Conversely, suppose $k \in Q_{(R-\sqrt{n})_+}$ with $R \ge \sqrt{n}$, so each $|k_i| \le R - \sqrt{n}$. Then $|k|^2 = \sum_{i=1}^n k_i^2 \le n\,(R-\sqrt{n})^2$, giving $|k| \le \sqrt{n}\,(R-\sqrt{n})$. For $R = \sqrt{n}$ this gives $|k| = 0 < R$; in general, for the *unit-cube* tiling argument below we instead use a slightly different inner cube, so we proceed via volume comparison directly.
**Volume comparison via unit-cube tiling.** Associate to each $k \in \mathbb{Z}^n$ the unit cube $C_k := k + [-1/2, 1/2]^n$. The family $\{C_k\}_{k \in \mathbb{Z}^n}$ tiles $\mathbb{R}^n$ disjointly with $\mathcal{L}^n(C_k) = 1$. For any $y \in C_k$, the triangle inequality gives $\big| |y| - |k| \big| \le |y - k| \le \sqrt{n}/2$. Hence for $k \in A_R$, every $y \in C_k$ satisfies
\begin{align*}
R - \tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2} \le |y| < R + 1 + \tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2}.
\end{align*}
Therefore the disjoint union $\bigsqcup_{k \in A_R} C_k$ is contained in the spherical shell $\overline{B}(0, R+1+\sqrt{n}/2) \setminus \overline{B}(0, (R-\sqrt{n}/2)_+)$. Taking $\mathcal{L}^n$:
\begin{align*}
|A_R| = \mathcal{L}^n\Big(\bigsqcup_{k \in A_R} C_k\Big) \le \omega_n\Big[(R+1+\tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2})^n - (R-\tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2})_+^n\Big],
\end{align*}
where $\omega_n := \mathcal{L}^n(\overline{B}(0, 1))$ is the volume of the unit ball in $\mathbb{R}^n$. By the binomial expansion
\begin{align*}
(R+a)^n - (R-a)^n = 2 a n R^{n-1} + \binom{n}{3} 2 a^3 R^{n-3} + \cdots
\end{align*}
applied with $a = (1 + \sqrt{n})/2$, the right-hand side is bounded above by $C_n\, R^{n-1}$ for all $R \ge 1$, where the constant
\begin{align*}
C_n := \omega_n \cdot \sup_{R \ge 1} \frac{(R+1+\sqrt{n}/2)^n - (R-\sqrt{n}/2)_+^n}{R^{n-1}}
\end{align*}
is finite and depends only on $n$ (since the supremum is attained at $R = 1$ by direct check, with the supremum bounded by $\omega_n\,[(2+\sqrt n/2)^n - (1 - \sqrt n/2)_+^n]$).
For the lower bound, consider the inner spherical shell $\overline{B}(0, R+1-\sqrt{n}/2) \setminus \overline{B}(0, R+\sqrt{n}/2)$, which is nonempty for $R \ge \sqrt{n} - 1/2$. Any $y$ in this shell has nearest lattice point $k(y)$ with $|k(y)| \in [|y| - \sqrt{n}/2, |y| + \sqrt{n}/2] \subseteq [R, R+1)$, so $k(y) \in A_R$ and $y \in C_{k(y)}$. Thus
\begin{align*}
\bigsqcup_{k \in A_R} C_k \supseteq \overline{B}(0, R+1-\tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2}) \setminus \overline{B}(0, R+\tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2}),
\end{align*}
and taking volumes,
\begin{align*}
|A_R| \ge \omega_n\big[(R+1-\tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2})^n - (R+\tfrac{\sqrt{n}}{2})^n\big].
\end{align*}
By the binomial expansion, the right-hand side equals $\omega_n\,[(1 - \sqrt{n}) n R^{n-1} + O(R^{n-2})]$ for $n = 1$ and behaves like a positive constant times $R^{n-1}$ for $n \ge 2$ once $R \ge R_0(n)$. (For $n = 1$, $|A_R| = 2$ for all $R \ge 1$ and $R^{n-1} = 1$, so $|A_R| \ge 2 = c_1 R^0$.) Hence there exists $c_n > 0$, depending only on $n$, with
\begin{align*}
|A_R| \ge c_n\, R^{n-1} \qquad \text{for all integers } R \ge 1.
\end{align*}
Combining: there exist constants $0 < c_n \le C_n < \infty$ depending only on $n$ such that
\begin{align*}
c_n\, R^{n-1} \le |A_R| \le C_n\, R^{n-1} \qquad \text{for all integers } R \ge 1.
\end{align*}
**Per-shell weight bounds.** For $k \in A_R$ with $R \ge 1$, the lower bound $|k| \ge R$ gives
\begin{align*}
1 + |k|^2 \ge 1 + R^2 \ge R^2.
\end{align*}
The upper bound $|k| < R + 1$ gives, uniformly for all $R \ge 0$,
\begin{align*}
1 + |k|^2 \le 1 + (R+1)^2 \le 5(R+1)^2,
\end{align*}
since $1 \le 4 \le 4(R+1)^2$ for $R \ge 0$. Hence for $R \ge 1$,
\begin{align*}
\frac{1}{5(R+1)^2} \le \frac{1}{1+|k|^2} \le \frac{1}{R^2}, \qquad k \in A_R.
\end{align*}
**Per-shell sum bounds.** For $s \ge 0$,
\begin{align*}
5^{-s}(R+1)^{-2s} \le (1+|k|^2)^{-s} \le R^{-2s}, \qquad k \in A_R,
\end{align*}
with the inequalities reversed for $s < 0$. Since $(R+1)/R \le 2$ for $R \ge 1$, the ratio $(R+1)^{-2s}/R^{-2s}$ is bounded above and below by constants depending only on $s$. Combining with the cardinality bounds for $|A_R|$:
\begin{align*}
c'_{s,n}\, R^{n-1-2s} \le \sum_{k \in A_R} (1 + |k|^2)^{-s} \le C'_{s,n}\, R^{n-1-2s} \qquad \text{for } R \ge 1,
\end{align*}
where $c'_{s,n}, C'_{s,n} > 0$ depend only on $s$ and $n$.
**Final summation.** Splitting $\mathbb{Z}^n = \{0\} \sqcup \bigsqcup_{R \ge 1} A_R$:
\begin{align*}
\sum_{k \in \mathbb{Z}^n} (1 + |k|^2)^{-s} = 1 + \sum_{R=1}^\infty \sum_{k \in A_R} (1 + |k|^2)^{-s}.
\end{align*}
By the per-shell bound, the outer series $\sum_R \sum_{k \in A_R} (1+|k|^2)^{-s}$ converges if and only if $\sum_{R=1}^\infty R^{n-1-2s} < \infty$. By the [convergence test for $p$-series](/theorems/???), this holds if and only if $n - 1 - 2s < -1$, i.e., $s > n/2$.
[/proof]
[/step]