A. Dubickas and C. Smyth introduced the metric Mahler measure $$
M_1(α) = \inf\left\{\sum_{n=1}^N M(α_n): N \in \mathbb N, α_1 \cdots α_N = α\right\}, $$ where $M(α)$ denotes the usual (logarithmic) Mahler measure of $α\in \overline{\mathbb Q}$. This definition extends in a natural way to the $t$-metric Mahler measure by replacing the sum with the usual $L_t$ norm of the vector $(M(α_1), \dots, M(α_N))$ for any $t\geq 1$. For $α\in \mathbb Q$, we prove that the infimum in $M_t(α)$ may be attained using only rational points, establishing an earlier conjecture of the second author. We show that the natural analogue of this result fails for general $α\in\overline{\mathbb Q}$ by giving an infinite family of quadratic counterexamples. As part of this construction, we provide an explicit formula to compute $M_t(D^{1/k})$ for a square-free $D \in \mathbb N$.
Following K. Mahler's suggestion for further research on intrinsic approximation on the Cantor ternary set, we obtain a Dirichlet type theorem for the limit sets of rational iterated function systems. We further investigate the behavior of these approximation functions under random translations. We connect the information regarding the distribution of rationals on the limit set encoded in the system to the distribution of rationals in reduced form by proving a Khinchin type theorem. Finally, using a result of S. Ramanujan, we prove a theorem motivating a conjecture regarding the distribution o…
We show how the theory of linear forms in two logarithms allows one to get effective irrationality measures for $n$-th roots of rational numbers ${a \over b}$, when $a$ is very close to $b$. We give a $p$-adic analogue of this result under the assumption that $a$ is $p$-adically very close to $b$, that is, that a large power of $p$ divides $a-b$. As an application, we solve completely certain families of Thue-Mahler equations. Our results illustrate, admittedly in a very special situation, the strength of the known estimates for linear forms in logarithms.
We study the distribution of Mahler's measures of reciprocal polynomials with complex coefficients and bounded even degree. We discover that the distribution function associated to Mahler's measure restricted to monic reciprocal polynomials is a reciprocal (or anti-reciprocal) Laurent polynomial on [1,\infty) and identically zero on [0,1). Moreover, the coefficients of this Laurent polynomial are rational numbers times a power of π. We are led to this discovery by the computation of the Mellin transform of the distribution function. This Mellin transform is an even (or odd) rational function w…
In this paper, we consider the intrinsic Diophantine approximation on the triadic Cantor set $\mathcal{K}$, i.e. approximating the points in $\mathcal{K}$ by rational numbers inside $\mathcal{K}$, a question posed by K. Mahler. By using another height function of a rational number in $\mathcal{K}$, i.e. the denominator obtained from its periodic 3-adic expansion, a complete metric theory for this variant intrinsic Diophantine approximation is presented which yields the divergence theory of Mahler's original question.
In this paper, we give a new proof of a result due to Bezivin that a D-finite Mahler function is necessarily rational. This also gives a new proof of the rational-transcendental dichotomy of Mahler functions due to Nishioka. Using our method of proof, we also provide a new proof of a Polya-Carlson type result for Mahler functions due to Rande; that is, a Mahler function which is meromorphic in the unit disk is either rational or has the unit circle as a natural boundary.
In 1906, Maillet proved that given a non-constant rational function $f$, with rational coefficients, if $ξ$ is a Liouville number, then so is $f(ξ)$. Motivated by this fact, in 1984, Mahler raised the question about the existence of transcendental entire functions with this property. In this work, we provide an uncountable subset of Liouville numbers for which there exists a transcendental entire function taking this set into the set of the Liouville numbers.
We consider Mahler functions $f(z)$ which solve the functional equation $f(z) = \frac{A(z)}{B(z)} f(z^d)$ where $\frac{A(z)}{B(z)}\in \mathbb{Q}(z)$ and $d\ge 2$ is integer. We prove that for any integer $b$ with $|b|\ge 2$ either $f(b)$ is rational or its irrationality exponent is rational. We also compute the exact value of the irrationality exponent for $f(b)$ as soon as the continued fraction for the corresponding Mahler function is known. This improves the result of Bugeaud, Han, Wei and Yao where only an upper bound for the irrationality exponent was provided.
Let $α$ and $β$ be positive real numbers. Let $F(x) \in K[[x^Γ]]$ be a Hahn series. We prove that if $F(x)$ is both $α$-Mahler and $β$-Mahler then it must be a rational function, $F(x) \in K(x)$, assuming some non-degeneracy conditions on $α$ and $β$.
Our aim is to explain instances in which the value of the logarithmic Mahler measure of a polynomial can be written in an unexpectedly neat manner. To this end we examine polynomials defining rational curves, which allows their zero-locus to be parametrized. In these instances the unusual simplification is a consequence of the Galois descent property for Bloch groups. This principle enables one to explain why the arguments of the dilogarithm function depend only on the points where the rational curve intersects the torus |x|=|y|=1. In the process we also present a general method for computing …
Mahler's measure defines a dynamical system on the algebraic numbers. In this paper, we study the problem of which number fields have points which wander under the iteration of Mahler's measure. We completely solve the problem for all abelian number fields, and more generally, for all extensions of the rationals of degree at most five.
E. Maillet proved that the set of Liouville numbers is preserved under rational functions with rational coefficients. Based on this result, a problem posed by Kurt Mahler is to investigate whether there exist entire transcendental functions with this property or not. For large parametrized classes of Liouville numbers, we construct such functions and moreover we show that it can be constructed such that all their derivatives share this property. We use a completely different approach than in a recent paper, where functions with a different invariant subclass of Liouville numbers were construct…
The aim of this paper is to prove a Mahler measure formula of a four-variable Laurent polynomial whose zero locus defines a Calabi-Yau threefold. We show that its Mahler measure is a rational linear combination of a special L-value of the normalized newform in S_4(Gamma_0(8)) and a Riemann zeta value. This is equivalent to a new formula for a 6F5-hypergeometric series evaluated at 1.
If $α$ is a non-zero algebraic number, we let $m(α)$ denote the Mahler measure of the minimal polynomial of $α$ over $\mathbb Z$. A series of articles by Dubickas and Smyth, and later by the author, develop a modified version of the Mahler measure called the $t$-metric Mahler measure, denoted $m_t(α)$. For fixed $α\in \bar{\mathbb Q}$, the map $t\mapsto m_t(α)$ is continuous, and moreover, is infinitely differentiable at all but finitely many points, called {\it exceptional points} for $α$. It remains open to determine whether there is a sequence of elements $α_n\in \bar{\mathbb Q}$ such that …
We express the Mahler measures of $23$ families of Laurent polynomials in terms of Eisenstein-Kronecker series. These Laurent polynomials arise as Landau-Ginzburg potentials on Fano $3$-folds, $16$ of which define $K3$ hypersurfaces of generic Picard rank $19$, and the rest are of generic Picard rank $< 19$. We relate the Mahler measure at each rational singular moduli to the value at $3$ of the $L$-function of some weight-$3$ newform. Moreover, we find $10$ exotic relations among the Mahler measures of these families.
Suppose that $F(x)\in\mathbb{Z}[[x]]$ is a Mahler function and that $1/b$ is in the radius of convergence of $F(x)$. In this paper, we consider the approximation of $F(1/b)$ by algebraic numbers. In particular, we prove that $F(1/b)$ cannot be a Liouville number. If $F(x)$ is also regular, we show that $F(1/b)$ is either rational or transcendental, and in the latter case that $F(1/b)$ is an $S$-number or a $T$-number.
About fifty years ago Mahler proved that if $α>1$ is rational but not an integer and if $0<l<1$ then the fractional part of $α^n$ is $>l^n$ apart from a finite set of integers $n$ depending on $α$ and $l$. Answering completely a question of Mahler we show that the same conclusion holds for all algebraic numbers which are not $d$-th roots of Pisot numbers. By related methods, we also answer a question by Mendes France, characterizing completely the quadratic irrationals $α$ such that the continued fraction of $α^n$ has period length tending to infinity.
Relating Mahler measures and Dirichlet $L$-values: new evidence for Chinburg's conjectures
Mathematisch Instituut Universiteit Utrecht（乌得勒支大学数学研究所）；Max Planck Institute for Mathematics（马克斯·普朗克数学研究所）；Département de mathématiques et de statistique Université de Montréal（蒙特利尔大学数学与统计系）
In 1994, Becker conjectured that if $F(z)$ is a $k$-regular power series, then there exists a $k$-regular rational function $R(z)$ such that $F(z)/R(z)$ satisfies a Mahler-type functional equation with polynomial coefficients where the initial coefficient satisfies $a_0(z)=1$. In this paper, we prove Becker's conjecture in the best-possible form; we show that the rational function $R(z)$ can be taken to be a polynomial $z^γQ(z)$ for some explicit non-negative integer $γ$ and such that $1/Q(z)$ is $k$-regular.
We first recall the connection, going back to A. Thue, between rational approximation to algebraic numbers and integer solutions of some Diophantine equations. Next we recall the equivalence between several finiteness results on various Diophantine equations. We also give many equivalent statements of Mahler's generalization of the fundamental theorem of Thue. In particular, we show that the theorem of Thue--Mahler for degree $3$ implies the theorem of Thue--Mahler for arbitrary degree $\ge3$, and we relate it with a theorem of Siegel on the rational integral points of the projective line $¶^1…
For an algebraic number $α$, the metric Mahler measure $m_1(α)$ was first studied by Dubickas and Smyth in 2001 and was later generalized to the $t$-metric Mahler measure $m_t(α)$ by the author in 2010. The definition of $m_t(α)$ involves taking an infimum over a certain collection $N$-tuples of points in $\overline{\mathbb Q}$, and from previous work of Jankauskas and the author, the infimum in the definition of $m_t(α)$ is attained by rational points when $α\in \mathbb Q$. As a consequence of our main theorem in this article, we obtain an analog of this result when $\mathbb Q$ is replaced wi…
The problem of the classification of the indefinite binary quadratic forms with integer coefficients is solved introducing a special partition of the de Sitter world, where the coefficients of the forms lie, into separate domains. Every class of indefinite forms, under the action of the special linear group acting on the integer plane lattice, has a finite and well defined number of representatives inside each one of such domains. This property belongs exclusively to rational points on the one-sheeted hyperboloid. In the second part we will show how to obtain the symmetry type of a class as we…
It is a classical result of Mahler that for any rational number $α$ > 1 which is not an integer and any real 0 < c < 1, the set of positive integers n such that $α$ n < c n is necessarily finite. Here for any real x, x denotes the distance from its nearest integer. The problem of classifying all real algebraic numbers greater than one exhibiting the above phenomenon was suggested by Mahler. This was solved by a beautiful work of Corvaja and Zannier. On the other hand, for non-zero real numbers $λ$ and $α$ with $α$ > 1, Hardy about a century ago asked ''In what circumstances can it be true that…
In Cogdell et al., \it LMS Lecture Notes Series \bf 459, \rm 393--427 (2020), \rm the authors proved an analogue of Kronecker's limit formula associated to any divisor $\mathcal D$ which is smooth in codimension one on any smooth Kähler manifold $X$. In the present article, we apply the aforementioned Kronecker limit formula in the case when $X$ is complex projective space $\CC\PP^n$ for $n \geq 2$ and $\mathcal D$ is a hyperplane, meaning the divisor of a linear form $P_D({z})$ for ${z} = (\mathcal{Z}_{j}) \in \CC\PP^n$. Our main result is an explicit evaluation of the Mahler measure of $P_{D…
Let g be a nonconstant rational map from the projective line to itself that has degree greater than one and is defined over a number field. The map g gives rise to generalized Mahler measures for polynomials in one variable. We use diophantine approximation to show that the generalized Mahler measure of a polynomial F at a place v can be computed by averaging the log of the v-adic absolute value of F over the periodic points of g. This allows us to compute canonical heights of algebraic points via equidistribution on periodic points.
Let $f : [0,1)\rightarrow [0,1)$ be a $2$-interval piecewise affine increasing map which is injective but not surjective. Such a map $f$ has a rotation number and can be parametrized by three real numbers. We make fully explicit the dynamics of $f$ thanks to two specific functions $δ$ and $ϕ$ depending on these parameters whose definitions involve Hecke-Mahler series. As an application, we show that the rotation number of $f$ is rational, when the three parameters are algebraic numbers.
In 1984, K. Mahler asked how well elements in the Cantor middle third set can be approximated by rational numbers from that set, and by rational numbers outside of that set. We consider more general missing digit sets $C$ and construct numbers in $C$ that are arbitrarily well approximable by rationals in $C$, but badly approximable by rationals outside of $C$. More precisely, we construct them so that all but finitely many of their convergents lie in $C$.
Let $p$ be a prime number. We develop a theory of $p$-adic Mahler measure of polynomials and apply it to the study of $\mathbb{Z}$-covers of rational homology 3-spheres branched over links. We obtain a $p$-adic analogue of the asymptotic formula of the torsion homology growth and a balance formula among the leading coefficient of the Alexander polynomial, the $p$-adic entropy, and the Iwasawa $μ_p$-invariant. We also apply the purely $p$-adic theory of Besser--Deninger to $\mathbb{Z}$-covers of links. In addition, we study the entropies of profinite cyclic covers of links. We examine various e…
For every complex number $x$, let $\Vert x\Vert_{\mathbb{Z}}:=\min\{|x-m|:\ m\in\mathbb{Z}\}$. Let $K$ be a number field, let $k\in\mathbb{N}$, and let $α_1,\ldots,α_k$ be non-zero algebraic numbers. In this paper, we completely solve the problem of the existence of $θ\in (0,1)$ such that there are infinitely many tuples $(n,q_1,\ldots,q_k)$ satisfying $\Vert q_1α_1^n+\ldots+q_kα_k^n\Vert_{\mathbb{Z}}<θ^n$ where $n\in\mathbb{N}$ and $q_1,\ldots,q_k\in K^*$ having small logarithmic height compared to $n$. In the special case when $q_1,\ldots,q_k$ have the form $q_i=qc_i$ for fixed $c_1,\ldots,c…
For $p \in \mathbb{Q}_+ \smallsetminus \{ 1 \}$ a positive rational number different from one, we say that the Puisseux series $f \in \mathbb{C}((t))^\text{alg}$ is $p$-Mahler of non-exceptional polynomial type if there is a polynomial $P \in \mathbb{C}(t)^\text{alg}[X]$ of degree at least two which is not conjugate to either a monomial or to plus or minus a Chebyshev polynomial for which the equation $f(t^p) = P(f(t))$ holds. We show that if $p$ and $q$ are multiplicatively independent and $f$ and $g$ are $p$-Mahler and $q$-Mahler, respectively, of non-exceptional polynomial type, then $f$ an…
We continue to investigate the relation between the Mahler measure of certain two variable polynomials, the values of the Bloch--Wigner dilogarithm $D(z)$ and the values $ζ_F(2)$ of zeta functions of number fields. Specifically, we define a class $\A$ of polynomials $A$ with the property that $πm(A)$ is a linear combination of values $D$ at algebraic arguments. For many polynomials in this class the corresponding argument of $D$ is in the Bloch group, which leads to formulas expressing $πm(A)$ as a linear combination with unspecified rational coefficients of $V_F$ for certain number fields $F$…
We show that Mahler's classification of real numbers $ζ$ with respect to the growth of the sequence $(w_{n}(ζ))_{n\geq 1}$ is equivalently induced by certain natural assumptions on the decay of the sequence $(λ_{n}(ζ))_{n\geq 1}$ concerning simultaneous rational approximation. Thereby we obtain a much clearer picture on simultaneous approximation to successive powers of a real number in general. Another variant of the Mahler classification concerning uniform approximation by algebraic numbers is shown as well. Our method has several applications to classic exponents of Diophantine approximatio…
We establish various new results on a problem proposed by K. Mahler in 1984 concerning rational approximation to fractal sets by rational numbers inside and outside the set in question, respectively. Some of them provide a natural continuation and improvement of recent results of Broderick, Fishman and Reich and Fishman and Simmons. A key feature is that many of our new results apply to more general, multi-dimensional fractal sets and require only mild assumptions on the iterated function system. Moreover we provide a non-trivial lower bound for the distance of a rational number $p/q$ outside …
Number systems with a rational number $a/b > 1$ as base have gained interest in recent years. In particular, relations to Mahler's 3/2-problem as well as the Josephus problem have been established. In the present paper we show that the patterns of digits in the representations of positive integers in such a number system are uniformly distributed. We study the sum-of-digits function of number systems with rational base $a/b$ and use representations w.r.t. this base to construct normal numbers in base $a$ in the spirit of Champernowne. The main challenge in our proofs comes from the fact that t…
Mahler's measure is generalized to create the class of {\it multiplicative distance functions}. These functions measure the complexity of polynomials based on the location of their zeros in the complex plane. Following work of S.-J. Chern and J. Vaaler in \cite{chern-vaaler}, we associate to each multiplicative distance function two families of analytic functions which encode information about its range on \C[x] and \R[x]. These {\it moment functions} are Mellin transforms of distribution functions associated to the multiplicative distance function and demonstrate a great deal of arithmetic st…
Let $P, Q\in \mathbb{F}_q[X]\setminus\{0\}$ be two coprime polynomials over the finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ with $\operatorname{deg}{P} > \operatorname{deg}{Q}$. We represent each polynomial $w$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$ by \[w=\sum_{i=0}^k\frac{s_i}{Q}{\left(\frac{P}{Q}\right)}^i\] using a rational base $P/Q$ and digits $s_i\in\mathbb{F}_q[X]$ satisfying $\operatorname{deg}{s_i} < \operatorname{deg}{P}$. Digit expansions of this type are also defined for formal Laurent series over $\mathbb{F}_q$. We prove uniqueness and automatic properties of these expansions. Although the $ω$-language of the poss…
While Roth's theorem states that the irrationality measure of all the irrational algebraic numbers is 2, and the same holds true over function fields in characteristic zero, some counter-examples were found over function fields in positive characteristic. This was put forward first by Mahler in 1949, in his fundamental paper on Diophantine approximation \cite{M}. It seems that, except for particular elements, as power series with bounded partial quotients, Roth's theorem holds. Until now, only one element, with unbounded partial quotients, discovered by Mills and Robbins \cite{MR} in 1986, has…
Let $0<λ<1$. We consider the one-parameter family of circle $λ$-affine contractions $f_δ:x \in [0,1) \mapsto λx + δ\; {\rm mod}\,1 $, where $0 \le δ<1$. Let $ρ$ be the rotation number of the map $f_δ$. We will give some numerical relations between the values of $λ,δ$ and $ρ$, essentially using Hecke-Mahler series and a tree structure. When both parameters $λ$ and $δ$ are algebraic numbers, we show that $ρ$ is a rational number. Moreover, in the case $λ$ and $δ$ are rational, we give an explicit upper bound for the height of $ρ$ under an assumption on $λ$.
The irrationality exponent of an irrational number $ξ$, which measures the approximation rate of $ξ$ by rationals, is in general extremely difficult to compute explicitly, unless we know the continued fraction expansion of $ξ$. Results obtained so far are rather fragmentary, and often treated case by case. In this work, we shall unify all the known results on the subject by showing that the irrationality exponents of large classes of automatic numbers and Mahler numbers (which are transcendental) are exactly equal to $2$. Our classes contain the Thue--Morse--Mahler numbers, the sum of the reci…
Let $\C{G}(z):=\sum_{n=0}^\infty z^{2^n}(1-z^{2^n})^{-1}$ denote the generating function of the ruler function, and $\C{F}(z):=\sum_{n=0}^\infty z^{2^n}(1+z^{2^n})^{-1}$; note that the special value $\C{F}(1/2)$ is the sum of the reciprocals of the Fermat numbers $F_n:=2^{2^n}+1$. The functions $\C{F}(z)$ and $\C{G}(z)$ as well as their special values have been studied by Mahler, Golomb, Schwarz, and Duverney; it is known that the numbers $\C{F}(\ga)$ and $\C{G}(\ga)$ are transcendental for all algebraic numbers $\ga$ which satisfy $0<\ga<1$. For a sequence $\mathbf{u}$, denote the Hankel matr…
This work addresses problems on simultaneous Diophantine approximation on fractals, motivated by a long standing problem of Mahler regarding Cantor's middle $1/3$ set. We obtain the first instances where a complete analogue of Khintchine's Theorem holds for fractal measures. Our results apply to fractals which are self-similar by a system of rational similarities of $\mathbb{R}^d$ (for any $d\geq 1$) and have sufficiently small Hausdorff co-dimension. A concrete example of such measures in the context of Mahler's problem is the Hausdorff measure on the "middle $1/5$ Cantor set"; i.e. the set o…
