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On the set of zero coefficients of a function satisfying a linear differential equation

Number Theory 2015-05-28 v1 Combinatorics

Abstract

Let KK be a field of characteristic zero and suppose that f:NKf:\mathbb{N}\to K satisfies a recurrence of the form f(n) = i=1dPi(n)f(ni),f(n)\ =\ \sum_{i=1}^d P_i(n) f(n-i), for nn sufficiently large, where P1(z),...,Pd(z)P_1(z),...,P_d(z) are polynomials in K[z]K[z]. Given that Pd(z)P_d(z) is a nonzero constant polynomial, we show that the set of nNn\in \mathbb{N} for which f(n)=0f(n)=0 is a union of finitely many arithmetic progressions and a finite set. This generalizes the Skolem-Mahler-Lech theorem, which assumes that f(n)f(n) satisfies a linear recurrence. We discuss examples and connections to the set of zero coefficients of a power series satisfying a homogeneous linear differential equation with rational function coefficients.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.1105.6078,
  title  = {On the set of zero coefficients of a function satisfying a linear differential equation},
  author = {Jason P. Bell and Stanley N. Burris and Karen Yeats},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1105.6078},
  year   = {2015}
}

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11 pages