English

The best possible quadratic refinement of Sendov's conjecture

Complex Variables 2007-05-23 v2

Abstract

A conjecture of Sendov states that if a polynomial has all its roots in the unit disk and if β\beta is one of those roots, then within one unit of β\beta lies a root of the polynomial's derivative. If we define r(β)r(\beta) to be the greatest possible distance between β\beta and the closest root of the derivative, then Sendov's conjecture claims that r(β)1r(\beta) \le 1. In this paper, we assume (without loss of generality) that 0β10 \le \beta \le 1 and make the stronger conjecture that r(β)1(3/10)β(1β)r(\beta) \le 1-(3/10)\beta(1-\beta). We prove this new conjecture for all polynomials of degree 2 or 3, for all real polynomials of degree 4, and for all polynomials of any degree as long as all their roots lie on a line or β\beta is sufficiently close to 1.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.math/0312130,
  title  = {The best possible quadratic refinement of Sendov's conjecture},
  author = {Michael Miller},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:math/0312130},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

5 pages, AMS-LaTeX, no figures. v2: proved Conjecture 1 for polynomials with all roots on a line, noted additional implications of Conjecture 1

R2 v1 2026-07-22T17:00:28.816Z