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Related papers: On the Skolem Problem for Reversible Sequences

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We show that the Skolem Problem is decidable in finitely generated commutative rings of positive characteristic. More precisely, we show that there exists an algorithm which, given a finite presentation of a (unitary) commutative ring…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2026-03-12 Ruiwen Dong , Doron Shafrir

The Skolem Problem asks to determine whether a given integer linear recurrence sequence has a zero term. This problem arises across a wide range of topics in computer science, including loop termination, formal languages, automata theory,…

Discrete Mathematics · Computer Science 2024-02-21 Florian Luca , James Maynard , Armand Noubissie , Joël Ouaknine , James Worrell

The Skolem Problem asks, given a linear recurrence sequence $(u_n)$, whether there exists $n\in\mathbb{N}$ such that $u_n=0$. In this paper we consider the following specialisation of the problem: given in addition $c\in\mathbb{N}$,…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2020-06-16 George Kenison , Richard Lipton , Joël Ouaknine , James Worrell

A Skolem sequence is a sequence a_1,a_2,...,a_2n (where a_i \in A = {1,...,n }), each a_i occurs exactly twice in the sequence and the two occurrences are exactly a_i positions apart. A set A that can be used to construct Skolem sequences…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2007-05-23 Gustav Nordh

For almost a century, the decidability of the Skolem Problem - that is, the problem of finding whether a given linear recurrence sequence (LRS) has a zero term - has remained open. A breakthrough in the 1980s established that the Skolem…

Formal Languages and Automata Theory · Computer Science 2025-12-10 Piotr Bacik

The celebrated Skolem-Mahler-Lech Theorem states that the set of zeros of a linear recurrence sequence is the union of a finite set and finitely many arithmetic progressions. The corresponding computational question, the Skolem Problem,…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2022-04-29 Yuri Bilu , Florian Luca , Joris Nieuwveld , Joël Ouaknine , David Purser , James Worrell

The Skolem Problem asks to determine whether a given linear recurrence sequence (LRS) $\langle u_n \rangle_{n=0}^\infty$ over the integers has a zero term, that is, whether there exists $n$ such that $u_n = 0$. Decidability of the problem…

Computational Complexity · Computer Science 2025-10-27 Piotr Bacik , Joël Ouaknine , James Worrell

The Skolem Problem asks, given an integer linear recurrence sequence (LRS), to determine whether the sequence contains a zero term or not. Its decidability is a longstanding open problem in theoretical computer science and automata theory.…

Computational Complexity · Computer Science 2025-08-05 Gorav Jindal , Joël Ouaknine

In this paper, given a simple linear recurrence sequence of algebraic numbers, which has either a dominant characteristic root or exactly two characteristic roots of maximal modulus, we give some explicit lower bounds for the index beyond…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2018-10-03 Min Sha

We show that in a parametric family of linear recurrence sequences $a_1(\alpha) f_1(\alpha)^n + \ldots + a_k(\alpha) f_k(\alpha)^n$ with the coefficients $a_i$ and characteristic roots $f_i$, $i=1, \ldots,k$, given by rational functions…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2021-07-13 Alina Ostafe , Igor Shparlinski

We study the decidability of the Skolem Problem, the Positivity Problem, and the Ultimate Positivity Problem for linear recurrences with real number initial values and real number coefficients in the bit-model of real computation. We show…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2023-06-22 Eike Neumann

It is an exposition of the work of Mignotte, Shorey, Tijdeman, Vereshchagin and Bacik on decidability of the vanishing problem for linear recurrence sequences of order 4.

Number Theory · Mathematics 2025-03-12 Yuri Bilu

This paper provides a complete solution to Skolem's problem for the $k$-generalized Lucas sequence $(L_n^{(k)})_{n \in \mathbb{Z}}$ with a primary focus on its behavior at negative indices. We characterize the zero-distribution of this…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2026-03-10 Monalisa Mohapatra , Pritam Kumar Bhoi , Gopal Krishna Panda

We study decidability and complexity questions related to a continuous analogue of the Skolem-Pisot problem concerning the zeros and nonnegativity of a linear recurrent sequence. In particular, we show that the continuous version of the…

Dynamical Systems · Mathematics 2009-04-23 Paul Bell , Jean-Charles Delvenne , Raphael Jungers , Vincent D. Blondel

The Continuous Skolem Problem asks whether a real-valued function satisfying a linear differential equation has a zero in a given interval of real numbers. This is a fundamental reachability problem for continuous linear dynamical systems,…

Systems and Control · Computer Science 2016-05-11 Ventsislav Chonev , Joel Ouaknine , James Worrell

The Skolem Problem asks to determine whether a given linear recurrence sequence (LRS) has a zero term. Showing decidability of this problem is equivalent to giving an effective proof of the Skolem-Mahler-Lech Theorem, which asserts that a…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2026-05-12 Piotr Bacik , Joël Ouaknine , David Purser , James Worrell

In this paper we present a new proof of the following 2010 result of Dubickas, Novikas, and Siurys: Let $(a,b)\in \mathbb{Z}^2$ and let $(x_n)_{n\ge 0}$ be the sequence defined by some initial values $x_0$ and $x_1$ and the second order…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2018-12-20 Dan Ismailescu , Adrienne Ko , Celine Lee , Jae Yong Park

In this paper, we address the Skolem problem for the $k$-generalized Pell sequence $(P_n^{(k)})_{n\geq2-k}$ extended to negative indices. We focus on identifying and bounding the indices $n<0$ for which $P_n^{(k)}=0.$ In particular, we…

Number Theory · Mathematics 2026-01-26 Monalisa Mohapatra , Pritam Kumar Bhoi , Gopal Krishna Panda

A Skolem sequence of order n is a sequence S_n=(s_{1},s_{2},...,s_{2n}) of 2n integers containing each of the integers 1,2,...,n exactly twice, such that two occurrences of the integer j in {1,2,...,n} are separated by exactly j-1 integers.…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2013-03-18 Nabil Shalaby , Daniela Silvesan

A Skolem sequence is a linear arrangement of the multiset, {1, 1, 2, 2, ..., n, n} such that if r in [n] appears in positions i and j, then |i-j| = r. We first translate the problem to a particular set of perfect matchings, then apply the…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2013-01-29 Sophie Burrill , Lily Yen
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