Lehmer's conjecture

For a nonzero polynomial P(x)=a0i=1D(xαi)Z[x]P(x) = a_{0}\prod_{i=1}^{D}(x-\alpha_{i}) \in \mathbb{Z}[x] of degree DD, factored over C\mathbb{C} with leading coefficient a0a_{0} and roots α1,,αD\alpha_{1},\dots,\alpha_{D}, define its Mahler measure by

M(P)=a0i=1Dmax(1,αi),\mathcal{M}(P) = |a_{0}| \prod_{i=1}^{D} \max\big(1, |\alpha_{i}|\big),

and write m(P)=logM(P)m(P) = \log \mathcal{M}(P).

There exists an absolute constant μ>1\mu > 1 such that every nonzero P(x)Z[x]P(x) \in \mathbb{Z}[x] satisfies at least one of the following:

  1. M(P)μ\mathcal{M}(P) \geq \mu; 2. every complex root of PP is either zero or a root of unity, i.e. PP is an integer multiple of a product of cyclotomic polynomials and a power of the monomial xx, in which case M(P)=1\mathcal{M}(P) = 1.

Equivalently, there is a constant c>0c > 0 such that m(P)>cm(P) > c for every P(x)Z[x]P(x) \in \mathbb{Z}[x] having at least one root that is neither zero nor a root of unity.

Equivalent formulations 2

Other statements of this same problem, merged from separate entries. Each is equivalent to the statement above — proving any one settles them all.

  1. Lehmer's conjecture on the Weil height

    Let h\mathrm{h} denote the absolute logarithmic Weil height, let Q\overline{\mathbb{Q}}^* be the multiplicative group of nonzero algebraic numbers, and let μ\mu_\infty be the set of roots of unity in Q\overline{\mathbb{Q}}. Lehmer's conjecture. There exists a constant c>0c>0 such that, for every xQ\μx\in\overline{\mathbb{Q}}^*\backslash\mu_\infty, one has

    h(x)c[Q(x):Q].\mathrm{h}(x)\geq\frac{c}{[\mathbb{Q}(x):\mathbb{Q}]}.

    This is a central open problem concerning lower bounds for the Weil height; it asserts a uniform inverse-degree lower bound away from roots of unity.

    source: Arnaud Plessis, “Minoration de la hauteur de Weil dans un compositum de corps de rayon”, arXiv:1805.11879 (2019).

  2. Lehmer's conjecture

    Lehmer's conjecture, also known as the Lehmer's Mahler measure problem, is a problem in number theory raised by Derrick Henry Lehmer. The conjecture asserts that there is an absolute constant μ>1\mu >1 such that every polynomial with integer coefficients P(x)Z[x]P(x)\in \mathbb {Z} [x] satisfies one of the following properties: The Mahler measure M(P(x)){\mathcal {M}}(P(x)) of P(x)P(x) is greater than or equal to μ\mu. P(x)P(x) is an integral multiple of a product of cyclotomic polynomials or the monomial xx, in which case M(P(x))=1{\mathcal {M}}(P(x))=1.

    source: Wikipedia

Sources & referencesView supporting material

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Additional references

  1. Wikipedia, Lehmer's conjecture, the article this problem comes from.

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