Bergelson–Leibman–Lesigne conjecture on jointly intersective polynomial recurrence

Let p1,,pZ[t]p_1,\ldots,p_\ell\in\mathbb{Z}[t] be jointly intersective, meaning that for every rNr\in\mathbb{N} there exists nNn\in\mathbb{N} such that rr divides each of p1(n),,p(n)p_1(n),\ldots,p_\ell(n). Let (X,X,μ,T1,,T)(X,\mathcal{X},\mu,T_1,\ldots,T_\ell) be a system, meaning a standard probability space with commuting invertible measure-preserving transformations, and let AXA\in\mathcal{X} satisfy μ(A)>0\mu(A)>0. Bergelson–Leibman–Lesigne conjecture.

lim infN1Nn=1Nμ(AT1p1(n)ATp(n)A)>0.\liminf_{N\to\infty}\frac{1}{N}\sum_{n=1}^N\mu\big(A\cap T_1^{-p_1(n)}A\cap\cdots\cap T_\ell^{-p_\ell(n)}A\big)>0.

The conjecture seeks a complete characterization of polynomial families that are good for multiple recurrence; the jointly intersective condition is necessary because non-intersective polynomials admit positive-density sets avoiding the corresponding patterns. The source cites Bergelson, Leibman, and Lesigne for the conjecture and presents it as an open problem.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Nikos Frantzikinakis and Borys Kuca, “Ergodic averages for sparse corners”, arXiv:2510.27627 (2025).

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