Distribution of simple zeros of polynomials (Q1802683): Difference between revisions

Let \(P_n\) be a monic polynomial of degree \(n\). We can define its normalized zero counting measure by \(\nu_{P_n} (A): n^{-1}\) \(\times\) number of zeros of \(P_n\) in \(A\). It is well known that if \(\{P_n\}^\infty_{n=1}\) is a sequence of monic orthogonal polynomials corresponding to a measure positive a.e. on \([-1,1]\), then they have \(\arcsin\) distribution; more precisely, \(\nu_{P_n}\) converges weakly, as \(n\to\infty\), to the \(\arcsin\) measure \(dw(x) =\pi^{-1} (1-x^2)^{-1/2} dx\), \(x\in (-1,1)\). It was P. Erdős and P. Turán [Ann. Math. 41, 162-173 (1940; Zbl 0023.02201)] who gave the first quantitative (discrepancy type) estimates of \(\nu_{ P_n} -w\) for general polynomials under assumptions on \(A_n:2^n|P_n |_{L_\infty [-1,1]} \). In 1992, H.-P. Blatt [J. Approximation Theory 69, No. 3, 250-268 (1992; Zbl 0757.41011)] made a breakthrough by realizing that, in many applications, the zeros \(\{x_{jn}\}^n_{j=1}\) of \(P_n\) are simple, and we have lower bounds for \(P_n'\): \(|P_n' (x_n(x_{jn}) |\geq 1/B_n 2^n\). The present work is a definitive improvement of Blatt's result: Let \(C_n: \max \{A_n, B_n, n\}\); then \[ \bigl|(\nu_{P_n}- \omega) [a,b]\bigr |\leq c\frac {\log C_n} n\log \frac n{\log C_n}, \] for all intervals \([a,b]\) of \([-1,1]\). Here \(c\) is an absolute constant. The author shows by example that one can replace \(\leq\) by \(\geq\) for suitable sequences of polynomials, intervals, and a smaller \(c\). This is a classic paper, as important as that of Erdős and Turán on the subject.