Multiplicative dependence of the translations of algebraic numbers (Q1725566): Difference between revisions

If there exists a nonzero vector $(k_1,\dots,k_n)\in\mathbb{Z}^n$ such that $z^{k_1}_1\cdots z^{k_n}_n= 1$, then the nonzero complex numbers $z_1,\dots,z_n$ are multiplicatively dependent, and otherwise are multiplicatively independent. Let $\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_n$ be pairwise distinct algebraic numbers. The first theorem in this paper establishes conditions on the algebraic integer $t$ such that $\alpha_1+t,\dots,\alpha_n+t$ are multiplicatively independent. The authors deduce that these numbers are multiplicatively dependent for only finitely many $t\in\mathbb{Z}$.\par The majority of this paper concerns the special case $n=2$ with $(a, b)\in\mathbb{Z}^2$, $ab\ne 0$. Let $d= b-a\in\mathbb{N}$; since one of $(1, b-a+1)$, $(-1, b-a-1)$ is multiplicatively dependent, it can be seen that the set of $t\in\mathbb{Z}$ such that $(a+t, b+t)$ is multiplicatively dependent is reliant on the value of $d$. Furthermore, the authors note that $(a,b)\in\mathbb{Z}^2$, $ab\ne 0$, is multiplicatively dependent if there exists $g\in\mathbb{N}$ and $x,y\in\mathbb{N}\cup\{0\}$ such that $(a,b)= (\pm g^x,\pm g^y)$. Given $d\in\mathbb{N}$, let $M(d)$ denote the number of multiplicatively dependent vectors $(a,b)\in \mathbb{Z}^2$ with $ab\ne 0$, $b-a= d$. The authors establish an explicit formula for $M(d)$ and determine the exact value of $M(d)$ for some special $d$, including that $M(d)= 4$ for all odd $d1$ and that $M(30)=13$. They also determine an unconditional bound for the remaining even $d$, and establish under the ABC conjecture that $M(d)$ is bounded for all even $d$ and that $M(d)\le 9$ for sufficiently large $d$. They conjecture that $M(d)\le 13$ for all $d\in\mathbb{N}$ with equality if and only if $d=30$. The paper concludes with an algorithm for calculating $M(d)$ which is used to derive various tables.