On Cilleruelo's conjecture for the least common multiple of polynomial sequences (Q2039477): Difference between revisions

For any polynomial \(f \in \mathbb{Z}[X]\) and any positive integer \(N\), define \(L_f(N) := \underset{n=1,\dotsc,N}{\textrm{lcm}} (f(n))\). By the prime number theorem, it is well known that \(\displaystyle \log \left( L_{\textrm{id}}(N) \right) = \Psi(N) \sim N\) as \(N \to \infty\), where \(\Psi\) is the \(2\)nd Chebyshev function. In [Compos. Math. 147, no. 4, 1129--1150 (2011; Zbl 1248.11068)], \textit{J. Cilleruelo} surmised that, for an irreducible polynomial \(f \in \mathbb{Z}[X]\) of degree \(d \geqslant 2\), we have \(\log L_f(N) \sim (d-1) N \log N\) as \(N \to \infty\), and proved this conjecture when \(d=2\). In the paper under review, the authors establish a weaker version of this conjecture for almost all shifts of a fixed polynomial. More precisely, let \(f_0\) be a monic polynomial and of degree \(d \geqslant 3\) and, for \(a \in \mathbb{Z}\), set \(f_a(x) = f_0(x)-a\) such that \(f_a\) is irreducible. Using an averaging argument, it is shown that for almost all \(|a| \leqslant T\) and all \(N\) satisfying \(T^{1/(d-1)} < N < T/ \log T\), we have \[\log L_{f_a}(N) \sim (d-1) N \log N\] as \(N \to \infty\). Reviewer's remark: Note that there is a minor typo in Proposition 2.2 where the term \(d \log N\) should be replaced by \(d N \log N\).