Sur l'approximation algébrique en degré de transcendance un. (On algebraic approximation in transcendence degree one) (Q1288630)

Let \({\mathcal C}\) be an affine algebraic curve in \({\mathbb C}^{m}\) which is defined over \({\mathbb Q}\), and let \(\underline{\theta}\) be a point on \({\mathcal C}\) not in \({\mathcal C}(\overline{\mathbb Q})\). The authors consider the approximation of \(\underline{\theta}\) by elements \(\underline{\alpha}\) of \({\mathcal C}(\overline{\mathbb Q})\). For an \(m\)-tuple \(\underline{\alpha}=(\alpha_{1},\ldots,\alpha_{m})\) of algebraic numbers, define \[ d(\underline{\alpha})=[{\mathbb Q}(\alpha_{1},\ldots,\alpha_{m}):{\mathbb Q}],\quad \mu(\underline{\alpha})=d(\underline{\alpha})h(\underline{\alpha}) \] and \[ t(\underline{\alpha})= \max\{\mu(\underline{\alpha}),(\log(m+1))d(\underline{\alpha})\}, \] where \(h(\underline{\alpha})\) is the canonical logarithmic height of the projective point \((1:\alpha_{1}:\cdots:\alpha_{m})\). Further denote by \(\|\cdot\|\) the sup norm on \({\mathbb C}^n\). Let \(a\), \(b\) be two positive real numbers and \((d_{n})_{n\geq 1}\), \((t_{n})_{n\geq 1}\) two non-decreasing sequences of positive real numbers. Assume the sequence \((t_{n})_{n\geq 1}\) is unbounded and \[ d_{n}\geq c_{0}, \quad t_{n}\geq c'_{0}d_{n}, \quad d_{n+1}\leq a d_{n},\quad t_{n+1}\leq b t_{n}. \] Then for infinitely many \(n\) there exists \(\underline{\alpha}\in{\mathcal C}(\overline{\mathbb Q})\) with \[ c_{1}^{-1}d_{n}\leq d(\underline{\alpha})\leq d_{n}, \quad t(\underline{\alpha})\leq t_{n} \] and \[ \log\|\underline{\theta}-\underline{\alpha}\|\leq c_{2}^{-1}d_{n}t_{n} . \] The constants \(c_{0}\), \(c_0'\), \(c_{1}\), \(c_{2}\) are explicit: \[ c_{0}=26\deg({\mathcal C}),\quad c_0'=8t({\mathcal C})/\deg({\mathcal C}), \] \[ c_{1}=1200\deg({\mathcal C})\max\{1,(ab)^{2}/4\}, \quad c_{2}=c_{1}\deg({\mathcal C}). \] The number \(t({\mathcal C})\) occuring in the value of \(c_0'\) is the size of a (normalized) Chow form of \({\mathcal C}\) in the ring of polynomials \({\mathbb Z}[u_{0},\ldots,u_{m}, v_{0},\ldots,v_{m}]\). One main feature of this statement is that a lower bound for the degree \(d(\underline{\alpha})\) is provided. This result solves in the one-dimensional case Conjecture 5.5 of \textit{M. Laurent} [New methods in algebraic independence, Number Theory -- Diophantine, Computational and Algebraic Aspects, Proc. Intl. Conf., Eger 1996, de Gruyter, Berlin, 311-330 (1998)] and Conjecture 1.7 of \textit{D. Roy} and \textit{M. Waldschmidt} [Simultaneous approximation and algebraic independence, Ramanujan J. 1, No. 4, 379-430 (1997; Zbl 0916.11042)]. Sharper numerical constants are provided in the special case \(m=1\) (i.e. when \({\mathcal C}\) is the affine line). This paper contains further auxiliary results of independent interest, including integrality properties as well as height upper estimates for derivatives of algebraic functions. An appendix of differential calculus contains an explicit formula for the Taylor coefficients of an implicit function.