Algebraic theory of difference equations and Mahler functions (Q1925803)

Let \(f_1(x)\) and \(g_1(x)\) denote the generating power series of the Rudin-Shapiro and of the Baum-Sweet sequences, respectively. Then the first author [J. Reine Angew. Math. 407, 202--219 (1990; Zbl 0694.10035)] proved the algebraic independence over \(\mathbb{C}(x)\) of \(f_1(x),f_2(x):=f_1(-x)\) and of \(g_1(x),g_2(x):=g_1(x^2)\), respectively. In both cases, the main ingredient of the proofs was the fact that the vector \({}^\tau(h_1(x),h_2(x))\) satisfies a Mahler type functional equation \(\underline{h}(x^2)=\mathcal{H}(x)\cdot \underline{h}(x)\) with explicit \(\mathcal{H}\in \mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbb{C}(x))\), and \({}^\tau\) indicating matrix transposition. In this paper, the authors prove much more, namely that the four functions \(f_1,f_2,g_1,g_2\) are algebraically independent over any \textit{difference field extension of valuation ring type} over \(\mathbb{C}(x)\) under the transformation \(x\mapsto x^2\). This notion (not to be explained here) has been introduced by the second author [J. Math. Sci. Univ. Tokyo 17, 159--178 (2010; Zbl 1258.12006)], and Theorem 2 and Proposition 5 from this paper are the key tools of the present proofs. The just-quoted algebraic independence result implies that the above four functions and the power series \(\varphi_1(x),\dots,\varphi_m(x)\) satisfying a functional equation system \[ {}^\tau(\varphi_1(x^2),\dots,\varphi_m(x^2))= \mathcal{A}(x)\cdot{}^\tau(\varphi_1(x),\dots,\varphi_m(x)) +{}^\tau(\beta_1(x),\dots,\beta_m(x)) \] with \(\beta\)'s from \(\mathbb{C}(x)\) and triangular \(\mathcal{A}\in \mathrm{GL}_m(\mathbb{C}(x))\) are algebraically independent over \(\mathbb{C}(x)\), if \(\varphi_1(x),\dots,\varphi_m(x)\) are so. For example, \(f_1(x),\dots,g_2(x),\varphi(x),\) \(\varphi'(x),\varphi''(x),\dots\) are algebraically independent over \(\mathbb{C}(x)\), where \(\varphi(x)\) denotes the Fredholm series \(\sum_{j\geq0}x^{2^j}\).