The subspace theorem and applications (Q1126719)

This paper surveys refinements of Schmidt's Subspace Theorem specifically, explicit bounds on the number of exceptional linear subspaces obtained by \textit{W. M. Schmidt} [Compos. Math. 69, 121-173 (1989; Zbl 0683.10027)]. This refinement states that if \(L_1,\dots,L_n\) are linear forms in \(n\) variables with coefficients in a number field \(K\), if \(\det(L_1,\dots,L_n)=1\), and if \(0<\varepsilon<1\), then there are at most \(t=t(n,\varepsilon,[K:\mathbb Q])\) proper linear subspaces of \(\mathbb Q^n\) containing all solutions \(\mathbf x\in\mathbb Z^n\) of \(|L_1(\mathbf x)\dotsm L_n(\mathbf x)|<\|\mathbf x\|^{-\varepsilon}\) with \(\|\mathbf x\|>r=r(n,\varepsilon,H)\), where \(H\) is the largest multiplicative height of one of the \(L_i\) and \(\|\mathbf x\|\) is the multiplicative height of \(\mathbf x\). Schmidt obtained explicit bounds for \(t\) and \(r\), which have subsequently been improved by \textit{J.-H. Evertse} [Compos. Math. 101, 225-311 (1996; Zbl 0856.11030)]. In a different direction, the dependence of \(t\) on \([K:\mathbb Q]\) has been eliminated by \textit{J.-H. Evertse} and \textit{H. P. Schlickewei} (to appear). This paper also discusses applications of the above work to the number of solutions of norm form equations and to the unit equation. In the case of the unit equation, investigation of the small solutions depends on work initiated by \textit{S. Zhang} [Ann. Math. (2) 136, 569-587 (1992; Zbl 0788.14017)]. The paper ends with a brief discussion of bounds for the number of zeros in a nondegenerate linear recurrence sequence.