Diophantine approximation on curves and the distribution of rational points: contributions to the divergence theory (Q2042019)

Given a non-degenerate curve in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), the authors find optimal lower bounds for the number of rational points \(\frac{1}{q}(p_1, \dots, p_n)\) with \(\frac{1}{2} Q < q \le Q\). Indeed, it is shown that there exists numbers \(K_0, C_0 > 0\), such that for \(K_0 Q^{-3/(2n-1)} \le \psi < 1\), and any segment \(B\) of the curve, there is a \(Q_B> 0\), such that the number of such rational points lying within a \(2\psi/Q\)-neigbourhood of \(B\) is lower bounded by \(\frac{\vert B \vert}{C_0}\psi^{n-1}Q^2\). In fact, the authors prove a more general result, where one considers shifted rational points. The results extend results of \textit{V. Beresnevich} [Ann. Math. (2) 175, No. 1, 187--235 (2012; Zbl 1264.11063)], who obtained a similar, but less precise, estimate for planar curves. The methods used are partly coming from the geometry of numbers and partly from homogeneous dynamics. In addition to the counting result, a metrical result on Diophantine approximation of points on such a nondegenerate curve is obtained from the counting result. Let \(\psi: (0,\infty) \rightarrow (0, \infty)\) be a monotonic function with \(q \psi(q)^{(2n-1)/3} \rightarrow \infty\) as \(q \rightarrow \infty\), and let \(\theta = (\theta_1, \dots, \theta_n) \in \mathbb{R}^n\). Denote by \(\mathcal{S}_n(\psi, \theta)\) the set of vectors \(y = (y_1, \dots, y_n) \in\mathbb{R}^n\) for which the inequality \[ \max_{1 \le i \le n}\vert qy_i - \theta_i - p_i \vert < \psi(q), \] has infinitely many solutions \((q,p_1, \dots, p_n) \in \mathbb{N} \times \mathbb{Z}\). It is shown that if \(\mathcal{M}\) is a nondegenerate curve and \(s > 0\), then \[\mathcal{H}^s(\mathcal{S}_n(\psi, \theta) \cap\mathcal{M}) =\mathcal{H}^s(\mathcal{M}), \] whenever \(\sum_{q=1}^\infty q^n \left(\frac{\psi(q)}{q}\right)^{s+n-1} = \infty\). Here, \(\mathcal{H}^s\) denotes the \(s\)-dimensional Hausdorff measure.