A three gap theorem for adeles (Q2111880)

The classical three gap theorem is formulated as follows. For any irrational number \(\alpha\) and a positive integer \(N\) consider the collection of points \(n\alpha \mod 1\) for \(1 \leq n \leq N\). They subdivide the circle \(\mathbb R/ \mathbb Z\) into component arcs. Then the set of lengths of these arcs has at least three elements. This theorem is also known as the three distance theorem and as the Steinhaus problem. In this paper the authors prove a natural generalization of the three gap theorem, for rotations on adelic tori. The proof is an adaptation to the adeles of the lattice-based approach to gaps problems in Diophantine approximation originally introduced by \textit{J. Marklof} and \textit{A. Strömbergsson} [Am. Math. Mon. 124, No. 8, 741--745 (2017; Zbl 1391.11092)].