On higher Mahler measures and zeta Mahler measures for one variable polynomials (Q2288325)

The first main result of the paper under review studies the growth rate of the sequence \(\{ m_k(f) \}_{k \in \mathbb{N}}\) of higher Mahler measures \(m_k(f) := \int_0^1 (\log\lvert f(e^{2 \pi i t})\rvert)^k dt\) associated to a univariate polynomial \(f \in \mathbb{C}[x] \setminus \{ 0 \}\), which was introduced by \textit{N. Kurokawa}, \textit{M. Lalín} and \textit{H. Ochiai}, [Acta Arith. 135, No. 3, 269--297 (2008; Zbl 1211.11116)]. More precisely, the following explicit formula \[\Lambda(f) := \lim_{k \to +\infty} \left( \frac{\lvert m_k(P) \rvert}{\max(\mu(f),1)^k \cdot k!} \right) = \frac{1}{\pi} \sum_{a \in S_f} \left( \frac{\mu(f)!}{\lvert f^{(\mu(f))}(a) \rvert} \right)^{1/\mu(f)} \] holds, where \(\mu(f) := \max\{ \mu_a(f) \colon a \in \mathbb{T}^1 \} \in \mathbb{N}\) denotes the maximum of the multiplicities \(\mu_a(f) := \max\{ n \in \mathbb{N} \colon (x-a)^n \mid f(x) \} \) of the roots of \(f\) which lie on the unit circle \(\mathbb{T}^1 \subseteq \mathbb{C}\), and \(S_f \subseteq \mathbb{C}\) denotes the set of complex numbers \(a \in \mathbb{T}^1\) such that \((x - a)^{\mu(f)} \mid f(x)\). The previous explicit limit generalises a result of \textit{A. Biswas} and \textit{C. Monico}, who proved this explicit formula when \(\mu(f) = 0\) (see Lemma 2.1 of [J. Number Theory 143, 357--362 (2014; Zbl 1296.11137)]) and \(\mu(f) = 1\) (see Theorem 1.1 of the same paper). The real numbers \(m_k(f)/k!\) appear as the coefficients of the Maclaurin series of the zeta Mahler measure \(Z(s,f) := \int_0^1 \lvert f(e^{2 \pi i t}) \rvert^s dt\). This function was introduced by \textit{J. Cassaigne} and \textit{V. Maillot} in [J. Number Theory 83, No. 2, 226--255 (2000; Zbl 1001.11027)], and was extensively studed by \textit{H. Akatsuka} in [J. Number Theory 129, No. 11, 2713--2734 (2009; Zbl 1235.11096)]. In particular, it is known that \(Z(s,f)\) converges for every \(s \in \mathbb{C}\) such that \(\Re(s) > \sigma_0(f)\), for some negative real number \(\sigma_0(f) \in \mathbb{R}_{< 0}\) (see Théorème 2.3 of the aforementioned paper of Cassaigne and Maillot, and Lemma 2.1 and Theorem 8 of Akatsuka's paper). The second main result of the paper under review proves that \(Z(s,f)\) admits a meromorphic continuation to the whole complex plane, whose poles are all simple and contained in the set \[\mathfrak{P}(f) := \bigcup_{\substack{a \in \mathbb{T}^1 \\ f(a) = 0}} \frac{1}{\mu_a(f)} \, \mathbb{Z}_{< 0} \subseteq \mathbb{Q}_{< 0}.\] Moreover, if \(\mu(f) \geq 1\) then the point \(-\mu(f)^{-1}\) is a pole of \(Z(s,f)\), with residue \(\Lambda(f)/\mu(f)\). The author of the present paper observes that the existence of a meromorphic continuation of \(Z(s,f)\) could also be proved using Hironaka's resolution of singularities. We refer the interested reader to Remarque 2.7 of the aforementioned paper by Cassaigne and Maillot for some references employing this approach. The paper under review employs fine analytic techniques to prove some very interesting properties of higher Mahler measures and zeta Mahler measures, in the case of one variable polynomials. We conclude this review by remarking that explicit formulas for these quantities have been intensively studied in the latest years, in view of their arithmetic significance, and we refer the interested reader to the introductions of the recent papers [\textit{M. N. Lalín} and \textit{J.-S. Lechasseur}, Acta Arith. 174, No. 1, 1--30 (2016; Zbl 1344.11069)] and [\textit{A. Biswas} and \textit{M. R. Murty}, Hardy-Ramanujan J. 41, 77--84 (2018; Zbl 1440.11206)] for some lists of known explicit formulas for higher and zeta Mahler measures.