\(p\)-adic valuations and \(k\)-regular sequences (Q2462376)

The author characterizes the polynomials \(f\) in \(\mathbb Q_p[x]\) such that the sequence of \(p\)-adic valuations \((v_p(f(n)))_{n\geq 0}\) is \(p\)-regular (in the sense of \textit{J.-P. Allouche} and \textit{J. Shallit} [Theor. Comput. Sci. 98, No. 2, 163--197 (1992; Zbl 0774.68072)]): these are the polynomials factoring into a product of polynomials one of which does not have any roots in \(\mathbb Z_p\). This answers a question of \textit{J.-P. Allouche} and \textit{J. Shallit} [Theor. Comput. Sci. 307, No. 1, 3--29 (2003; Zbl 1058.68066)].