Difference analogue of the lemma on the logarithmic derivative with applications to difference equations (Q2581473)

Let \(m(r,f)\) be the function and \(T(r,f)\) the characteristic of a meromorphic function \(f\). The authors prove that if \(f\) is a non-Nevanlinna proximity constant meromorphic function, \(c\in\mathbb{C}\), \(\delta< 1\) and \(\varepsilon> 0\), then \[ m\Biggl(r, {f(z+ c)\over f(z)}\Biggr)= o\Biggl({T(r+|c|,f)^{1+\varepsilon}\over r^\delta}\Biggr) \] for all \(r\) outside an exceptional set with finite logarithmic measure. This theorem is a difference analogue of the logarithmic derivative lemma, which is a useful tool in the study of complex solutions of nonlinear differential equations. The paper contains also a number of results about the finite-order meromorphic solutions of large classes of nonlinear difference equations, obtained by using the above theorem.