Iteration and the Zeros of the Second Derivative of a Meromorphic Function (Q4024982)

In 1989, \textit{T. Sheil-Small} [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 129, No. 1, 179-193 (1989; Zbl 0671.30027)] proved an old conjecture of Wiman which, in a simplified form, says that if \(f\) is a real entire function of order greater than 2 with only real zeros, then \(f''\) has non-real zeros. Before Sheil-Small's work, this had been open even for the special case \(f=e^ p\) where \(p\) is a polynomial of degree greater than 2. A proof for this special case was given by Eremenko soon after Sheil-Small's work. Eremenko considered the iteration of \(z-f(z)/f'(z)\), that is, Newton's method for \(f\), noted that \(\infty\) is a rational indifferent fixed point of \(f\), and then applied classical results about the behavior of iterates in the neighborhood of rationally indifferent fixed points. In the paper under review, these ideas are extended to more general functions \(f\). It is required that 0 is a Borel exceptional value of \(f\). Then there are sectors where the iterates of \(z-f(z)/f'(z)\) tend to \(\infty\), and it is shown that the components of the Fatou set containing these sectors must contain a zero of \(f''\) or an asymptotic value of \(z- f(z)/f'(z)\). As an application, several classes of meromorphic (not necessarily entire) functions \(f\) where the second derivative has non-real zeros are given. For example, this is the case for \(f(z)=f_ 1(z)e^{p(z)}/f_ 2(z)\), if \(p\) is a polynomial of degree \(n\geq 3\) and if \(f_ 1\) and \(f_ 2\) are real entire functions of order less than \(n\) with only finitely many non-real zeros such that at least one of \(f_ 1\) and \(f_ 2\) is a polynomial. The methods used do not give the full result of Sheil-Small (because it is required that 0 is Borel exceptional), but, on the other hand, apply to certain classes of functions not covered by Sheil-Small's result.