A measure of simultaneous approximation for quasi-modular functions (Q5943744)

Let \(y^2=4x^3-g_2x-g_3\) be the equation of an elliptic curve with algebraic invariants \(g_2,g_3\), and let \(\Lambda\subset{\mathbb C}\) be the associated period lattice. It is known since Schneider's work in the 30's that, if \(\omega\) is a non-zero element of \(\Lambda\) and if \(\eta\) is the associated quasi-period, then the quotient \(\eta/\omega\) is a transcendental number. The main result of this paper is a discriminating measure of approximation for the pair of modular functions \(\Pi(\tau)\) and \(\lambda(\tau)\). It implies that there exists a constant \(C>0\) such that, for any real numbers \(D,h>C\) and any algebraic number \(\alpha\) of degree \([{\mathbb Q}(\alpha):{\mathbb Q}] \leq D\) and absolute logarithmic height \(h(\alpha) \leq h\), we have \[ \left|\alpha-{\eta\over\omega}\right|\leq \exp\big( -CD^2(h+\log D)\log(D)^{3/2} \big). \] This improves on a result of \textit{N.~Saradha} [Transcendence measure for \(\eta/\omega\), Acta Arith. 92, 11-25 (2000; Zbl 0946.11014)] but does not quite contain an earlier result of \textit{E.~Reyssat} in [Approximation algébrique de nombres liés aux fonctions elliptiques et exponentielle, Bull. Soc. Math. Fr. 108, 47-79 (1980; Zbl 0432.10018)] although it improves on it in some range for \(D\) and \(h\). The proof uses the ``G-function'' property of hypergeometric functions in the context of the modular method of Yu.~Nesterenko, as well as Galois considerations.