Multiplicative dependent pairs in the sequence of Padovan numbers (Q6066739)

Let \( (P_n)_{n\ge 0} \) be the sequence of \textit{Padovan numbers} defined by the ternary recurrence relation \( P_n=P_{n-2}+P_{n-3} \) for \( n\ge 3 \), with the initial conditions \( P_0=P_1=P_2=1 \). The set of complex numbers \( x_1,x_2,\ldots, x_n \) are said to be \textit{multiplicatively dependent} if there exist integers \( k_1,k_2,\ldots, k_n \) not all zeros that satisfy the multiplicative relation \[ \prod_{i=1}^{n}x_i^{k_i}=1. \] If all the \( k_i \) are zeros, then the \( x_i \) are said to be \textit{multiplicatively independent}. A vector \((v_1, v_2, \ldots, v_n)\) is said to be multiplicative dependent if its coordinates satisfy the multiplicative relation. In the paper under review, the authors prove the following theorem, which is the main result in the paper. Theorem 1. All pairs of Padovan numbers are multiplicatively independent except the pairs: \[ \{(P_4,P_3), (P_6,P_3), (P_{11},P_3), (P_6,P_4), (P_{11},P_4), (P_9,P_5), (P_{11},P_6), (P_{15},P_6), (P_{15},P_8)\} \] and the trivial solutions \( \{(n,m)~|~m+1\le n, ~0\le m\le 2\} \). The proof of Theorem 1 follows from a clever combination of techniques in Diophantine number theory, the usual properties of the Padovan sequence, Baker's theory for non-zero lower bounds for linear forms in logarithms of algebraic numbers, reduction techniques involving the theory of continued fractions, and the LLL-algorithm. All computations are done with the aid of a simple computer program in \texttt{Mathematica}.