Analytic functions over \(\mathbb Z_p\) and \(p\)-regular sequences (Q640887)

The authors connect \(p\)-adic analysis and the theory of automata sequences, namely \(p\)-regular sequences (see [\textit{J.-P. Allouche} and \textit{J. Shallit}, Theor. Comput. Sci. 98, No. 2, 163--197 (1992; Zbl 0774.68072); ibid. 307, No. 1, 3--29 (2003; Zbl 1058.68066)]). Let \(\nu_p\) be a normalized \(p\)-adic valuation on \(\mathbb C_p\). It is proved that for an analytic function \(f:\mathbb Z_p \to \mathbb C_p\) without roots in \(\mathbb N\), the sequence \(\{ \nu_p(f(n))\}_{n\geq 0}\) is \(p\)-regular if and only if all the roots of \(f\) in \(\mathbb Z_p\) are contained in \(\mathbb Q\). As an application, they find conditions of \(p\)-regularity for a sequence \(\{ \nu_p(x(n))\}\) where the sequence \(x\) is defined by a second order recurrence relation.