Polynomial configurations in difference sets (Q999722)

\textit{H. Furstenberg} [J. Anal. Math. 31, 204--256 (1977; Zbl 0347.28016)] and \textit{A. Sárközy} [Acta Math. Acad. Sci. Hung. 31, 125--149 (1978; Zbl 0387.10033)] proved that any subset of the integers of positive upper density there exist two elements whose difference is a perfect square. In this paper the authors prove: Let \(P_1(x), \ldots, P_l(x)\) be a family of linearly independent polynomials in \(\mathbb{Z}[x]\) with \(P_i(0)=0\) for \(i=1, \ldots , l\) and set \(k=\max_i \text{ deg} P_i\). If \(A\subset[1,N]\) and \(\{P_1(d), \ldots ,P_l(d)\} \not\subseteq A-A\) for all \(d \neq 0\), then we have \[ \frac{|A|}{N} \leq C\left( \frac{(\log \log N)^2}{\log N}\right)^{1/(l(k-1))} \] for some absolute constant \(C=C(P_1, \ldots , P_l)\). (For \(l=1\) this was proved earlier by \textit{J. Lucier} [Acta Arith. 123, No. 1, 57--95 (2006; Zbl 1157.11039)]. If \(B\subset[1,N]^k\) and \((d,d^2, \ldots , d^k)\not\in B-B\) for all \(d \neq 0\), then we have \[ \frac{|B|}{N^k} \leq C \left(\frac{(\log \log N)^2}{\log N}\right)^{1/(k-1)} \] for some absolute constant \(C=C(k)\).