Bank-Laine functions, the Liouville transformation and the Eremenko-Lyubich class

Special classes of entire functions of one complex variable and growth estimates (30D15) Oscillation, growth of solutions to ordinary differential equations in the complex domain (34M10)

Abstract: The Bank-Laine conjecture concerning the oscillation of solutions of second order homogeneous linear differential equations has recently been disproved by Bergweiler and Eremenko. It is shown here, however, that the conjecture is true if the set of finite critical and asymptotic values of the coefficient function is bounded. It is also shown that a Bank-Laine function with infinitely many zeros, all real and positive, must have order at least

3 / 2

, and an example is constructed via quasiconformal surgery to demonstrate that this result is sharp.

Review text

The Bank-Laine conjecture states that if \(A\) is a transcendental entire function of finite order \(\rho(A)\), \(f_1\), \(f_2\) are lineary independent solutions of \[ f + A(z)f=0 ,\tag{1}\] and the exponent of convergence \(\lambda(f_1f_2)\) is finite, then \(\rho(A)\in \mathbb{N}\). This conjecture was recently disproved in the papers of \textit{W. Bergweiler} and \textit{A. Eremenko} [J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 19, No. 6, 1899--1909 (2017; Zbl 1381.34111); J. Anal. Math. 137, No. 2, 751--812 (2019; Zbl 1419.34235)] using quasiconformal techniques. Let \(T(r,f)\) denote the Nevanlinna characteristic of \(f\), and \(n(r, 1/f)\) the number of zeros of \(f\) in \(\{z: |z|\le r\} \). The first main result of the paper shows that the conjecture is true if the coefficient \(A\) is from the Eremenko-Lubich class \(\mathcal{B}\) of functions with a finite set of critical and asymptotic values. Theorem 1.3. Suppose that \(A\) is a transcendental entire function in \(\mathcal{B}\), and let \(E=f_1f_2\), where \(f_1\), \(f_2\) are linearly independent solutions of (1). Then exactly one of the following holds. (A) The functions \(A\) and \(E\) satisfy \(\rho(A)=\rho(E)=1\) and \[ T(r,A)+T(r,E)=O(r), \quad r\to +\infty,\] (B) There exists \(d>0\) such that the zeros of \(E\) satisfy \[ n(r, 1/E )>e^{dr^\frac 12}, \quad r\to +\infty, \] and in particular \(\rho(E)=\lambda(E)=+\infty\). An example shows that the exponent \(1/2\) in statement B is sharp. The second main result concerns the zeros of Bank-Laine functions, that is, entire functions \(E\) such that \(E(z)=0\) implies \(E'(z)=\pm 1\). The author obtains a sharp lower bound for the exponent of convergence \(\lambda(E)\) for Bank-Laine functions with positive zeros, improving a result from [\textit{D. Drasin} and the author, Lond. Math. Soc. Lect. Note Ser. 348, 165--178 (2008; Zbl 1158.30019)]. Theorem 1.5. Let \(E\) be a real Bank-Laine function of finite order, with infinitely many zeros, all real and positive. Then the exponent of convergence \(\lambda(E)\) of \(E\) is at least \(3/2\). Moreover, if \(\lambda(E)=\frac 32\) then \(E\) and the assocoated coefficient function \(A\) have order \(\rho(E)=\rho(A)=\frac 32\). An example shows that the exponent \(3/2\) in Theorem 1.5 is attained. To prove Theorems 1.3 and 1.5 a refinement of Hille's method and quasicnformal surgery are used, respectively.

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