Primitive divisors of some Lehmer-Pierce sequences

DOI10.1016/J.JNT.2008.05.008MaRDI QIDQ2378052zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Anthony Flatters

Publication date 6 January 2009

Published in Journal of Number Theory (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0708.2190

zbMATH Keywords

Lehmer-Pierce sequenceprimitive prime divisorsZsigmondy bound

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Primes (11A41) Fibonacci and Lucas numbers and polynomials and generalizations (11B39)

Abstract: We study the primitive divisors of the terms of $(Delt{a}_n{)}_{ngeq1}$, where $Delt{a}_n=N_{K/mathbbQ}(u^n-1)$ for $K$ a real quadratic field, and $u>1$ a unit element of its ring of integers. The methods used allow us to find the terms of the sequence that do not have a primitive prime divisor.

Review text

The question of primitive prime divisors (PPD for sort) of terms of recurrence sequences has a long history, going back to results of Bang, Zsigmondy, Schinzel and many others. The classical case of (integral) Lucas- and Lehmer sequences has been completely settled by Bilu, Hanrot and Voutier. In the paper PPD-s of terms of Lehmer-Pierce sequences \(u_n=N_{K/{\mathbb Q}}(u^n-1)\) are studied, where \(K\) is a real quadratic number field and \(u\) is a unit in its ring of integers. A result of Schinzel implies that there exist constants \(C_1\) and \(C_2\) (independent of \(u\)) such that \(u_n\) has a PPD for every \(n>C_1\) if \(N_{K/{\mathbb Q}}(u)=1\), and \(u_n\) has a PPD for every \(n>C_2\) with \(n\not\equiv 2\pmod{4}\) if \(N_{K/{\mathbb Q}}(u)=-1\). The main result of this paper is that these constants \(C_1\) and \(C_2\) are made explicit. Furthermore, the author provides a complete list of terms of such sequences that do not have PPD-s. The main tools of the proofs are certain inequalities relating \(u\) and those indices \(n\) for which \(u_n\) has no PPD. These inequalities are obtained using certain properties related to cyclotomic polynomials, partly based upon a result of Schinzel.

Recommendations

• Primitive divisors of Lucas and Lehmer sequences. II
• Note on Lehmer-Pierce sequences with the same prime divisors
• Primitive divisors of Lucas and Lehmer sequences, III
• Existence of primitive divisors of Lucas and Lehmer numbers (with an appendix by M. Mignotte)
• Prime divisors of Lucas sequences

Cites work

• Elliptic divisibility sequences over certain curves
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• Factorization of certain cyclotomic functions
• Heights of polynomials and entropy in algebraic dynamics
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2107593 (Why is no real title available?)
• Primes Generated by Recurrence Sequences
• Primes in Sequences Associated to Polynomials (After Lehmer)
• Primitive divisors of elliptic divisibility sequences
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• The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
• Wieferich's criterion and the abc-conjecture

Cited in

(4)

• On the number of residues of linear recurrences
• Mean divisibility of multinomial coefficients
• Note on Lehmer-Pierce sequences with the same prime divisors
• Spanning trees in \(\mathbb{Z} \)-covers of a finite graph and Mahler measures

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