WorksMathematics
Non-Archimedean Smale Mean Value and Dubinin–Sugawa Dual Mean Value Problems
Abstract
Motivated by the Smale mean value and the Dubinin–Sugawa dual mean value theorems, we formulate non-Archimedean Smale mean value and Dubinin–Sugawa dual mean value problems. We show that if a universal constant satisfying the non-Archimedean Smale mean value problem exists, it must be greater than or equal to one and if a universal constant satisfying the non-Archimedean Dubinin–Sugawa dual mean value problem exists, it must be less than or equal to one. We also derive other bounds whenever roots of unity exist in a non-Archimedean field.
Introduction
In 1981, Steve Smale proved the following result using the Koebe 1/4-theorem [27].
Theorem 1.1. [27] (Smale Mean Value Theorem) Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of (i.e., ), then
Note that Theorem 1.1 can also be stated as follows.
Theorem 1.2. [27] (Smale Mean Value Theorem) Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then there exists a critical point of such that
The proof of Theorem 1.2 can also be found in books [19, 24]. Inequality (1) led Smale to ask the following problem. What is the best constant such that the Inequality (1) can be replaced by
Smale made the following conjecture with regard to Inequality (3), which remains open today.
Conjecture 1.3. [25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30] (Smale Mean Value Conjecture) Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then
or
By taking polynomial , we see that the constant in inequality (4) cannot be improved further. Conjecture 1.3 also appears as Problem 1 in the Addenda after the list of 18 open problems of Smale in Mathematical Problems for the Next Century [30]. Now for a polynomial of degree , define
and
Smale conjecture then asks whether or ? It is known that the Conjecture 1.3 holds for polynomials of degree 2, 3, 4, [19, 24, 31]. Through computer calculations, Smale conjecture is known to hold for polynomials of degree upto 10 [23].
Usually, the study of Smale mean value conjecture goes with the following conjecture which is known as normalization equivalence to Conjecture 1.3.
Conjecture 1.4. [19, 24, 27] (Normalized Smale Mean Value Conjecture) Let be a degree polynomial over which is normalized, i.e., and . Then
or
In 1996, Andrievskii and Ruscheweyh showed that if critical points of a normalized polynomial lie on the unit circle, then [1]. In 2009, Hinkkanen and Kayumov showed that if all the critical points of a normalized polynomial are real, then [12]. In 2010, Hinkkanen and Kayumov proved that if the critical points of normalized polynomial lie on the sector , then and if the critical points of normalized polynomial lie in the union of two rays for each , then [13]. In [19] it is showed that if the critical points of a normalized polynomial are all real, then and in [24] it is showed that .
In 2002, Beardon, Minda and Ng showed that [2]. In 2006, Fijikawa and Sugawa proved that [11]. In 2007, Conte, Fujikawa and Lakic showed that [3]. In 2007, Crane showed that there exists such that for all , [5] (also see [4]). In 2003, Ng proved that Conjecture 1.3 holds with for all odd polynomials with nonzero linear terms [16]. In 2006, Dubinin proved that if the critical points of a normalized polynomial have equal modulus, then [10].
At the other side, in 2002, Sendov formulated a generalization of Conjecture 1.3 [21]. In 2003, Sendov and Nikolov gave some variations of Conjecture 1.3 [22]. In 2005, Tyson showed that Tischler’s strong form of Smale mean value conjecture [31, 32] fails [33]. One can interpret Conjecture 1.3 in the form of finite Blaschke products [17, 18, 24]. It is also possible to connect Conjecture 1.3 with electrostatics [6]. In 1981, Smale also derived the following higher order mean value theorem [27].
Theorem 1.5. [27] (Higher Order Smale Mean Value Theorem) Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then there exists a critical point of such that
In 2009, Dubinin and Sugawa derived the following striking result which is a dual result for Smale mean value theorem [9].
Theorem 1.6. [7, 9] (Dubinin-Sugawa Dual Mean Value Theorem) Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then there exists a critical point of such that
In other words,
Dubinin and Sugawa made the following conjecture in 2009 [9].
Conjecture 1.7. [7, 9] (Dubinin-Sugawa Dual Mean Value Conjecture) Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then
For a polynomial of degree , define
Similar to Conjecture 1.4, we have the following normalized version of Conjecture 1.7.
Conjecture 1.8. [7, 9] (Normalized Smale Dubinin-Sugawa Dual Mean Value Conjecture) Let be a degree polynomial over which is normalized, i.e., and . Then
In 2016, Ng and Zhang showed that if is a normalized polynomial, then [17]. In 2019 Dubinin showed that [8]. In 2019, Hinkkanen, Kayumov and Khammatova showed that Conjecture 1.7 holds for polynomials of degree six [14]. In 2025, Hinkkanen, Kayumov and Khammatova showed that Conjecture 1.7 holds for polynomials of degree six [15].
Non-Archimedean Smale Mean Value Problem
Let be a field. Recall that a map is said to be a non-Archimedean valuation if the following conditions hold:
(i) If satisfies , then .
(ii) for all .
(iii) (Ultratriangle inequality) for all .
We say is non-Archimedean complete valued field if it is complete w.r.t. the ultrametric for all [20]. Throughout the article we assume that is algebraically closed.
We ask for non-Archimedean version of Theorem 1.2 as follows.
Problem 2.1. (Non-Archimedean Smale Mean Value Problem) Let be a non-Archimedean (complete) valued field. Whether there is a universal constant (which may depend upon ) satisfying the following: Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then there exists a critical point of such that
In the following result we derive a constraint for non-Archimedean Smale mean value constant, if exists.
Theorem 2.2. Let be a non-Archimedean valued field. The constant in Problem 2.1, if exists, satisfies .
Proof. Let . Then for all . Let be such that . Note that has only one zero, namely . Define and . Then
and
Hence
Therefore
:::
Theorem 2.3. Let be a non-Archimedean valued field. Assume that there is an such that has -th roots of unity. The constant in Problem 2.1, if exists, satisfies .
Proof. We define the polynomial . The point is not a critical point of . Let be any critical point of . Then is a -th root of unity. We now see that
Hence .
Based on Theorem 1.5 we formulate the following higher order problem.
Problem 2.4. (Higher Order Non-Archimedean Smale Mean Value Problem) Let be a non-Archimedean (complete) valued field. Whether there is a universal constant (which may depend upon ) satisfying the following: Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then there exists a critical point of such that
Theorem 2.5. Let be a non-Archimedean valued field. The constant in Problem 2.4, if exists, satisfies .
Proof. We continue from the proof of Theorem 2.2. Let be not a zero of . We have . Hence
We find
Therefore
Non-Archimedean Dubinin-Sugawa Dual Mean Value Problem
We ask non-Archimedean version of Theorem 1.6 as follows.
Problem 3.1. (Non-Archimedean Dubinin-Sugawa Dual Mean Value Problem) Let be a non-Archimedean (complete) valued field. Whether there is a universal constant (which may depend upon ) satisfying the following: Let be a polynomial of degree over . If is not a critical point of , then there exists a critical point of such that
Theorem 3.2. Let be a non-Archimedean valued field. The constant in Problem 3.1, if exists, satisfies .
Proof. From the proof of Theorem 2.2, we get that .
Theorem 3.3. Let be a non-Archimedean valued field. Assume that there is an such that has -th roots of unity. The constant in Problem 3.1, if exists, satisfies .
Proof. By defining polynomial we get that .
Conclusion
For 45 years, the Smale mean value theorem has remained a cornerstone result in the theory of polynomials, while the Dubinin–Sugawa dual mean value theorem has served a similar vital role for 17 years. In this article, we asked for non-Archimedean versions of both theorems. We established explicit bounds for these constants, conditioning on their existence.
References
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