ISSN 1064–5624, Doklady Mathematics, 2009, Vol. 79, No. 1, pp. 13–15. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2009.

Original Russian Text © K.V. Safonov, 2009, published in Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2009, Vol. 424, No. 1, pp. 19–21.

MATHEMATICS

An Algebraicity Criterion for the Sum

of a Power Series (a Generalization of Kronecker’s Criterion)
and Its Application
K. V. Safonov
Presented by Academician M.M. Lavrent’ev May 24, 2008

Received June 26, 2008

DOI: 10.1134/S1064562409010050

One of the most important problems in the theory of
power series is finding conditions on the coefficients of
a power series
a(z) = ∑a z ,
k
k (1)
k≥0
convergent in a neighborhood of zero which ensure the
membership of its sum (the germ of a complete analytic
function holomorphic at the origin) in a given class. In
this paper, we solve this problem for the class A of
germs of algebraic functions, which is convenient to
∞ the power series of an algebraic function could be
represent in the form A = ∪A n, where each An is the
n=1
set of germs of algebraic functions of degree n (each
germ satisfies some irreducible polynomial equation of
degree n, and this degree is minimal).
For the class A1 = R of simplest algebraic functions,
that is, rational functions, the problem is solved by Kro-
necker’s criterion (1881), which gives characteristic
conditions on the coefficients of power series for func-
tions from this class: the rationality of the sum of the
series is equivalent to the vanishing for j ≥ j0 and l ≥ l0
of the Hankel determinants
aj aj + 1 … aj + l
(l) aj + 1 aj + 2 … aj + l + 1
Hj =
In the case of n > 1, characteristic conditions for the
coefficients of functions of class An have not been estab-
lished, although the power series of algebraic functions
have always attracted must attention (this is confirmed
by, e.g., the classical theorems of Eisenstein (1852) and
Fatou (1904) [1]). Some information about the coeffi-
cients of power series (1) of an arbitrary algebraic func-
tion is provided by the fact that they are the diagonal
coefficients of the power series for some rational func-
tion of two variables [3, 6].
An exhaustive characterization of the coefficients in
obtained by generalizing Kronecker’s rationality crite-
rion to the case of n > 1, but the question of whether
such a generalization is possible has remained open. In
fact, obtaining it requires finding an adequate method
for stating conditions on the coefficients in power
series (1) obtained as a result of substituting this series
into the polynomial equation
S ( w, z ) = s 0 ( z ) + s 1 ( z )w + … + s d ( z )w = 0,
d
where S(w, z) is the irreducible polynomial determining
the function a(z) by the condition S(a(z), z) ≡ 0. Such a
method is suggested below.
We set
. k

∑ ∑a a
( j) ( j – 1)
… … … … ak = a i1 a i2 …a i j = i k–i ,
a j + l a j + l + 1 … a j + 2l i1 + … + i j = k i=0
(0)
By virtue of the properties of the Hankel determinants, ak = ak .
this requirement is equivalent to the condition that
(l) The following theorem generalizes Kronecker’s ratio-
H 0 = 0 starting with some l [1, 5]. nality criterion to algebraic functions.
Theorem A. The condition a(z) ∈ Ad holds if and
only if there exist numbers j0 and l0 such that, for all j ≥ j0
Siberian Federal University, Svobodnyi pr. 79, Krasnoyarsk, (l)
660041 Russia; e-mail: safonovkv@rambler.ru and l ≥ l0, the equalities H j (d) = 0 hold, where

13
14 SAFONOV

The existence of a nontrivial solution to system (3),

(0) (0) (d – 1) (d – 1)
aj … aj + l … aj … aj + l (0)
together with the equalities ak = a k , is equivalent to
(l)
H j (d ) = … … … … … … … (m)
the vanishing of the determinants H j (d), which
(0) (0) (d – 1) (d – 1)
aj + q … aj + q + l … aj + q … aj + q + l proves Theorem A.
As an example, consider the power series
is the generalized Hankel determinant of degree d and
q = (l + 1)d – 1. 2k
a(z) = ∑ ⎛⎝ k ⎞⎠ z .
k
We prove this theorem by considering the equation
S(w, z) = 0. We assume that all polynomials si(z) k≥0
included in it have equal degrees (otherwise, we sup- It can be proved by induction that
plement them by monomials with zero coefficients).
k k
We have 2 j 2 ( k – j )⎞
∑a a ∑ ⎛⎝ j ⎞⎠ ⎛⎝
(1) k
ak = = = 4,
m0
j k– j
k– j ⎠
s 1 ( z ) = q 0 + q 1 z + … + q m0 z , j=0 j=0

thus, for any j ≥ 1, we have

( j – 1) ( j – 1) ( j – 1 ) m0
s j ( z ) = q0 + q1 z + … + q m0 z ,
(1) (1)
j = 2, 3, …, d. aj aj + 1 aj aj + 1
(1) (1)
( j) aj + 1 aj + 2 aj + 1 aj + 2
Noting that the a k are the coefficients in the power = 0.
(1) (1)
series of the function (a(z))j + 1 and substituting the aj + 2 aj + 3 aj + 2 aj + 3
series of functions a(z), (a(z))2, …, (a(z))d into the equa- (1)
aj + 3 aj + 4 aj + 3 aj + 4
(1)
tion S(w, z) = 0, we obtain
A particular solution of the homogeneous system of
∑
m
( q 0 + q 1 z + … + q m0 z 0 )
k
ak z equations corresponding to this determinant is the num-
k≥0 (1) (1)
bers q1 = q0 = 0, q 0 = 1, q 1 = –4. Thus, s2(z) = 1 – 4z
and s1(z) = 0. Since the determinants vanish for all j ≥ 1,
∑a
(1) (1) (1) m (1) k
+ ( q 0 + q 1 z + … + q m0 z 0 ) k z … it follows that the degree of the polynomial s0(z) is zero,
k≥0 i.e., s0 = const. Taking into account the equality a(0) =
s0 ( 0 )
∑a
(d – 1) ( d – 1 ) m0 (d – 1) k
…+ ( q 0 + q 1 z + … + q m0 z ) k z = – s 0 ( z ). - = 1, we obtain s0(z) = –1. Thus, the given
– -----------
k≥0
s2 ( 0 )
function is algebraic and satisfies the equation (1 –
Equating the coefficients of the monomials zj on the 4z)w2 – 1 = 0, which implies a(z) = (1 – 4z)–1/2.
left-hand side of this equality to zero for all sufficiently
large j, we obtain the following infinite system of linear Theorem A makes it possible in principle to investi-
homogeneous algebraic equations with respect to the gate the algebraicity of sums of multiple power series:
(d – 1) (d – 1)
a function holomorphic on some domain is algebraic if
unknowns q m0 , …, q0, …, …, q m0 , …, q 0 : and only if it is algebraic in each variable at fixed values
of the other variables. The necessity for such a study
(d – 1) (d – 1)
q m 0a j + q m 0 – 1 a j + 1 + … + q 0 q j + m 0 + … + q m 0 a j arises, e.g., in the theory of context-free languages [2].
(d – 1) (d – 1) (d – 1) (d – 1)
A context-free language is a formal power series of
+ q m0 – 1 a j + 1 + … + q 0 a j + m0 = 0, (2) the form
j ≤ j0.
∑ 〈 r, u 〉 u ,j j

The algebraicity of function (1), which is equivalent to j≥0

the existence of a nontrivial solution to system (2), is where the uj are monomials in noncommutative vari-
also equivalent to the nontrivial solvability of the infi- ables x1, x2, …, xn with integer coefficients 〈r, uj〉, satis-
nite system of the extended equations (with m ≥ m0) fying a system of polynomial equations determined by
(1) (1) the grammar of this language. The importance of
qm a j + qm – 1 a j + 1 + … + q0 a j + m + qm a j obtaining criteria and conditions for a given language (a
(1) (1) (1) (1) (d – 1) (d – 1) formal power series) to be context-free was pointed out
+ qm – 1 a j + 1 + … + q0 a j + m + … + qm aj by Glushkov as early as 1974 [2].
(3)
(d – 1) (d – 1) (d – 1) (d – 1)
+ qm – 1 a j + 1 + … + q0 aj + m = 0, A fundamental progress toward solving this ques-
tion was made thanks to the study of the commutative
j ≥ j0. image (generating function) of a language. The com-

DOKLADY MATHEMATICS Vol. 79 No. 1 2009

 AN ALGEBRAICITY CRITERION FOR THE SUM OF A POWER SERIES 15

mutative image of a language, which was first consid- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ered by Semenov [4], is obtained by changing the non- This work was supported by the program “Leading
commutative variables x1, x2, …, xn for complex vari- Scientific Schools” (project no. NSh-2427.2008.1) and
ables z1, z2, …, zn and reducing similar terms: by a grant of the Siberian Federal University.

∑
k k k
a ( z 1, z 2, …, z n ) = a k 1 k 2 …k n z 11 z 22 …z nn . REFERENCES
k 1, k 2, …, k n ≥ 0 1. L. Bieberbach, Analytic Continuation (Springer, Berlin,
1955; Nauka, Moscow, 1967).
In the case of a context-free language, the function thus 2. V. M. Glushkov, G. E. Tseitlin, and E. L. Yushchenko,
obtained is holomorphic in a neighborhood of the ori- Algebra, Languages, Programming (Naukova Dumka,
gin and algebraic. Theorem A makes it possible in prin- Kiev, 1974) [in Russian].
ciple to verify whether or not the commutative image of 3. K. V. Safonov, Mat. Zametki 41 (3), 325–332 (1987).
a language is an algebraic function. 4. A. L. Semenov, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 212 (1), 50–52
(1973).
The study of the commutative image a(z1, z2, …, zn) 5. L. Bieberbach, Lehrbuch Der Funktionentheorie
of a context-free language on the complex domain of (Leipzig, 1931), Vol. 2.
variation of the variables also makes it possible to 6. K. V. Safonov, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 243, 261–277
establish deeper properties. (2000).

DOKLADY MATHEMATICS Vol. 79 No. 1 2009