By an H-series of type k, k

(1)
_
A THEOREM ON HURWITZ SERIES
BY_ ALTER RUDIN

f x)
0, is meant a formal power series of the form

where the coefficients a. are rational integers, and

a . I ,n },

(2) {m, k} m!(m -F 1)! (m + k)! {m, O} m!.

1! k!
,

_-
For a fixed k, the totality of series (1), which is denoted by is a domain of.

,.
-
integrity (see [1; Theorem 2]).
We prove the transcendence of a class of H-series of type k 1 relative to
As a special case of our theorem, we see that x’/{m, ]c -t- 11 is transcendental
relative to ;this confirms the conjecture in the last paragraph of [1]. In
particular, considering he simplest case (k 0), we see that x’[m!(m 1)!
is transcendental relative to the set )o of series a.x’/m!.
THEOREM. Let P be an infinite set of distinct rational primes. Let f (x) be an

_
H-series of type k 1, k O, such that a 0 (rood p).for p P. Then the
equation

(3) ,(x)f O,
i-0

in which the B are H-series of type k, implies B(x) 0 for i O, t.

Proof. We assume that there exists an equation of the form (3), in which not
all B vanish identically. Applying the lemma of [1], it then follows that there
exists an integer s, s 0, such that

(4) C,(x)g’ Co(x) (C, t , ;i O, t),

--
i-1

where

(5) g(x) a././lx’/{m s 1, k + 1},

(6) C,(x) _, c.‘’) x /{m, k} (i 0, 1; c(r 1) 0),

Received March 16, 1949.

309
310 WLTER RUDIN

(7) c,(x) , c" ’/ ,n, (i 2, ..., ),

.
m-r+l

(8) r >_ s / 1.
Then

(9) Cg ,. {m, k}
By induction we obtain, for i 2,
{n, k} {m
t,
n Ts + i: W 1}"

where uo m and the second summation is over r

Let p be a pre such that
+1 u, u m.

(11) pP, p> ]c_() , p>r+2k+l.

We shall arrive at. a contradiction, and hence prove the theorem, by showing
that the coefficient of x’+-’-/{p T r s 1, k} in the left member of (4) is
not an integer.
By (9), (10), this’ coefficient is a sum of terms consisting of integral multiples
of factors of the form

(12) {v, k} {w v W s T l, k W1}

plus the single term
(13) c %{p W r s 1, k}/{r, } {p, k + 1}.
By (2), (12) is equal to

(1) (w
1!... (k-t- 1)!
I 12
+s+l)’..o(v+n)!(w-v+s+n+2)."
(w+n)!

-
The inequalities (8), (11), (12) imply
(a) p ’(w- vW s+ 1)!;
(b) if p] (vWn)!orifpl (w-vTsWn-2)!,thenp] (wTn)!;
(c) p does not divide any factorial in (14);
(d) p cannot divide both (v -t- n)! and (w v -{- s n -t- 2)!.
It follows that none of the terms (12) contains p effectively in the denominator.

-
However, p does appear effectively in the denominator of (13). To see this, we
write (13) in the form
(] W 1)!(p+r-- s-- 1)i... (pWr-- sWk- 1)!
c)a, 1!..- r!...
(15) (r k -{- 1)!p!(p -t- 1)! (p T k + 1)!
 THEOREM ON HURVrITZ SERIES 311

c
By our choice of p, p la As in (c) above, ps divides none of the factorials
’
in (15). Hence it is evident that the numerator of (15) is divisible by p+l and
is not divisible by p+S, whereas the denominator is divisible by p+S. This
completes the proof.
We remark that our theorem is valid for b -1, if we define {m, -1} 1.
But in this case the theorem follows from the Eisenstein criterion (see [2; 139]).
REFERENCES
1. L. CARLITZ, Hurwitz series: Eisenstein criterion, this Journal, voh 16(1949), pp. 303-308.
2. G. PdLVA AND G. SZEGS, Ai]gaben und Lehrsdtze aus der Analysis II, Berlin, 1925.
DUKE UNIVERSITY.