On the location of roots of non-reciprocal integer polynomials

Abstract

Let P be a polynomial of degree d with integer coefficients such that P(0) ≠ 0. Assuming that P has no reciprocal factors we obtain a lower bound on the modulus of the smallest root of P in terms of its degree d, its Mahler measure M(P) and the number of roots of P lying outside the unit circle, say, k. We derive from this that all d roots of P must lie in the annulus R 0 }\,(12M(\alpha)^2 \log M(\alpha))^{-d}}$$. Some lower bounds on the moduli of the conjugates of a Pisot number are also given. In particular, it is shown that if α is a cubic Pisot number, then the disc |z| ≤ α −1 + 0.1999α −2 contains no conjugates of α. Here the constant 0.1999 cannot be replaced by the constant 0.2. We also show that if α is a Pisot number of degree at least 4 and α′ is its conjugate, then |α α′ − 1| > (19α 2)−1.