Report on some recent advances in Diophantine approximation

A basic question of Diophantine approximation, which is the first issue we discuss, is to investigate the rational approximations to a single real number. Next, we consider the algebraic or polynomial approximations to a single complex number, as well as the simultaneous approximation of powers of a real number by rational numbers with the same denominator. Finally we study generalisations of these questions to higher dimensions. Several recent advances have been made by B. Adamczewski, Y. Bugeaud, S. Fischler, M. Laurent, T. Rivoal, D. Roy and W.M. Schmidt, among others. We review some of these works.Comment: to be published by Springer Verlag, Special volume in honor of Serge Lang, ed. Dorian Goldfeld, Jay Jorgensen, Dinakar Ramakrishnan, Ken Ribet and John Tat

Thue's Fundamentaltheorem, I: The General Case

In this paper, Thue's Fundamentaltheorem is analysed. We show that it includes, and often strengthens, known effective irrationality measures obtained via the so-called hypergeometric method as well as showing that it can be applied to previously unconsidered families of algebraic numbers. Furthermore, we extend the method to also cover approximation by algebraic numbers in imaginary quadratic number fields.Comment: accepted version (Acta Arithmetica

Arithmetic theory of E-operators

In [S\'eries Gevrey de type arithm\'etique I Th\'eor\'emes de puret\'e et de dualit\'e, Annals of Math. 151 (2000), 705--740], Andr\'e has introduced E-operators, a class of differential operators intimately related to E-functions, and constructed local bases of solutions for these operators. In this paper we investigate the arithmetical nature of connexion constants of E-operators at finite distance, and of Stokes constants at infinity. We prove that they involve values at algebraic points of E-functions in the former case, and in the latter one, values of G-functions and of derivatives of the Gamma function at rational points in a very precise way. As an application, we define and study a class of numbers having certain algebraic approximations defined in terms of E-functions. These types of approximations are motivated by the convergents to the number e, as well as by recent constructions of approximations to Euler's constant and values of the Gamma function. Our results and methods are completely different from those in our paper [On the values of G-functions, Commentarii Math. Helv., to appear], where we have studied similar questions for G-functions

Effective Irrationality Measures and Approximation by Algebraic Conjugates

In this paper, we present a result on using algebraic conjugates to form a sequence of approximations to an algebraic number, and in this way obtain effective irrationality measures for related algebraic numbers. From this result, we are able to generalise Thue's Fundamentaltheorem.Comment: 14 page