📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

Given a prime $p$, the $p$-adic Littlewood Conjecture stands as a well-known arithmetic variant of the celebrated Littlewood Conjecture in Diophantine Approximation. In the same way as the latter, it admits a natural function field analogue depending on the choice of an irreducible polynomial $P(t)$ with coefficients in a field $\mathbb{K}$. This analogue is referred to as the $P(t)$-adic Littlewood Conjecture ($P(t)$-LC for short). $P(t)$-LC is proved to fail for any choice of irreducible polynomial $P(t)$ over any ground field $\mathbb{K}$ with characteristic $ \ell \equiv 3\pmod{4}$. The counterexample refuting it is shown to present a local arithmetic obstruction emerging from the fact that -1 is not a quadratic residue modulo a prime $\ell\equiv 3\pmod{4}$. The theory developed elucidates and generalises all previous approaches towards refuting the conjecture. They were all based on the computer-assisted method initiated by Adiceam, Nesharim and Lunnon (2021) which has been able to establish that $P(t)$-LC fails in some small characteristics (essentially up to 11). This computer-assisted method is, however, unable to provide a general statement as it relies on ad hoc computer verifications which, provided they terminate, refute $P(t)$--LC in a given characteristic. This limitation is overcome by exhibiting an arithmetic obstruction to the validity of $P(t)$--LC in infinitely many characteristics.This leaves the remaining case of odd characteristics $\ell\equiv 1\pmod{4}$ dependent on their full determination.