Simultaneous rational approximations to certain algebraic numbers

Abstract

It is generally conjectured that if α1, α2 …, αk are algebraic numbers for which no equation of the formis satisfied with rational ri not all zero, and if K > 1 + l/k, then there are only finitely many sets of integers p1, p2, …, pkq, q > 0, such thatThis result would be best possible, for it is well known that (1) has infinitely many solutions when K = 1 + 1/k. † If α1, α2, …, αk are elements of an algebraic number field of degree k + 1 the result can be deduced easily (see Perron (11)). The famous theorem of Roth (13) asserts the truth of the conjecture in the case k = 1 and this implies that for any positive integer k, (1) certainly has only finitely many solutions if K > 2. Nothing further in this direction however has hitherto been proved.‡