An Inequality for Coefficients of the Real-rooted Polynomials

Abstract

In this paper, we prove that if $f(x)=\sum_{k=0}^n{n\choose k}a_kx^k$ is a polynomial with real zeros only, then the sequence $\{a_k\}_{k=0}^n$ satisfies the following inequalities $a_{k+1}^2(1-\sqrt{1-c_k})^2/a_k^2 \leq(a_{k+1}^2-a_ka_{k+2})/(a_k^2-a_{k-1}a_{k+1}) \leq a_{k+1}^2(1+\sqrt{1-c_k})^2/a_k^2$, where $c_k=a_ka_{k+2}/a_{k+1}^2$. This inequality holds for the coefficients of the Riemann $\xi$-function, the ultraspherical, Laguerre and Hermite polynomials, and the partition function. Moreover, as a corollary, for the partition function $p(n)$, we prove that $p(n)^2-p(n-1)p(n+1)$ is increasing for $n\geq 55$. We also find that for a positive and log-concave sequence $\{a_k\}_{k\geq 0}$, the inequality $a_{k+2}/a_k\leq (a_{k+1}^2-a_ka_{k+2})/(a_k^2-a_{k-1}a_{k+1}) \leq a_{k+1}/a_{k-1}$ is the sufficient condition for both the $2$-log-concavity and the higher order Tur{\'a}n inequalities of $\{a_k\}_{k\geq 0}$. It is easy to verify that if $a_k^2\geq ra_{k+1}a_{k-1}$, where $r\geq 2$, then the sequence $\{a_k\}_{k\geq 0}$ satisfies this inequality.