On determinants involving second-order recurrent sequences

Abstract

Let $A$ and $B$ be complex numbers, and let $(w_n)_{n\ge0}$ be a sequence of complex numbers with $w_{n+1}=Aw_n-Bw_{n-1}$ for all $n=1,2,3,\ldots$. When $w_0=0$ and $w_1=1$, the sequence $(w_n)_{n\ge0}$ is just the Lucas sequence $(u_n(A,B))_{n\ge0}$. In this paper, we evaluate the determinants $$\det[w_{|j-k|}]_{1\le j,k\le n}\ \ \text{and}\ \ \det[w_{|j-k+1|}]_{1\le j,k\le n}.$$ In particular, we have $$\det[u_{|j-k|}(A,B)]_{1\le j,k\le n}=(-1)^{n-1}u_{n-1}(2A,(B+1)^2).$$ When $B=-1$ and $2\mid n$, we also determine the characteristic polynomial of the matrix $[w_{j+k}]_{0\le j,k\le n-1}$.