$p$-Adic quotient sets: linear recurrence sequences with reducible characteristic polynomials

Abstract

Let $(x_n)_{n\geq0}$ be a linear recurrence sequence of order $k\geq2$ satisfying $$x_n=a_1x_{n-1}+a_2x_{n-2}+\dots+a_kx_{n-k}$$ for all integers $n\geq k$, where $a_1,\dots,a_k,x_0,\dots, x_{k-1}\in \mathbb{Z},$ with $a_k\neq0$. In 2017, Sanna posed an open question to classify primes $p$ for which the quotient set of $(x_n)_{n\geq0}$ is dense in $\mathbb{Q}_p$. In a recent paper, we showed that if the characteristic polynomial of the recurrence sequence has a root $\pm \alpha$, where $\alpha$ is a Pisot number and if $p$ is a prime such that the characteristic polynomial of the recurrence sequence is irreducible in $\mathbb{Q}_p$, then the quotient set of $(x_n)_{n\geq 0}$ is dense in $\mathbb{Q}_p$. In this article, we answer the problem for certain linear recurrence sequences whose characteristic polynomials are reducible over $\mathbb{Q}$.