Lower bounds on the projective heights of algebraic points

Charles L. Samuels

Published 2014-08-21Version 1

If $\alpha_1,\ldots,\alpha_r$ are algebraic numbers such that $$N=\sum_{i=1}^r\alpha_i \ne \sum_{i=1}^r\alpha_i^{-1}$$ for some integer $N$, then a theorem of Beukers and Zagier gives the best possible lower bound on $$\sum_{i=1}^r\log h(\alpha_i)$$ where $h$ denotes the Weil Height. We will extend this result to allow $N$ to be any totally real algebraic number. Our generalization includes a consequence of a theorem of Schinzel which bounds the height of a totally real algebraic integer.