Rational series and asymptotic expansion for linear homogeneous divide-and-conquer recurrences

Abstract: Among all sequences that satisfy a divide-and-conquer recurrence, the sequences that are rational with respect to a numeration system are certainly the most immediate and most essential. Nevertheless, until recently they have not been studied from the asymptotic standpoint. We show how a mechanical process permits to compute their asymptotic expansion. It is based on linear algebra, with Jordan normal form, joint spectral radius, and dilation equations. The method is compared with the analytic number theory approach, based on Dirichlet series and residues, and new ways to compute the Fourier series of the periodic functions involved in the expansion are developed. The article comes with an extended bibliography.