Generalized Vandermonde Determinants and Characterization of Divisibility Sequences

Abstract: We present a different proof of the characterization of non--degenerate recurrence sequences, which are also divisibility sequences, given by Van der Poorten, Bezevin, and Petho in their paper "A Full Characterisation of Divisibility Sequence". Our proof is based on an interesting determinant identity related to impulse sequences, arising from the evaluation of a generalized Vandermonde determinant. As a consequence of this new proof we can find a more precise form for the resultant sequence presented in their paper, in the general case of non--degenerate divisibility sequences having minimal polynomial with multiple roots.