1. Introduction and statement of results

Let p(z) be a polynomial of degree n, then according to the well-known Bernstein's inequality [1] on the derivative of a polynomial, we have

max | z | = 1 p ( z ) n max | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.1)

This result is best possible and equality holding for a polynomial that has all zeros at the origin.

If we restrict to the class of polynomials which have all zeros in |z| ≤ 1, then it has been proved by Turan [2] that

max | z | = 1 p ( z ) n 2 max | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.2)

The inequality (1.2) is sharp and equality holds for a polynomial that has all zeros on |z| = 1.

As an extension to (1.2), Malik [3] proved that if p(z) has all zeros in |z| ≤ k, where k ≤ 1, then

max | z | = 1 p ( z ) n 1 + k max | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.3)

This result is best possible and equality holds for p(z) = (z - k)n.

Aziz and Dawood [4] obtained the following refinement of the inequality (1.2) and proved that if p(z) has all zeros in |z| ≤ 1, then

max | z | = 1 p ( z ) n 2 max | z | = 1 p ( z ) + min | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.4)

This result is best possible and equality attains for a polynomial that has all zeros on |z| = 1.

Let D α p(z) denote the polar differentiation of the polynomial p(z) of degree n with respect to α ∈ ℂ. Then, D α p(z) = np(z) + (α - z)p'(z). The polynomial D α p(z) is of degree at most n - 1, and it generalizes the ordinary derivative in the sense that

lim α D α p ( z ) α = p ( z ) .

Shah [5] extended (1.2) to the polar derivative of p(z) and proved that if all zeros of the polynomial p(z) lie in |z| ≤ 1, then for every α with |α| ≥ 1, we have

max | z | = 1 D α p ( z ) n 2 α - 1 max | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.5)

This result is best possible and equality holds as p(z) = (z - 1)nwith α ≥ 1.

Aziz and Rather [6] generalized (1.5) by extending (1.3) to the polar derivative of a polynomial. In fact, they proved that if all zeros of p(z) lie in |z| ≤ k, where k ≤ 1, then for every α with |α| ≥ k, we get

max | z | = 1 D α p ( z ) n 1 + k α - k max | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.6)

This result is best possible and equality holds for p(z) = (z - k)nwith αk.

In the same paper, Aziz and Rather [6] sharpened the inequality (1.5) by proving that if all the zeros of p(z) lie in |z| ≤ 1, then for every α with |α| ≥ 1, we would obtain

max | z | = 1 D α p ( z ) n 2 α - 1 max | z | = 1 p ( z ) + α - 1 min | z | = 1 p ( z ) .
(1.7)

This result is best possible and equality attains for p(z) = (z - 1)nwith α ≥ 1.

As an extension to the inequality (1.7), Jain [7] proved that if p(z) has all zeros in |z| ≤ 1, then for all α1,... α t ∈ ℂ with |α1| ≥ 1, |α2| ≥ 1, ..., |α t | ≥ 1, (1 ≤ t < n), we have

max | z | = 1 | D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) | n ( n 1 ) ( n t + 1 ) 2 t [ { ( | α 1 | 1 ) ( | α t | 1 ) } max | z | = 1 | p ( z ) | + { 2 t ( | α 1 | | α t | ) { ( | α 1 | 1 ) ( | α t | 1 ) } } min | z | = 1 | p ( z ) | ] ,
(1.8)

where

D α j D α j - 1 D α 1 p ( z ) = p j ( z ) = ( n - j + 1 ) p j - 1 ( z ) + ( α j - z ) p j - 1 ( z ) , j = 1 , 2 , , t , p 0 ( z ) = p ( z ) .

This result is best possible and equality holds as p(z) = (z - 1)nwith α1 ≥ 1, α2 ≥ 1,..., α t ≥ 1.

The following result proposes an extension to (1.8). In a precise set up, we have

Theorem 1.1. Let p(z) be a polynomial of degree n having all zeros in |z| ≤ k, where k ≤ 1, then for all α1, ... α t ∈ ℂ with |α1| ≥ k, |α2| ≥ k,..., |α t | ≥ k, (1 ≤ t < n),

max | z | = 1 | D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) | n ( n 1 ) ( n t + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) t [ { ( | α 1 | k ) ( | α t | k ) } max | z | = 1 | p ( z ) | + { ( 1 + k ) t ( | α 1 | | α t | ) { ( | α 1 | k ) ( | α t | k ) } } k n min | z | = k | p ( z ) | ] .
(1.9)

This result is best possible and equality holds for p(z) = (z - k)nwith α1k, α2k,..., α t k.

If we take k = 1 in Theorem 1.1, then inequality (1.9) reduces to inequality (1.8).

If we take t = 1 in Theorem 1.1, the following refinement of inequality (1.6) can be obtained.

Corollary 1.2. Let p(z) be a polynomial of degree n, having all zeros in |z| ≤ k, where k ≤ 1, then for every α ∈ ℂ with |α| ≥ k,

max | z | = 1 D α p ( z ) n 1 + k α - k max | z | = 1 p ( z ) + α + 1 k - ( n - 1 ) min | z | = k p ( z ) .
(1.10)

This result is best possible and equality occurs if p(z) = (z - k)nwith αk.

If we divide both sides of the above inequality in (1.10) by |α| and make |α| → ∞, we obtain a result proved by Govil [8].

2. Lemmas

For proof of the theorem, the following lemmas are needed. The first lemma is due to Laguerre [9].

Lemma 2.1. If all the zeros of an nth degree polynomial p(z) lie in a circular region C and w is any zero of D α p(z), then at most one of the points w and α may lie outside C.

Lemma 2.2. If p(z) is a polynomial of degree n, having all zeros in the closed disk |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, then on |z| = 1,

p ( z ) n 1 + k p ( z ) .
(2.1)

This lemma is due to Govil [10].

Lemma 2.3. If p(z) is a polynomial of degree n, having no zeros in |z| < k, k ≥ 1, then on |z| = 1,

k p ( z ) q ( z ) ,
(2.2)

whereq ( z ) = z n p ( 1 z ̄ ) ¯ .

The above lemma is due to Chan and Malik [11].

Lemma 2.4. If p(z) is a polynomial of degree n, having all zeros in the closed disk |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, then on |z| = 1,

q ( z ) k p ( z ) ,
(2.3)

whereq ( z ) = z n p ( 1 z ̄ ) ¯ .

Proof. Since p(z) has all its zeros in |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, therefore q(z) has no zero in |z| < 1/k, 1/k ≥ 1. Now applying Lemma 2.3 to the polynomial q(z) and the result follows.

Lemma 2.5. If p(z) is a polynomial of degree n, having all zeros in the closed disk |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, then for every real or complex number α with |α| ≥ k and |z| = 1, we have

D α p ( z ) n 1 + k α - k p ( z ) .
(2.4)

Proof. Let q ( z ) = z n p ( 1 z ̄ ) ¯ , then |q'(z)| = |np(z) - zp'(z)| on |z| = 1. Thus, on |z| = 1, we get

D α p ( z ) = n p ( z ) + ( α - z ) p ( z ) = α p ( z ) + n p ( z ) - z p ( z ) α p ( z ) - | n p ( z ) - z p ( z ) ,

that implies

D α p ( z ) α p ( z ) - q ( z ) .
(2.5)

By combining (2.3) and (2.5), we obtain

D α p ( z ) α - k p ( z ) .

that along Lemma 2.2, yields

D α p ( z ) n 1 + k α - k p ( z ) .

Lemma 2.6. If p ( z ) = a 0 + a 1 z + i = 2 n a i z i is a polynomial of degree n, having no zeros in |z| < k, k ≥ 1, then

k a 1 a 0 n .
(2.6)

The above lemma is due to Gardner et al. [12].

Lemma 2.7. Ifp ( z ) = i = 0 n a i z i is a polynomial of degree n, having all zeros in |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, then

a n - 1 a n n k .
(2.7)

Proof. Since p(z) has all zeros in |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, therefore

q ( z ) = z n p ( 1 z ̄ ) ¯ = a n ¯ + a n - 1 ¯ z + + a 1 ¯ z n - 1 + a 0 ¯ z n ,

is a polynomial of degree at most n, which does not vanish in |z| < 1/k, 1/k ≥ 1. By applying Lemma 2.6 for q(z), we get

1 k a n - 1 a n degree { q ( z ) } n ,

which completes the proof.

Lemma 2.8. If p(z) is a polynomial of degree n having all zeros in |z| ≤ k, k ≤ 1, then for all α1, ... α t ∈ ℂ with |α1| ≥ k, |α2| ≥ k,..., |α t | ≥ k, (1 ≤ t < n), and |z| = 1 we have

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) t × α 1 - k α t - k p ( z ) .
(2.8)

Proof. If |α j | = k for at least one j; 1 ≤ jt, then inequality (2.8) is trivial. Therefore, we assume that |α j | > k for all j; 1 ≤ jt.

In the rest, we proceed by mathematical induction. The result is true for t = 1, by Lemma 2.5, that means if |α1| > k then

D α 1 p ( z ) n 1 + k α 1 - k p ( z ) .
(2.9)

Now for t = 2, since D α 1 p ( z ) = n a n α 1 + a n - 1 z n - 1 + + n a 0 + α 1 a 1 , and |α1| > k, then D α 1 p ( z ) will be a polynomial of degree (n - 1). If it is not true, then the coefficient of zn-1must be equal to zero, which implies

n a n α 1 + a n - 1 = 0 ,

i.e,

α 1 = a n - 1 n a n .

Applying Lemma 2.7, we get

α 1 = a n - 1 n a n k .

But this result contradicts the fact that |α1| > k. Hence, the polynomial D α 1 p ( z ) must be of degree (n - 1).

On the other hand, since all the zeros of p(z) lie in |z| ≤ k, therefore by applying Lemma 2.1, all the zeros of D α 1 p ( z ) lie in |z| ≤ k, then using Lemma 2.5 for the polynomial D α 1 p ( z ) of degree n - 1, and |α2 | > k, it concludes that

D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) ( n - 1 ) 1 + k α 2 - k D α 1 p ( z ) .

Substituting the term D α 1 p ( z ) from (2.9) in the above inequality, we obtain

D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) n ( n - 1 ) ( 1 + k ) 2 α 1 - k α 2 - k p ( z ) .

This implies result is true for t = 2.

At this stage, we assume that the result is true for t = s < n; it means that for |z| = 1, we have

D α s D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) n ( n - 1 ) ( n - s + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) s × α 1 - k α s - k p ( z ) ,
(2.10)

and we will prove that the result is true for t = s + 1 < n.

According to the above procedure, using Lemmas 2.7 and 2.1, the polynomial D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) must be of degree (n - 2) for |α1| > k, |α2| > k, and has all zeros in |z| ≤ k. One can continue that D α s D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) will be a polynomial of degree (n - s) for all α1,... α s ∈ ℂ with |α1| ≥ k, |α2| ≥ k,..., |α s | ≥ k, (s < n), and has all zeros in |z| ≤ k. Therefore, for |αs+1| > k, by applying Lemma 2.5 to D α s D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) , we get

D α s + 1 D α s D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) ( n - s ) 1 + k α s + 1 - k D α s D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) .
(2.11)

By combining the terms (2.10) and (2.11), we obtain

D α s + 1 D α s D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) n ( n - 1 ) ( n - s ) ( 1 + k ) s + 1 × α 1 - k α s + 1 - k p ( z ) .

This implies that the result is true for t = s + 1. The proof is complete.

Lemma 2.9. Ifp ( z ) = i = 0 n a i z i is a polynomial of degree n, p(z) ≠ 0 in |z| < k, then m < |p(z)| for |z| < k, and in particular m < |a0|, where m = min|z|=k|p(z)|.

The above lemma is due to Gardner et al. [13].

Lemma 2.10. Ifp ( z ) = i = 0 n a i z i is a polynomial of degree n having all zeros in |z| ≤ k, then

m k n a n ,
(2.12)

where m = min|z|=k|p(z)|.

Proof. If k = 0, then inequality (2.12) is trivial. Now we suppose that k > 0. Since the polynomial p ( z ) = i = 0 n a i z i has all zeros in |z| ≤ k, the polynomial q(z) = znp(1/z) = a n + ⋯ + a0znhas no zero in z < 1 k . Thus, by applying Lemma 2.9 for the polynomial q(z), we get

min z = 1 k q ( z ) < a n .
(2.13)

Since min z = 1 k q ( z ) = 1 k n min z = k p ( z ) , (2.13) implies that m k n < a n .

3. Proof of the theorem

Proof of Theorem 1.1. Let m = min|z|=k|p(z)|. If p(z) has a zero on |z| = k, then m = 0 and the result follows from Lemma 2.8. Henceforth, we suppose that all the zeros of p(z) lie in |z| < k, so that m > 0. Now m ≤ |p(z)| for |z| = k, therefore if λ is any real or complex number such that |λ| < 1, then λ m z k n < p ( z ) for |z| = k. Since all zeros of p(z) lie in |z| < k, by Rouche's theorem we can deduce that all zeros of the polynomial G ( z ) =p ( z ) -λm z k n lie in |z| < k. Also it follows from Lemma 2.10, that λ m k n < a n , hence the polynomial G ( z ) =p ( z ) -λ ( m k n ) z n is of degree n. Now we can apply Lemma 2.8 for the polynomial G(z) of degree n which has all zeros in |z| ≤ k. This implies that for all α1,... α t ∈ ℂ with |α1| ≥ k, |α2| ≥ k, ..., |α t | ≥ k, (t < n), on |z| = 1,

D α t D α 2 D α 1 G ( z ) n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) t × α 1 - k α t - k G ( z ) .

Equivalently

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) - λ m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α 1 z n - t n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) t α 1 - k α t - k p ( z ) - λ m z k n .
(3.1)

But by Lemma 2.1, the polynomial T ( z ) = D α t D α 2 D α 1 G ( z ) has all zeros in |z| ≤ k. That is,

T ( z ) = D α t D α 2 D α 1 G ( z ) 0,for z >k.

Then, substituting G(z) in the above, we conclude that for every λ with |λ| < 1, and |z| > k,

T ( z ) = D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) - λ m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z n - t 0 .
(3.2)

Thus, for |z| > k,

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z n - t .
(3.3)

If the inequality (3.3) is not true, then there is a point z = z0 with |z0| > k such that

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z 0 ) < m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z 0 n - t .

Now take

λ = D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z 0 ) m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z 0 n - t ,

then |λ| < 1 and with this choice of λ, we have, T(z0) = 0 for |z0| > k, from (3.2). But it contradicts the fact that T(z) ≠ 0 for |z| > k. Hence, for |z| > k, we have

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z n - t .

Taking a relevant choice of argument of λ, arg λ = arg D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) - arg α 1 α 2 α t z n - t , we have

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) - λ m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z n - t = D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) - λ m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t | z n - t ,

where |z| = 1.

Therefore, we can rewrite (3.1) as

D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) - λ m k n n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) α 1 α 2 α t z n - t n ( n - 1 ) ( n - t + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) t α 1 - k α t - k p ( z ) - λ m k n z n ,

where |z| = 1.

In an equivalent way

| D α t D α 2 D α 1 p ( z ) | n ( n 1 ) ( n t + 1 ) ( 1 + k ) t [ { ( | α 1 | k ) ( | α t | k ) | p ( z ) | } + | λ | { ( 1 + k ) t ( | α 1 | | α 2 | | α t | ) { ( | α 1 | k ) ( | α t | k ) } } m k n ] .

Making |λ| → 1, Theorem 1.1 follows.