Let n ≥ 2 be an integer and denote by θn the real root in (0, 1) of the trinomial Gn(X) = −1 + X + Xn. The sequence of Perron numbers $(\theta _n^{ - 1} )_{n \ge 2} $ tends to 1. We prove that the Conjecture of Lehmer is true for $\{ \theta _n^{ - 1} |n \ge 2\} $ by the direct method of Poincaré asymptotic expansions (divergent formal series of functions) of the roots θn, zj,n, of Gn(X) lying in |z| < 1, as a function of n, j only. This method, not yet applied to Lehmer’s problem up to the knowledge of the author, is successfully introduced here. It first gives the asymptotic expansion of the Mahler measures ${\rm{M}}(G_n ) = {\rm{M}}(\theta _n ) = {\rm{M}}(\theta _n^{ - 1} )$ of the trinomials Gn as a function of n only, without invoking Smyth’s Theorem, and their unique limit point above the smallest Pisot number. Comparison is made with Smyth’s, Boyd’s and Flammang’s previous results. By this method we obtain a direct proof that the conjecture of Schinzel-Zassenhaus is true for $\{ \theta _n^{ - 1} |n \ge 2\} $, with a minoration of the house , and a minoration of the Mahler measure M(Gn) better than Dobrowolski’s one. The angular regularity of the roots of Gn, near the unit circle, and limit equidistribution of the conjugates, for n tending to infinity (in the sense of Bilu, Petsche, Pritsker), towards the Haar measure on the unit circle, are described in the context of the Erdős-Turán-Amoroso-Mignotte theory, with uniformly bounded discrepancy functions.

We give an explicit upper bound of the minimal number ν T,n of balls of radius 1 2 which form a covering of a ball of radius T > 1 2 in R n , n ≥ 2. The asymptotic estimates of ν T,n we deduce when n is large are improved further by recent results of Böröczky, Jr. and Wintsche on the asymptotic estimates of the minimal number of equal balls of R n covering the sphere S n−1 . The optimality of the asymptotic estimates is discussed.