Hankel Determinant Calculus for the Thue-Morse and related sequences

Abstract: The Hankel determinants of certain automatic sequences $f$ are evaluated, based on a calculation modulo a prime number. In most cases, the Hankel determinants of automatic sequences do not have any closed-form expressions; the traditional methods, such as $LU$-decompo-si-tion and Jacobi continued fraction, cannot be applied directly. Our method is based on a simple idea: the Hankel determinants of each sequence $g$ equal to $f$ modulo $p$ are equal to the Hankel determinants of $f$ modulo $p$. The clue then consists of finding a nice sequence $g$, whose Hankel determinants have closed-form expressions. Several examples are presented, including a result saying that the Hankel determinants of the Thue-Morse sequence are nonzero, first proved by Allouche, Peyri`ere, Wen and Wen using determinant manipulation. The present approach shortens the proof of the latter result significantly. We also prove that the corresponding Hankel determinants do not vanish when the powers $2^n$ in the infinite product defining the $\pm 1$ Thue--Morse sequence are replaced by $3^n$.