\documentclass[reqno]{amsart}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\AtBeginDocument{{\noindent\small
\emph{Electronic Journal of Differential Equations},
Vol. 2015 (2015), No. 283, pp. 1--11.\newline
ISSN: 1072-6691. URL: http://ejde.math.txstate.edu or http://ejde.math.unt.edu
\newline ftp ejde.math.txstate.edu}
\thanks{\copyright 2015 Texas State University - San Marcos.}
\vspace{9mm}}

\begin{document}
\title[\hfilneg EJDE-2015/283\hfil Exponent of convergence]
{Exponent of convergence of solutions to linear differential equations
in the unit disc}

\author[N. Berrighi, S. Hamouda \hfil EJDE-2015/283\hfilneg]
{Nacera Berrighi, Saada Hamouda}

\address{Nacera Berrighi \newline
Laboratory of Pure and Applied Mathematics,
University of Mostaganem, UMAB, Algeria}
\email{berrighinacera@univ-mosta.dz}

\address{Saada Hamouda (corresponding author) \newline
Laboratory of Pure and Applied Mathematics,
University of Mostaganem, UMAB, Algeria}
\email{hamoudasaada@univ-mosta.dz, hamouda\_saada@yahoo.fr}

\thanks{Submitted May 21, 2015. Published November 11, 2015.}
\subjclass[2010]{34M10, 30D35}
\keywords{Linear differential equations; exponent of convergence;
\hfill\break\indent  growth of solutions, unit disc}

\begin{abstract}
 In this article, we study the exponent of convergence of
 $f^{(i) }-\varphi $ where $f\not\equiv 0$ is a solution of linear
 differential equations with analytic and meromorphic coefficients in the
 unit disc and $\varphi $ is a small function of $f$. From  this results 
 we deduce the fixed points of $f^{(i) }$ by taking 
 $\varphi(z) =z$. We will see the similarities and differences between
 the complex plane and the unit disc.
\end{abstract}

\maketitle
\numberwithin{equation}{section}
\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section]
\newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma}
\newtheorem{remark}[theorem]{Remark}
\newtheorem{definition}[theorem]{Definition}
\newtheorem{corollary}[theorem]{Corollary}
\allowdisplaybreaks


\section{Introduction and statement of results}

Throughout this paper, we assume that the reader is familiar with the
fundamental results and the standard notations of the Nevanlinna value
distribution theory of meromorphic function on the complex plane
 $\mathbb{C}$ and in the unit disc
$D=\{ z\in\mathbb{C} :| z| <1\}$ (see \cite{haym,yang}). In
addition, we will use
$\sigma (f)$, $\sigma _2(f) $ and $\tau (f) $ to denote respectively the
order, hyper-order and type of a meromorphic function $f(z) $ in
$D$, that are defined respectively by
\begin{gather*}
\sigma (f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log ^{+}T(r,f) }{-\log (1-r) },\quad
 \sigma _2(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log ^{+}\log
^{+}T(r,f) }{-\log (1-r) }, \\
\tau (f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} (1-r) ^{\sigma }T(r,f) ,
\end{gather*}
where $T(r,f) $ is the Nevanlinna characteristic
function of $f$, $0<\sigma =\sigma (f) <+\infty $. For an
analytic function $f(z) $ in $D$, we have also the definitions
\begin{gather*}
\sigma _{M}(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{
\log ^{+}\log ^{+}M(r,f) }{-\log (1-r) },\quad
\sigma _{M,2}(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log
^{+}\log ^{+}\log ^{+}M(r,f) }{-\log (1-r) }, \\
\tau _{M}(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} (1-r) ^{\sigma _{M}}\log ^{+}M(r,f) ,
\end{gather*}
where $M(r,f) =\max \{ | f(z)| :| z| =r\}$, $0<\sigma _{M}=\sigma
_{M}(f) <+\infty $.

M. Tsuji \cite[p.205]{tsu}, shows that
\begin{equation}
\sigma (f) \leq \sigma _{M}(f) \leq \sigma (f) +1.  \label{00}
\end{equation}
For example, the function $f(z) =\exp \{ \frac{1}{(1-z) ^{\mu }}\} $,
$(\mu \geq 1) $, satisfies $\sigma (f) =\mu -1$ and
$\sigma _{M}(f) =\mu $.
Obviously, we have
\begin{equation*}
\sigma (f) <\infty \quad\text{if and only if}\quad
\sigma _{M}(f) <\infty .
\end{equation*}
Inequalities \eqref{00} are the best possible in the sense that there
are analytic functions $g$ and $h$ such that $\sigma _{M}(g)
=\sigma (g) $ and $\sigma _{M}(h) =\sigma (h) +1$, see \cite{igor}. 
However, it follows by
\cite[Prop. 2.2.2]{lain} that $\sigma _{M,2}(f) =\sigma _2(f) $.

We use  $\lambda (f)$, $(\overline{\lambda }(f) ) $ to denote the
exponent of convergence of the zero-sequence (distinct zero-sequence)
of meromorphic function $f(z) $ and $\lambda _2(f)$, 
$(\overline{\lambda _2} (f) ) $ to denote the hyper-exponent of convergence of
zero-sequence (distinct zero-sequence) of $f(z)$, which are
defined as follows:
\begin{gather*}
\lambda (f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log
N(r,\frac{1}{f}) }{-\log (1-r) },\quad
\overline{ \lambda }(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{
\log \overline{N}(r,\frac{1}{f}) }{-\log (1-r) }, \\
\lambda _2(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log
 \log N(r,\frac{1}{f}) }{-\log (1-r) },\quad
\overline{\lambda _2}(f) =\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}}
\frac{\log \log \overline{N}(r,\frac{1}{f}) }{-\log (1-r) }.
\end{gather*}

\begin{definition}[\cite{heit}] \label{def1} \rm
 Let $f$ be an analytic function in the unit disc $D$ and let
$q\in [ 0,\infty ) $. Then $f$ is said to belong to the weighted
Hardy space $H_{q}^{\infty }$ provided that
\begin{equation*}
\sup_{z\in D}(1-| z| ^{2}) ^{q}|f(z) | <\infty .
\end{equation*}
And we say that $f$ is an $\mathcal{H}$-function when $f\in H_{q}^{\infty }$
for some $q$.
\end{definition}

\begin{definition}[\cite{heit}] \label{def2} \rm
 A meromorphic function $f$ in the unit disc $D$ is called
admissible if
\begin{equation*}
\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{T(r,f) }{-\log (1-r) }=\infty
\end{equation*}
and nonadmissible if
\begin{equation*}
\limsup_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{T(r,f) }{-\log
(1-r) }<\infty .
\end{equation*}
\end{definition}

The complex oscillation and fixed points of solutions and their derivatives
of linear differential equations is an interesting area of research and have
been investigated by many authors in the complex plane (see for example
\cite{bank, bank2, bel, chen}). In 2012, Xu, Tu and Zheng investigated the
relationship between small function and derivatives of solutions of the
higher order differential equation
\begin{equation}
f^{(k) }+A_{k-1}(z) f^{(k-1)
}+\dots +A_{1}(z) f'+A_0(z) f=0  \label{eq1}
\end{equation}
where $A_j(z) $ are entire or meromorphic functions in the
complex plane, and obtained the following results.

\begin{theorem}[\cite{xu}] \label{tha}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be entire
functions with finite order and satisfy one of the following conditions:
\begin{itemize}
\item[(i)] $\max \{ \sigma (A_j) :j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\} <\sigma
(A_0) <\infty $;

\item[(ii)] $0<\sigma (A_{k-1}) =\dots \sigma (A_{1}) =\sigma
(A_0) <\infty $ and $\max \{ \tau (A_j):j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\}
=\tau _{1}<\tau (A_0) =\tau $,
\end{itemize}
then for every solution $f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} and for any entire
function $\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ satisfying $\sigma
_2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $, we have
\begin{equation*}
\overline{\lambda _2}(f-\varphi ) =\overline{\lambda _2}
(f'-\varphi ) =\overline{\lambda _2}(f''-\varphi ) =\overline{\lambda _2}(f^{(i)
}-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(f) =\sigma (A_0) \
\ (i\in\mathbb{N}) .
\end{equation*}
\end{theorem}

\begin{theorem}[\cite{xu}] \label{thb}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=1,2,\dots ,k-1$ be
polynomials, $A_0(z) $ be a transcendental entire function,
then for every solution $f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} and for any entire
function $\varphi (z) $ of finite order, we have
\begin{itemize}
\item[(i)] $\overline{\lambda }(f-\varphi ) =\lambda (f-\varphi
) =\sigma (f) =\infty $;

\item[(ii)] $\overline{\lambda }(f^{(i) }-\varphi )
=\lambda (f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\sigma (
f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\infty \ \ (i\geq 1,i\in\mathbb{N}) $.
\end{itemize}
\end{theorem}

\begin{theorem}[\cite{xu}] \label{thc}
Let $A_j(z)$ $ j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be
meromorphic functions satisfying
$\max \{ \sigma (A_j) :j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\} <\sigma (A_0) $ and
 $\delta (\infty ,A_0) >0$. Then, for every meromorphic solution
$f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} and for any meromorphic function
 $\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ satisfying
$\sigma _2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $, we have
\begin{equation*}
\overline{\lambda _2}(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\lambda
_2(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) \geq \sigma (A_0) \quad
 (i\in\mathbb{N}) ,
\end{equation*}
where $f^{(0) }=f$.
\end{theorem}

Recently, Xu and Tu improved some of these results by making use the notion
of $[ p,q] $-order in the complex plane, see \cite{xutu}.

A natural question is how about the case of the unit disc? In this paper, we
will answer this question and we will see the similarities and differences
between the complex plane and the unit disc.

\begin{theorem}\label{th1}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be analytic functions
in the unit disc $D$ with finite order and satisfy one of the following
conditions:
\begin{itemize}
\item[(1)] $\max \{ \sigma _{M}(A_j) :j=1,\dots ,k-1\}
<\sigma _{M}(A_0) <\infty $;

\item[(2)] $0<\sigma _{M}(A_{k-1}) =\dots \sigma _{M}(A_{1})
=\sigma _{M}(A_0) <\infty $ and
$\max \{ \tau _{M}(A_j) :j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\} =\tau _{1}<\tau _{M}(A_0)
=\tau $,
\end{itemize}
then for every solution $f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} and for any analytic
function $\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ in the unit disc $D$
satisfying $\sigma _{M,2}(\varphi ) <\sigma _{M}(
A_0) $, we have
\begin{equation}
\overline{\lambda _2}(f-\varphi ) =\overline{\lambda _2}
(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\lambda _2(f^{(
i) }-\varphi ) =\sigma _{M,2}(f) =\sigma _{M}(
A_0) \quad (i\in\mathbb{N}) .  \label{t1}
\end{equation}
\end{theorem}

\begin{remark} \label{rmk1} \rm
We get the same result of Theorem \ref{th1} if some coefficients
$A_j(z)$ $j=1,2,\dots ,k-1$, satisfy (1) and the others satisfy
(2), i.e. there exists $J\subset \{ 1,\dots ,k-1\} $ such that
$\sigma (A_j) <\sigma (A_0) $ for $j\in J$  and
$\max \{ \tau (A_j) :\sigma (A_j) =\sigma (A_0) \} <\tau (A_0) $.
\end{remark}

If we replace $\sigma _{M}(A_j) \ $and $\tau _{M}(A_j) $ by
$\sigma (A_j) $ and $\tau (A_j) $ in Theorem \ref{th1}, we
cannot get the same result. For
example, we can see the difference between \cite[Theorem 3]{ham} and the
following result.

\begin{theorem}\label{th2}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be analytic functions
in the unit disc $D$ with finite order such that
$0<\sigma (A_0) <\infty$,
$\sigma (A_j) =\sigma (A_0) $ for $j\in J\subset \{ 1,\dots ,k-1\} $ and
$\sum_{j\in J}\tau (A_j) <\tau (A_0) $,
and $\sigma (A_j) <\sigma (A_0) $ for $j\notin J$. Then, every
solution $f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} satisfies
$\sigma (A_0) \leq \sigma _2(f) \leq \alpha
_{M}=\max_{0\leq j\leq k-1}\{ \sigma _{M}(A_j) \} $.
\end{theorem}

If we replace, in Theorem \ref{th2}, the condition
$\sum_{j\in J}\tau (A_j) <\tau (A_0) $ by
$\max \{ \tau (A_j) :\sigma (A_j) =\sigma
(A_0) \} <\tau (A_0) $, we cannot get the
result, except for the second order linear differential equations. Theorem
\ref{th2} is also an improvement of \cite[Theorem 2.1]{latr}.

\begin{corollary} \label{coro1}
Let $A_j(z) \ j=0,1$ be analytic functions in the unit disc $D$
with finite order and satisfy
$\sigma (A_{1}) <\sigma (A_0) <\infty $ or
$0<\sigma (A_{1}) =\sigma (A_0) <\infty $ and
$\tau (A_{1}) <\tau (A_0) $. Then, for every solution $f\not\equiv 0$
of the differential equation
\begin{equation*}
f''+A_{1}(z) f'+A_0(z) f=0,
\end{equation*}
satisfies $\sigma (A_0) \leq \sigma _2(f) \leq
\max \{ \sigma _{M}(A_0) ,\sigma _{M}(A_{1})\} $.
\end{corollary}

In Theorem \ref{th1}, for $k=2$, If we replace
$\sigma _{M}(A_j)$ and $\tau _{M}(A_j) $ by
$\sigma (A_j) $ and $\tau (A_j) $, we can get the following
result:
\begin{equation}
\sigma (A_0) \leq \overline{\lambda _2}(f-\varphi
) =\overline{\lambda _2}(f^{(i) }-\varphi )
=\sigma _2(f) \leq \max \{ \sigma _{M}(A_0)
,\sigma _{M}(A_{1}) \} .  \label{t1b}
\end{equation}
But for $k\geq 3$, \eqref{t1b} remains valid only for the condition (1).

\begin{theorem}\label{th3}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=1,2,\dots ,k-1$ be  $\mathcal{H}$-
functions while $A_0(z) $ is analytic not being an
$\mathcal{H}$- function. Then for every solution $f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1}
and for any analytic function $\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ of finite
order, we have
\begin{itemize}
\item[(1)] $\overline{\lambda }(f-\varphi ) =\lambda (f-\varphi
) =\sigma (f) =\infty $;

\item[(2)] $\overline{\lambda }(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\sigma
(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\infty $
$(i\geq 1,i\in\mathbb{N}) $.
\end{itemize}
\end{theorem}

\begin{theorem}\label{th4}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be meromorphic
functions in the unit disc $D$ satisfying
$\max \{ \sigma (A_j) :j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\} <\sigma (A_0) $ and
$\delta (\infty ,A_0) >0$. Then, for every meromorphic solution
$f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} and for any meromorphic function
$\varphi(z) \not\equiv 0$ in the unit disc $D$ satisfying
$\sigma_2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $, we have
\begin{equation}
\overline{\lambda _2}(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\lambda
_2(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(f)
\geq \sigma (A_0) \quad (i\in\mathbb{N}) ,  \label{t2}
\end{equation}
where $f^{(0) }=f$.
\end{theorem}

\section{Preliminaries}

Throughout this paper, we use the following notation that are not
necessarily the same at each occurrence:

$E\subset (0,1) $ is a set of finite logarithmic measure, that
is $\int_{E}\frac{dr}{1-r}<\infty $.

$F\subset (0,1) $ is a set of infinite logarithmic measure, that
is $\int_{F}\frac{dr}{1-r}=\infty $.

$c>0,\ \varepsilon >0,\ \sigma \geq 0,\ \sigma _{1}\geq 0,\ \tau \geq 0,\
\tau _{1}\geq 0$, are real constants.

\begin{lemma}[\cite{xu}]\label{lem0}
 Assume that $f\not\equiv 0$ is a solution of \eqref{eq1}.
Set $g=f-\varphi $; then $g$ satisfies the equation
\begin{equation}
g^{(k) }+A_{k-1}g^{(k-1) }+\dots +A_0g
=-[\varphi ^{(k) }+A_{k-1}\varphi ^{(k-1)
}+\dots +A_0\varphi ] .  \label{l0}
\end{equation}
\end{lemma}

\begin{lemma}[\cite{xu}]\label{lem1}
Assume that $f\not\equiv 0$ is a solution of \eqref{eq1}.
Set $g_i=f^{(i) }-\varphi$, $(i\in\mathbb{N}-\{ 0\} ) $;
 then $g_i$ satisfies
\begin{equation}
g_i^{(k) }+U_{k-1}^{i}g_i^{(k-1)
}+\dots +U_0^{i}g_i=-[ \varphi ^{(k) }+U_{k-1}^{i}\varphi
^{(k-1) }+\dots +U_0^{i}\varphi ] ,  \label{l0b}
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation}
U_j^{i}=(U_{j+1}^{i-1}) '+U_j^{i-1}-\frac{(
U_0^{i-1}) '}{U_0^{i-1}}U_{j+1}^{i-1},  \label{l1}
\end{equation}
$j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$, $U_j^{0}=A_j$ and $U_{k}^{i}\equiv 1$.
\end{lemma}

The next lemma is a consequence of \cite[Theorem 3.1]{igor}.

\begin{lemma}\label{lem4}
Let $f$ be a meromorphic function in the unit disc $D$ such that
$f^{(j) }$ does not vanish identically. Let $\varepsilon >0$ be
a constant; $k$ and $j$ be integers satisfying $k>j\geq 0$ and
$d\in (0,1) $. Then, we have
\begin{equation*}
| \frac{f^{(k) }(z) }{f^{(j)}(z) }|
\leq \Big(\big(\frac{1}{1-|
z| }\big) ^{(2+\varepsilon ) }\max \{ \log
\frac{1}{1-| z| },T(s(| z|
) ,f) \} \Big) ^{k-j},\quad  | z| \notin E,
\end{equation*}
where $s(| z| ) =1-d(1-|z| ) $. As a particular case, if
 $\sigma _{1}(f)<\infty $, then
\begin{equation}
| \frac{f^{(k) }(z) }{f^{(j)}(z) }|
\leq \Big(\frac{1}{1-| z|}\Big) ^{(k-j) (\sigma _{1}+2+\varepsilon ) },\quad
| z| \notin E.  \label{lem6}
\end{equation}
\end{lemma}

\begin{lemma}[\cite{ham}] \label{lem7}
Let $f(z) $ be an analytic function in
the unit disc $D$ with $\sigma _{M}(f) =\sigma $,
$\tau _{M}(f) =\tau $, $0<\sigma <\infty $, $0<\tau <\infty $, then
for any given $0<\beta <\tau $, there exists a set
$F\subset (0,1) $ that has infinite logarithmic measure such that for all
$r\in F$
we have
\begin{equation*}
\log ^{+}M(r,f) >\frac{\beta }{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}
\text{.}
\end{equation*}
\end{lemma}

By the same method of the proof of Lemma \ref{lem7}, we obtain the
followings two lemmas.

\begin{lemma}\label{lem7a}
Let $f(z) $ be an analytic function in the unit
disc $D$ with $\sigma _{M}(f) =\sigma $, $0<\sigma <\infty $,
then for any given $0<\beta <\sigma $, there exists a set
$F\subset (0,1) $ that has infinite logarithmic measure such that for
all $r\in F$ we have
\begin{equation*}
\log ^{+}M(r,f) >\frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\beta }}.
\end{equation*}
\end{lemma}

\begin{lemma} \label{lem7b}
Let $f(z) $ be meromorphic function in the unit
disc $D$ with $\sigma (f) =\sigma $, $\tau (f) =\tau$,
$0<\sigma <\infty $, $0<\tau <\infty $, then for any given
$0<\beta <\tau $, there exists a set $F\subset (0,1) $ that has infinite
logarithmic measure such that for all $r\in F$ we have
\begin{equation*}
T(r,f) >\frac{\beta }{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\text{.}
\end{equation*}
\end{lemma}

\begin{lemma}\label{lem8}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be analytic functions
in the unit disc $D$ with finite order and satisfy
$0<\sigma _{M}(A_j) \leq \sigma _{M}(A_0) =\sigma $ for all
$j=1,\dots ,k-1$, and $\max \{ \tau _{M}(A_j) :j\neq
0\} =\tau _{1}<\tau _{M}(A_0) =\tau $, and $U_j^{i}$
$(j=0,1,\dots ,k) $ $(i\in\mathbb{N}) $ be stated as in \eqref{l1}.
 Then, for any given $\varepsilon$
$(0<2\varepsilon <\tau -\tau _{1}) $, there exists a set $F$ of
infinite logarithmic measure such that for $r\in F$, we have
\begin{equation}
| U_0^{i}| \geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon }{
(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \quad\text{and}\quad
|U_j^{i}| \leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon }{(
1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} ,  \label{l17}
\end{equation}
where $j=1,2,\dots ,k-1$.
\end{lemma}

\begin{proof}
If we want to prove \eqref{l17} for $i=m\in \mathbb{N}-\{ 0,1\} $, we start by
\begin{equation*}
| A_0| \geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon /2^{m}
}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \quad\text{and}\quad
|A_j| \leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m}}{
(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} .
\end{equation*}
We have $U_j^{1}=A_{j+1}'+A_j-\frac{A_0'}{A_0}
A_{j+1}=A_j+A_{j+1}(\frac{A_{j+1}'}{A_{j+1}}-\frac{
A_0'}{A_0}) $
$(j=0,1,\dots ,k-1) $ and
$A_{k}\equiv 1$. So
\begin{gather}
| U_0^{1}| \geq | A_0| -|
A_{1}| \Big(| \frac{A_{1}'}{A_{1}}|
+| \frac{A_0'}{A_0}| \Big),  \label{l18} \\
| U_j^{1}| \leq | A_j| +|
A_{j+1}| (| \frac{A_{j+1}'}{A_{j+1}}
| +| \frac{A_0'}{A_0}| ) .
\label{l19}
\end{gather}
By Lemma \ref{lem4}, Lemma \ref{lem7} and \eqref{l18}-\eqref{l19}, there
exists a set $F$ with infinite logarithmic measure such that
\begin{gather}
\begin{aligned}
| U_0^{1}|
&\geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon
/2^{m}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} -2\exp \{ \frac{\tau
_{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \frac{1}{
(1-r) ^{c}}  \label{l20} \\
&\geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon /2^{m-1}}{(1-r)
^{\sigma }}\} ,
\end{aligned}
\\
\begin{aligned}
| U_j^{1}| &\leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau
_{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} +2\exp
\{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}
\} \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{c}}  \label{l21} \\
&\leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m-1}}{(1-r)
^{\sigma }}\} ,\ \ j\neq 0,
\end{aligned}
\end{gather}
where $c>0$ is a constant. Now for $i=2$ in \eqref{l1}, we have
\begin{gather}
| U_0^{2}| \geq | U_0^{1}|
-| U_{1}^{1}| \Big(| \frac{(
U_{1}^{1}) '}{U_{1}^{1}}| +| \frac{(
U_0^{1}) '}{U_0^{1}}| \Big) , \label{l22} \\
| U_j^{2}| \leq | U_j^{2}|
+| U_{j+1}^{2}| \Big(| \frac{(
U_{j+1}^{2}) '}{U_{j+1}^{2}}| +| \frac{
(U_0^{2}) '}{U_0^{2}}| \Big) ,\quad j\neq
0.  \label{l23}
\end{gather}
From \eqref{l20}-\eqref{l23}, we obtain
\begin{equation}
| U_0^{2}| \geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon
/2^{m-2}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \quad \text{and}\quad
|U_j^{2}| \leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m-2}}{
(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} .  \label{l24}
\end{equation}
By \eqref{l24} and for $i=3$ in \eqref{l1}, we obtain
\begin{equation*}
| U_0^{3}| \geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon
/2^{m-3}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \quad \text{and}\quad
|U_j^{3}| \leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon /2^{m-3}}{
(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} .
\end{equation*}
By the same method until $i=m$, we obtain
\begin{equation*}
| U_0^{i}| \geq \exp \{ \frac{\tau -\varepsilon }{
(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \quad \text{and}\quad
|U_j^{i}| \leq \exp \{ \frac{\tau _{1}+\varepsilon }{(
1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} .
\end{equation*}
Thus, the proof is complete.
\end{proof}

\begin{lemma}\label{lem10}
Let $H_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be meromorphic
functions in the unit disc $D$ of finite order satisfying
$\max \{| H_j(z) |$,
$j=1,\dots ,k-1\} \leq \exp \{ \frac{\beta _{1}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} $ and
$ | H_0(z) | \geq \exp \{ \frac{\beta }{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} $ where
$0<\beta _{1}<\beta$, $\sigma>0$ and $| z| =r\in F\subset (0,1) $ with $F$
is of infinite logarithmic measure. Then, every meromorphic solution $f$ of
the differential equation
\begin{equation}
f^{(k) }+H_{k-1}(z) f^{(k-1)}+\dots +H_{1}(z) f'+H_0(z) f=0  \label{eq2}
\end{equation}
satisfies $\sigma _2(f) \geq \sigma $.
\end{lemma}

\begin{proof}
Let $f\not\equiv 0$ be a meromorphic solution of \eqref{eq2} of finite order
$\sigma (f) =\sigma <\infty $. From \eqref{eq2}, we obtain
\begin{equation}
| H_0(z) | \leq | \frac{f^{(
k) }}{f}| +\sum_{j=1}^{k-1}| H_j(z) | | \frac{f^{(j) }}{f}| .
\label{l28}
\end{equation}
By Lemma \ref{lem4}, for a given $\varepsilon >0$ there exists a set
$E\subset [ 0,1) $ of finite logarithmic measure such that for all
$z\in D$ satisfying $| z| \notin E$, we have
\begin{equation}
| \frac{f^{(j) }(z) }{f(z) }
| \leq \frac{1}{(1-| z| ) ^{j(
\sigma +2+\varepsilon ) }},\quad (j=1,\dots ,k) .  \label{l29}
\end{equation}
From \eqref{l28}-\eqref{l29} and the assumptions of Lemma \ref{lem10}, we obtain
\begin{equation}
\exp \{ \frac{\beta }{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \leq \frac{c
}{(1-r) ^{k(\sigma +2+\varepsilon ) }}\exp \{
\frac{\beta _{1}}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} ,  \label{l30}
\end{equation}
where $c>0$ is a constant. Since $\beta _{1}<\beta $, a contradiction
follows from \eqref{l30} as $r\to 1^{-}$. So,
 $\sigma (f) =\infty $; and by Lemma \ref{lem4}, we obtain
\begin{equation}
| \frac{f^{(j) }(z) }{f(z) }
| \leq \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{j(2+\varepsilon ) }
}(T(s(r) ,f) ) ^{j},\quad r\notin E.
\label{l31}
\end{equation}
From \eqref{l28}, \eqref{l31} and the assumptions of Lemma \ref{lem10}, we obtain
\begin{equation}
\exp \{ \frac{\beta }{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} \leq \frac{c
}{(1-r) ^{k(2+\varepsilon ) }}(T(s(
r) ,f) ) ^{k}\exp \{ \frac{\beta _{1}}{(
1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} .  \label{l32}
\end{equation}
Set $s(r) =R$. We have $1-r=\frac{1}{d}(1-R) $ and (
\ref{l32}) becomes
\begin{equation}
(\frac{1-R}{d}) ^{k(2+\varepsilon ) }\exp \{
\frac{(\beta -\beta _{1}) d^{\sigma }}{(1-R)
^{\sigma }}\} \leq M(T(R,f) ) ^{k},\quad R\notin E.  \label{l33}
\end{equation}
From \eqref{l33}, we conclude that
$\sigma _2(f) \geq \sigma$.
\end{proof}

By the same reasoning of Lemma \ref{lem8} and using Lemma \ref{lem7a}, we
obtain  the following lemma.

\begin{lemma}\label{lem3}
Let $A_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be analytic functions
in the unit disc $D$ with finite order and satisfy $\max \{ \sigma
_{M}(A_j) :j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\} <\sigma _{M}(
A_0) =\sigma <\infty $, and $(U_j^{i}) $
$(j=0,1,\dots ,k) $ $(i\in\mathbb{N}) $ be sequences of functions
satisfying \eqref{l1}. Then, for any
given $\varepsilon$ $(0<2\varepsilon <\sigma -\sigma _{1}) $,
there exists a set $F$ of infinite logarithmic measure such that for
$r\in F$, we have
\begin{equation}
| U_0^{i}| \geq \exp \{ \frac{1}{(1-r)
^{\sigma -\varepsilon }}\} \quad\text{and}\quad
| U_j^{i}|\leq \exp \{ \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma _{1}+\varepsilon }}
\} .  \label{l3}
\end{equation}
\end{lemma}

By using the same method of the proof of Lemma \ref{lem10}, we obtain the
following lemma.

\begin{lemma}\label{lem5}
Let $H_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be meromorphic
functions of finite order in the unit disc $D$ satisfying
$\max \{| H_j(z) | ,\; j=1,\dots ,k-1\}
\leq \exp \{ \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma _{1}}}\} $ and
$| H_0(z) | \geq \exp \{ \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}\} $ where
$0<\sigma _{1}<\sigma $ and $| z| =r\in F\subset (0,1) $ with $F$ is of
infinite logarithmic measure. Then, every meromorphic solution
$f\not\equiv 0 $ of \eqref{eq2} satisfies $\sigma _2(f) \geq \sigma $.
\end{lemma}

\begin{lemma} \label{lem2}
Let $f(z) $ be an admissible meromorphic function in
the unit disc $D$ with $\sigma (f) =\sigma \geq 0$, then there
exists a set $F\subset (0,1) $ with infinite logarithmic measure
such that for all $r\in F$, we have
\begin{equation*}
\lim_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log T(r,f) }{-\log (1-r) }=\sigma .
\end{equation*}
\end{lemma}

\begin{proof}
By the definition of $\sigma (f) $, there exists an increasing
sequence $\{ r_{m}\} \to 1^{-}$ satisfying $1-(1-
\frac{1}{m}) (1-r_{m}) <r_{m+1}$ and
\begin{equation*}
\underset{r_{m}\to 1^{-}}{\lim }\frac{\log T(r_{m},f) }{
-\log (1-r_{m}) }=\sigma .
\end{equation*}
Then, there exists $m_0$ such that for all $m\geq m_0$ and
 $r\in I_{m}=[ r_{m},1-(1-\frac{1}{m}) (1-r_{m}) ] $,
we have
\begin{equation}
\frac{\log T(r_{m},f) }{-\log [ (1-\frac{1}{m})
(1-r_{m}) ] }\leq \frac{\log T(r,f) }{-\log
(1-r) }\leq \frac{\log T(1-(1-\frac{1}{m})
(1-r_{m}) ,f) }{-\log (1-r_{m}) }.  \label{l2}
\end{equation}
The limit of both sides of \eqref{l2}, when $r_{m}\to 1^{-}$, is
equal to $\sigma $; so for $r\in I_{m}$, we have
\begin{equation*}
\lim_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log T(r,f) }{-\log
(1-r) }=\sigma .
\end{equation*}
Set $F=\cup_{m=m_0}^{\infty }I_{m}$. Then
\begin{equation*}
m_{l}(F) =\sum_{m=m_2}^{\infty }\int_{I_{m}}
\frac{dr}{1-r}=\sum_{m=m_2}^{\infty }\log \big(\frac{m}{m-1}
\big) =\infty .
\end{equation*}
\end{proof}

\begin{lemma}\label{lem9}
Let $H_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be meromorphic
functions in the unit disc $D$ with
$\max \{ \sigma (H_j), j=1,\dots ,k-1\} =\sigma _{1}<\sigma (H_0) =\sigma $
and $\delta (\infty ,H_0) >0$. Then, every meromorphic solution $f$
of \eqref{eq2} satisfies $\sigma _2(f) \geq \sigma $.
\end{lemma}

\begin{proof}
Let $f$ be a meromorphic solution of \eqref{eq2}. From \eqref{eq2} and the
logarithmic derivative lemma, we have
\begin{equation} \label{l25}
\begin{aligned}
m(r,H_0)
&\leq m\big(r,\frac{f^{(k) }}{f}
\big) +m\big(r,\frac{f^{(k-1) }}{f}\big) +\dots +m\big(r,
\frac{f'}{f}\big)   \\
&\quad+ \sum_{j=1}^{k-1}m(r,H_j) +\log (k+1)
 \\
&\leq c\big(\log ^{+}T(r,f) +\log \frac{1}{1-r}\big)
+\sum_{j=1}^{k-1}m(r,H_j) ,\quad r\notin E,
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
where $E\subset (0,1) $ of finite logarithmic measure and $c>0$.
By Lemma \ref{lem2}, there exists a set $F$ of infinite logarithmic measure
such that for all $r\in F$, we have
\begin{equation}
\lim_{r\to 1^{-}} \frac{\log T(r,H_0) }{
-\log (1-r) }=\sigma .  \label{l26}
\end{equation}
Since $\delta (\infty ,A_0) =\liminf_{r\to +\infty}
\frac{m(r,H_0) }{T(r,H_0) }>0$, then
by \eqref{l26}, for given $\varepsilon$ $(0<2\varepsilon <\sigma
-\sigma _{1}) $ and for all $r\in F$, we have
\begin{equation*}
m(r,H_0) \geq \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma -\varepsilon}}.
\end{equation*}
From \eqref{l25} and \eqref{l26}, for $r\in F-E$, we have
\begin{equation}
\frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma -\varepsilon }}
\leq c\big(\log
^{+}T(r,f) +\log \frac{1}{1-r}\big) +(k-1) \frac{1
}{(1-r) ^{\sigma _{1}+\varepsilon }}.  \label{l27}
\end{equation}
From \eqref{l27}, we obtain $\sigma _2(f) \geq \sigma $.
\end{proof}

\begin{lemma}\label{lem9b}
Let $A_j(z)$, $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be meromorphic
functions in the unit disc $D$ satisfying
$\max \{ \sigma (A_j) :j=1,2,\dots ,k-1\} =\sigma _{1}<\sigma (A_0)
=\sigma $ and $\delta (\infty ,A_0) >0$ and $U_j^{i}$
$(j=0,1,\dots ,k) $ $(i\in\mathbb{N}) $ be stated as in \eqref{l1}.
Then, for any given $\varepsilon $ satisfying
 $ 0<2\varepsilon <\sigma -\sigma _{1} $, we have
\begin{gather*}
m(r,U_j^{i}) \leq \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma
_{1}+\varepsilon }},\quad  (j=1,2,\dots ,k-1) ,\; r\notin E,\\
m(r,U_0^{i}) \geq \frac{1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma
-\varepsilon }},\quad  r\in F.
\end{gather*}
\end{lemma}

By using the same reasoning as above we can get the conclusion of this
lemma; so we omit the proof here.

\begin{lemma} \label{lem11}
Let $G\not\equiv 0,H_j(z)$ $j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ be
meromorphic functions in the unit disc $D$. If $f$ is a meromorphic solution
of the differential equation
\begin{equation}
f^{(k) }+H_{k-1}(z) f^{(k-1)
}+\dots +H_{1}(z) f'+H_0(z) f=G(z) ,  \label{l34}
\end{equation}
satisfying $\max \{ \sigma _{n}(G) ,\sigma _{n}(
H_j) ;\ j=0,1,\dots ,k-1\} <\sigma _{n}(f) =\sigma
_{n}$, then $\overline{\lambda _{n}}(f) =\lambda _{n}(
f) =\sigma _{n}(f)$,
$(n\in\mathbb{N}-\{ 0\} ) $.
\end{lemma}

\begin{proof}
The same reasoning of the proof of Lemma 3.5 in \cite{cao} when $G\not\equiv
0,H_j(z) \ j=0,1,\dots ,k-1$ are analytic in the unit disc $D$.
\end{proof}

\begin{lemma}[{\cite[Thm. 3]{ham}}]\label{lem12} 
Let $n\in\mathbb{N}-\{ 0\} $.
If the coefficients $A_0(z),\dots ,A_{k-1}(z) $ are analytic in $D$
such that $\sigma_{M,n}(A_j) \leq \sigma _{M,n}(A_0) $ for all
$j=1,\dots ,k-1$, and
\begin{equation*}
\max \{ \tau _{M,n}(A_j) :\sigma _{M,n}(A_j)
=\sigma _{M,n}(A_0) \} <\tau _{M,n}(A_0) ,
\end{equation*}
then all solutions $f\not\equiv 0$ of \eqref{eq1} satisfy
$\sigma_{M,n+1}(f) =\sigma _{M,n}(A_0) $.
\end{lemma}

\section{Proofs of theorems}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem \protect\ref{th1}]
\textbf{Case (1)}. $\max \{ \sigma _{M}(A_j)
:j=1,\dots ,k-1\} <\sigma _{M}(A_0) <\infty $. Suppose that
$f\not\equiv 0$ is a solution of \eqref{eq1} and 
$\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ is an analytic function in the unit disc $D$
satisfying $\sigma _2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $. We start to
prove \eqref{t1} for $i=0$, i.e. $\overline{\lambda _2}(f-\varphi
) =\lambda _2(f-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(f)
=\sigma _{M}(A_0) $. From \cite{caoyi}, we have $\sigma
_2(f) =\sigma _{M}(A_0) $. Set $g=f-\varphi $.
Since $\sigma _2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $, then
$\sigma _2(g) =$ $\sigma _2(f) $. By Lemma \ref
{lem0}, $g$ satisfies \eqref{l0}. Set $G(z) =\varphi ^{(
k) }+A_{k-1}\varphi ^{(k-1) }+\dots +A_0\varphi $. If $
G\equiv 0$, then by \cite{caoyi} we have $\sigma _2(\varphi )
=\sigma (A_0) $, a contradiction; thus $G\not\equiv 0$. Now,
since $\sigma _2(g) =$ $\sigma _2(f) =\sigma
(A_0) >\max \{ \sigma _2(G) ,\sigma
_2(A_j) \} $, then the assumption of Lemma \ref{lem11}
is hold for $n=2$, and then we have $\overline{\lambda _2}(g)
=\lambda _2(g) =\sigma _2(g) $. Then, we
conclude that $\overline{\lambda _2}(f-\varphi ) =\lambda
_2(f-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(f) =\sigma _{M}(
A_0) $. Now we prove \eqref{t1} for $i\geq 1$. Set $g_i=f^{(
i) }-\varphi $. Since $\sigma _2(f^{(i) })
=\sigma _2(f) =\sigma (A_0) $ and $\sigma
_2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $, then we have $
\sigma _2(g_i) =$ $\sigma _2(f) =\sigma (
A_0) $. By Lemma \ref{lem1}, $g_i$ satisfies \eqref{l0b}. Set $
G_i=\varphi ^{(k) }+U_{k-1}^{i}\varphi ^{(k-1)
}+\dots +U_0^{i}\varphi $. If $G_i\equiv 0$, by Lemma \ref{lem3} and Lemma
\ref{lem5}, we obtain $\sigma _2(\varphi ) \geq \sigma (
A_0) $, a contradiction with $\sigma _2(\varphi )
<\sigma (A_0) $; so $G_i\not\equiv 0$. Now, by Lemma \ref
{lem11}, for $n=2$, we obtain $\overline{\lambda _2}(g_i)
=\lambda _2(g_i) =\sigma _2(g_i) $ i.e. $
\overline{\lambda _2}(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\lambda
_2(f^{(i) }-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(f)
=\sigma _{M}(A_0) $.
\smallskip

\noindent\textbf{Case (2).} $0<\sigma (A_0) <\infty$,
$\sigma (A_j) =\sigma (A_0) $ for all $j\in \{1,\dots ,k-1\} $ and
$\max \{ \tau _{M,n}(A_j) :j\neq 0\} <\tau
_{M,n}(A_0)$. Assume that $f\not\equiv 0$ is a solution of
\eqref{eq1} and $\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ is an analytic
function in the unit disc $D$ satisfying $\sigma _2(\varphi )
<\sigma (A_0) $. As above, we start to prove \eqref{t1} for
$i=0$, i.e. $\overline{\lambda _2}(f-\varphi ) =\lambda
_2(f-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(f) =\sigma _{M}(
A_0) $. From Lemma \ref{lem12}, we have $\sigma _2(f)
=\sigma _{M}(A_0) $. Set $g=f-\varphi $. We have $\sigma
_2(g) =$ $\sigma _2(f) $. As above, $g$
satisfies \eqref{l0}. If $G\equiv 0$, then by Lemma \ref{lem12} we have 
$\sigma _2(\varphi ) =\sigma (A_0) $, a
contradiction; thus $G\not\equiv 0$. Now by Lemma \ref{lem11}, we obtain 
$\overline{\lambda _2}(g) =\lambda _2(g) =\sigma_2(g) $.
So, we conclude that $\overline{\lambda _2}(
f-\varphi ) =\lambda _2(f-\varphi ) =\sigma _2(
f) =\sigma _{M}(A_0) $. Now we prove \eqref{t1} for
$i\geq 1$. Set $g_i=f^{(i) }-\varphi $. We have
$\sigma_2(g_i) =$ $\sigma _2(f) $, and $g_i$
satisfies \eqref{l0b}. If $G_i\equiv 0$, by Lemma \ref{lem8} and
 Lemma \ref{lem10}, we obtain $\sigma _2(\varphi ) \geq \sigma (
A_0) $, a contradiction with $\sigma _2(\varphi )
<\sigma (A_0) $; so $G_i\not\equiv 0$. As above, by Lemma
\ref{lem11}, for $n=2$, we obtain $\overline{\lambda _2}(
g_i) =\lambda _2(g_i) =\sigma _2(g_i) $ i.e.
$\overline{\lambda _2}(f^{(i)}-\varphi ) =\lambda _2(f^{(i) }-\varphi )
=\sigma _2(f) =\sigma _{M}(A_0) $.
\end{proof}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem \protect\ref{th2}]
The inequality $\sigma _2(f) \leq \alpha _{M}$ follows by
\cite[Theorem 5.1]{heit1}. From \eqref{eq1} we obtain
\begin{equation*}
m(r,A_0) \leq m\big(r,\frac{f^{(k) }}{f}\big)
+m\big(r,\frac{f^{(k-1) }}{f}\big) +\dots +m\big(r,\frac{
f'}{f}\big) +\sum_{j=1}^{k-1}m(r,A_j) +\log
(k+1) ,
\end{equation*}
and then
\begin{equation}
m(r,A_0) \leq c\big(\log ^{+}T(r,f) +\log \frac{1
}{1-r}\big) +\sum_{j=1}^{k-1}m(r,A_j) ,\quad r\notin E.
\label{p1}
\end{equation}
Set $\sum_{j\in J}\tau (A_j) =\tau ^{\ast }$,
$\max \{ \sigma (A_j) :j\in J'\} =\sigma ^{\ast}$,
$\tau (A_0) =\tau $ and $\sigma (A_0) =\sigma$.
 By \eqref{p1}, the assumptions of Theorem \ref{th2} and Lemma \ref{lem7b}, 
there exists a set $F\subset (0,1) $ of infinite logarithmic
measure such that for all $r\in F-E$, we have
\begin{equation}
\frac{\tau -\varepsilon }{(1-r) ^{\sigma }}
\leq c\big(\log
^{+}T(r,f) +\log \frac{1}{1-r}\big)
+\frac{k-1}{(1-r) ^{\sigma ^{\ast }+\varepsilon }}
+\frac{\tau ^{\ast }+\varepsilon}{(1-r) ^{\sigma }},  \label{p2}
\end{equation}
where $0<2\varepsilon <\min (\tau -\tau ^{\ast },\sigma -\sigma ^{\ast}) $.
From \eqref{p2}, we obtain that $\sigma (A_0) \leq\sigma _2(f) $.
\end{proof}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem \protect\ref{th3}]
Suppose that $f\not\equiv 0$ is a solution of \eqref{eq1} and 
$\varphi(z) \not\equiv 0$ is an analytic function in the unit disc $D$
of finite order. By \cite{heit}, we have $\sigma (f) =\infty $.
If $G\equiv 0$, then by \cite{heit} we have $\sigma (\varphi )
=\infty $, a contradiction; thus $G\not\equiv 0$; and by Lemma \ref{lem11}
we obtain the result (1). Now for $i\geq 1$, if $G_i\equiv 0$, then by taking
into account that if $A_j(z)$ $j=1,2,\dots ,k-1$ are an
$\mathcal{H}$-functions and $A_0(z) $ is analytic not being an
$\mathcal{H}$-function then $U_j^{i}$ $(j=1,\dots ,k) $ are non
admissible functions while $U_0^{i}$ are admissible, 
$(i\in\mathbb{N}) $; so we obtain that $\sigma (\varphi ) =\infty $, a
contradiction; thus $G_i\not\equiv 0$; and by Lemma \ref{lem11} we obtain the
result (2).
\end{proof}

\begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem \protect\ref{th4}]
Suppose that $f\not\equiv 0$ is a meromorphic solution of \eqref{eq1} and 
$\varphi (z) \not\equiv 0$ is a meromorphic function in the unit
disc $D$ satisfying $\sigma _2(\varphi ) <\sigma (A_0) $.
By Lemma \ref{lem9}, we have $\sigma _2(f)\geq \sigma (A_0) $.
If $G\equiv 0$, then by Lemma \ref{lem9}
we have $\sigma _2(\varphi ) \geq \sigma (A_0) $, a contradiction;
thus $G\not\equiv 0$; and by Lemma \ref{lem11} we obtain the
result \eqref{t2} for $i=0$. Now for $i\geq 1$, if $G_i\equiv 0$, then by
Lemma \ref{lem9} and Lemma \ref{lem9b} we have 
$\sigma _2(\varphi) \geq \sigma (A_0) $, a contradiction; thus
$G_i\not\equiv 0$; and by Lemma \ref{lem11} we obtain  \eqref{t2}.
\end{proof}

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