Random Walks Through the Areal Mahler Measure: Steps in the Complex Plane

ABSTRACT We study the areal Mahler measure of the two-variable, $k$-parameter family $x+y+k$ and prove explicit formulas that demonstrate its relation to the standard Mahler measure of these polynomials. The proofs involve interpreting the areal Mahler measure as a random walk in the complex plane and utilizing the areal analogue of the Zeta Mahler function to arrive at the result. Using similar techniques, we also present formulas for a three-variable family $(x+1)(y+1)+kz$ in terms of the standard Mahler measure, along with terms that involve certain hypergeometric functions. For both families, we show that its areal Mahler measure is, up to elementary functions, a linear combination of the normal Mahler measure and the volume of the Deninger cycle of the corresponding family.