Abstract
Let θ be a real number greater than 1, and let (()) be the fractional part function. Then, θ is said to be a Z-number if there is a non-zero real number λ such that ((λθn)) < for all n ∈ ℕ. Dubickas (A. Dubickas, Even and odd integral parts of powers of a real number, Glasg. Math. J., 48 (2006), 331–336) showed that strong Pisot numbers are Z-numbers. Here it is proved that θ is a strong Pisot number if and only if there exists λ ≠ 0 such that ((λα)) < for all$\alpha \in \{ \theta ^{n}\mid n\in \mathbb{N}\} \cup \{ \sum\nolimits_{n=0}^{N}\theta ^{n}\mid \mathit{\}N\in \mathbb{N}\}$. Also, the following characterisation of Pisot numbers among real numbers greater than 1 is shown: θ is a Pisot number ⇔ ∃ λ ≠ 0 such that$\Vert \lambda \alpha \Vert <\frac{1}{% 3}$for all$\alpha \in \{ \sum\nolimits_{n=0}^{N}a_{n}\theta ^{n}\mid$an ∈ {0,1}, N ∈ ℕ}, where ‖λα‖ = min{((λα)), 1 − ((λα))}.