In this note, it is shown that the differential polynomial of the form $Q(f)^{(k)}-p$ has infinitely many zeros and particularly $Q(f)^{(k)}$ has infinitely many fixed points for any positive integer k, where f is a transcendental meromorphic function, p is a nonzero polynomial and Q is a polynomial with coefficients in the field of small functions of f. The results are traced back to Problems 1.19 and 1.20 in the book of research problems by Hayman and Lingham [Research Problems in Function Theory, Springer, 2019]. As a consequence, we give an affirmative answer to an extended problem on the zero distribution of $(f^n)'-p$, proposed by Chiang and considered by Bergweiler [Bull. Hong Kong Math. Soc. 1(1997), p. 97–101].

In this paper, we prove some value distribution results which lead to normality criteria for a family of meromorphic functions involving the sharing of a holomorphic function by more general differential polynomials generated by members of the family, and improve some recent results. In particular, the main result of this paper leads to a counterexample to the converse of Bloch’s principle.

We use Zalcman’s lemma to study a uniqueness question for meromorphic functions where certain associated nonlinear differential polynomials share a nonzero value. The results in this paper extend Theorem 1 in Yang and Hua [‘Uniqueness and value-sharing of meromorphic functions’, Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn. Math. 22 (1997), 395–406]and Theorem 1 in Fang [‘Uniqueness and value sharing of entire functions’, Comput. Math. Appl. 44 (2002), 823–831]. Our reasoning in this paper also corrects a defect in the reasoning in the proof of Theorem 4 in Bhoosnurmath and Dyavanal [‘Uniqueness and value sharing of meromorphic functions’, Comput. Math. Appl. 53 (2007), 1191–1205].

In this paper, we study the uniqueness of meromorphic functions concerning differential polynomials sharing nonzero finite values, and obtain some results which improve the results of Yang and Hua, Xu and Qiu, Fang and Hong, and Dyavanal, among others.

Hayman has shown that if f is a transcendental meromorphic function and n ≽ 3, then fn f′ assumes all finite values except possibly zero infinitely often. We extend his result in three directions by considering an algebroid function ω, its monomial ωn0 ω′n1, and by estimating the growth of the number of α-points of the monomial.