The Diophantine Equation: 1. Introduction. Many Special Cases of The Equation of The Title, Where
The Diophantine Equation: 1. Introduction. Many Special Cases of The Equation of The Title, Where
The Diophantine Equation: 1. Introduction. Many Special Cases of The Equation of The Title, Where
LXV.4 (1993)
J. H. E. Cohn (London)
If we were to allow C < 0, then the question of units would be very much
more complicated, and this explains our restriction to C > 0.
The next question concerns the uniqueness of factorisation in the field.
There are only nine imaginary quadratic fields in which this holds, so that
it might be thought that our discussion was of limited application. √ This,
however, is not the case. Consider the example C = 6; here the field Q[ −6]
has class number h = 2. For any possible solution of the equation,√ (x, 6) = 1
and p is odd. Then the principal ideal π generated by x + −6 and its
conjugate π 0 are coprime with product√[y]p . Thus for √some ideal ξ, π = ξ p ,
p
but the conclusion we desire, that x + −6 = (a + b −6) , does not follow
immediately from this, since ξ is not known to be principal.
√ However, since
2 2
h = 2, it follows that ξ is principal and hence (x + −6) must equal the
pth power
√ of an element in the field. Since p is odd, it then follows that
x + −6 itself is such a power. It will then follow from Lemmas 4 and 5
below that the equation has no solutions at all if C = 6.
The same argument can be applied in other cases; what is important is
not that h = 1, but that p - h. This will hold for all odd primes if h happens
to be a power of 2. Even for other values of h, it will hold for all but finitely
many primes, and only these have to be treated by other methods. Thus for
example, for C = 26, h = 6, and so the above method applies unless p = 3,
which must be considered separately.
Next, if C is not square-free, say C = cd2 where c is square-free, then
we obtain in addition to (A) also
√ √
(D) ±x + d −c = (a + b −c)p
and if c ≡ 3 (mod 4) also
√ √
(E) ±x + d −c = ( 12 (A + B −c))p , A ≡ B ≡ 1 (mod 2) .
Here we obtain from (D) equating imaginary parts
(p−1)/2
X p
d=b ap−2r−1 (−b2 c)r ,
r=0
2r + 1
from which it follows that b divides d, and then
d/b ≡ (−b2 c)(p−1)/2 ≡ (−b2 c | p) ≡ 0, 1 or − 1 (mod p) .
Here b = ±d leads back to (A) and otherwise p is limited to a finite set for
each such b, and there is then no difficulty is solving the resulting polyno-
mial equations
√ for a. Treatment
√ of (E) is even simpler for we observe that
( 21 (A + B −c))p ∈ Z[ −c] only if c ≡ 3 (mod 8) and p = 3 and then solu-
tions arise only for B | d and 8d/B = 3A2 − B 2 c with 8x = |A3 − 3AB 2 c|.
The most serious difficulties arise from possible common factors, and
here no method seems to be available. Thus for example if C = 7, and x
The diophantine equation x2 + C = y n 371
√ √
is odd, the factors ±x + −7 are both divisible by 12 (1 + −7) and by
1
√
2 (1 − −7), which leads to great difficulties. The special case, y = 2, of the
equation proposed by Ramanujan [34] was solved by Nagell [30] thirty five
years later. It is now known as the Ramanujan–Nagell equation, and there
is an excellent survey article [9] concerning it.
Possible common factors√arise in one of two ways. As above, there are
the prime factors of 2 in Q[ −C] if C ≡ 7 (mod 8). Secondly, if C = cd2
say, where c is square-free, then it sometimes happens√that x shares a factor
with d which splits into distinct primes in the field Q[ −c]. Thus if C = 25,
then if 5 - x the methods outlined in Section 3 can be applied, but if x = 5X,
y = 5Y then (X + i)(X − i) = 5p−2 Y p . Since 5 = (1 + 2i)(1 − 2i), this can
occur;
√ in fact, it does with x = 10. However, if no prime factor of d splits in
Q[ −c], this cannot happen; for example if C = 9 we cannot have 3 | x since
otherwise x = 3X, y = 3Y , and X 2 + 1 would be divisible by 3. √ It is easily
seen that if q is a prime dividing (x, C) and q does not split in Q[ −c], then
p | κ where q κ is the highest power√of q dividing C; in particular, if C is free
of prime factors which split in Q[ −c] then (x, C) = 1.
Summarising the above, we obtain the following
Theorem 1. Let C > 0, C = cd2 , c square-free, c 6≡ 7 (mod 8). If p is
an odd prime and x2 + C = y p for coprime positive integers x , y then either
√
(a)√there exist integers a, b with b | d, y = a2 + b2 c and ±x + d −c =
(a + b −c)p ; or
(b) c ≡ 3 (mod 8), p √ = 3 and there exist
√ odd integers A, B with B | d,
y = 14 (A2 + B 2 c), ±x + d −c = 81 (A + B −c)3 ; or
√
(c) p | h, the class number of the field Q[ −c]; or
(d) C = 3A2 ± 8, p = 3, x = A3 ± 3A; or
(e) C = 48D6 , p = 3, x = 4D3 .
Lemma 3. Let q be any odd prime dividing a, satisfying (1). Then C q−1 ≡
1 (mod q 2 ); unless p = q = 3, q α k a implies q 2α k(C q−1 − 1).
P r o o f. From (1) we see that (−C)(p−1)/2 ≡ ±1 (mod q 2 ). If now
q k(p − 1) with γ ≥ 0, let p − 1 = Hq γ . Then every term except the
γ
last on the right of (1) is divisible by q γ+2 , and so C p−1 ≡ 1 (mod q γ+2 ),
whence C H ≡ 1 (mod q 2 ). But by Fermat’s theorem C q−1 ≡ 1 (mod q) and
thus if K = (H, q − 1) then C K ≡ 1 (mod q). But C H ≡ 1 (mod q 2 ) and
since H is a multiple of K, but not of q, it follows that C K ≡ 1 (mod q 2 ).
Since q − 1 is also a multiple of K, C q−1 ≡ 1 (mod q 2 ).
Finally, unless p = q = 3 we find if q α k a that (−C)(p−1)/2 ∓ 1 is divis-
ible by q 2α+γ and by no higher power of q, and then repeating the above
argument yields q 2α k(C q−1 − 1) without difficulty.
Lemma 4. The minus sign in (1) can occur only if p ≡ 3 (mod 4), and
the following conditions are both satisfied :
1. either
(a) C ≡ 1 or 13 (mod 16), or
(b) C ≡ 0 (mod 8), and p ≡ 7 (mod 8), or
(c) C ≡ 4 (mod 8), and p ≡ 3 (mod 8) ;
2. either
(a) C ≡ 1 (mod 9), or
(b) C ≡ 0 (mod 3) and p ≡ 2 (mod 3), or
(c) C ≡ 4 or 7 (mod 9), and p ≡ 3 (mod 8) .
where for each r, Ar is divisible by 3%+2−r . Inserting this into (1) we obtain
(p−1)/2
X p
p−1
2 −1≡ ap−2r−1 (−1)r−1 {C r − 3r } (mod 3%+2 ) .
r=0
2r + 1
On the right hand side
of this congruence, the term with r = 0 disappears
and so 2p−1 − 1 ≡ p3 ap−3 (C − 3) (mod 3%+2 ), since as is easily seen, all the
terms with are divisible by 3%+2 . Now let p − 1 = 2k · 3% where 3 - k.
r ≥ 2 %−1
p
Then 3 ≡ −k · 3 (mod 3% ), (C − 3) is divisible by 9, ap−3 ≡ 1 (mod 3)
%
and 2p−1 = (1 + 3)k·3 ≡ 1 + k · 3%+1 (mod 3%+2 ). Substituting these yields
The diophantine equation x2 + C = y n 375
required. A few examples may make all this much clearer. The plus sign in
cases in which C has only prime factors 2 or 3 does not arise in view of
Lemma 5.
4. Some examples
Result 1. There are no solutions when C = 6.
For, in this case there are no solutions with n even, since 6 is not the
difference of two squares.
√ So n = p, and (x, 6) = 1. The principal ideals
generated by ±x + −6 are coprime, and since the class number of the field
is 2, it follows that we need only consider (A). But now by Lemmas 4 and 5,
both signs are impossible.
Result 2. There are no solutions when C = 5.
Again, we see without difficulty that we cannot have n even, and as
again h = 2, we obtain only (A). This time the minus sign in (1) is again
excluded by Lemma 4, but with the plus sign, the only information provided
by Lemma 5 is p ≡ 1 (mod 4). Then by Lemma 6, (p | 5) = 1, p 6≡ 1 (mod 5)
gives p ≡ 4 (mod 5) and combining these yields p ≡ 9 (mod 20).
Now consider q = 61 and 601 in turn, for each of which it is easily
seen that 5q−1 6≡ 1 (mod q 2 ), for 560 ≡ 1 + 38 · 61 (mod 612 ) and 5600 ≡
1 + 405 · 601 (mod 6012 ). Since (−5 | 61) = 1 we obtain Q = 60 and find
only p ≡ 49 (mod 60), and in particular p ≡ 1 (mod 3). Then with q = 601,
we obtain Q = 600 and we find that modulo Q all the possible residues have
p ≡ 2 (mod 3) which is impossible.
Result 3. When C = 11, the only solutions are x = 4 or 58.
Again, n cannot be even. Here h = 1, and we obtain case (A) or case (B),
the latter of which gives just x = 4, by Lemma 1. By Lemma 4, the minus
sign does not occur, but Lemma 5 gives no information about (1) with the
plus sign. By Lemma 7, when p = 3 we get just one more solution x = 58,
and so we may assume that p ≥ 5. By Lemma 3, we then find that none
of the primes q = 23, 67, 89 or 397 divides a, since a calculation reveals
the residues of 11q−1 modulo q 2 to be respectively 1 + 7q, 1 + 43q, 1 + 72q
and 1 + 82q. We then apply the procedure outlined above, and obtain from
q = 23, p ≡ 3 or 15 (mod 22). Using this with results from q = 67 then gives
p ≡ 25 or 37 (mod 66), since we can now reject p ≡ 3 (mod 66). Similarly,
from q = 89 we obtain p ≡ 3, 15, 47 or 59 (mod 88), and so certainly p ≡ 3
(mod 4). But the result from q = 397 taken together with the one modulo 66
then gives p ≡ 37 or 289 (mod 396) each of which implies p ≡ 1 (mod 4),
and so there is no further solution.
It may be observed that this result generalizes [8] which proves that
x = 4 is the sole solution of x2 + 11 = 3n .
378 J. H. E. Cohn
and since the second factor is odd, b = ±2. Thus we arrive at (1), and now
both sings can be eliminated by Lemmas 4 and 5. It follows therefore that
x must be even. Then 2 k x is impossible since it would imply 22 k y p and if
4 | x then 23 k y p , whence p = 3. We then obtain only x = 52 as in [33].
C x C x C x C x
2 5 20 14 53 26, 156 77 2
4 2, 11 26 1, 207 54 17 80 1
11 4, 58 32 7, 88 56 5, 76 81 46
12 2 35 36 61 8 83 140
13 70 40 52 64 8 89 6
16 4 44 9 65 4 96 23
17 8 48 4, 148 67 110 97 48
19 18, 22434 49 24, 524 76 7, 1015
References
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
ROYAL HOLLOWAY AND BEDFORD NEW COLLEGE
EGHAM, SURREY TW20 OEX, ENGLAND
E-mail: UHAH206@UK.AC.RHBNC
Received on 27.11.1992
and in revised form on 25.6.1993 (2347)