Lucas sequences whose 12th or 9th term is a square (Q1876226): Difference between revisions

Let \(P\) and \(Q\) be non-zero relatively prime integers. The Lucas sequence \((U_n(P,Q))_{n\geq 0}\), also denoted \((U_n)_{n\geq 0}\), associated to \(P\) and \(Q\), is defined by the equalities \[ U_0= 0,\quad U_1=1\quad \text{and}\quad U_n= PU_{n-1}- QU_{n-2}\qquad (n\geq 2). \] The sequence corresponding to \(P= 1\) and \(Q= -1\) is the Fibonacci sequence. In 1964 Cohn has proved that the only perfect square greater than 2 in the Fibonacci sequence is \(U_{12}= 144\). This result leads to the following question: Let \(n\) be an integer greater than 2. For which parameters \(P\), \(Q\) can the integer \(U_n(P,Q)\) be a perfect square? This question has already been studied by several authors, for instance, Shorey, Tijdeman, Ribenboim and McDaniel. Let us mention that Ribenboim and McDaniel have proved that when \(P\) and \(Q\) are odd and \(P^2- 4Q> 0\), then \(U_n(P, Q)\), with \(n\geq 2\), can be a square only for \(n= 2,3,6\) or \(12\). In this paper, the authors determine all Lucas sequences \((U_n)_{n\geq 0}\) for which \(U_{12}\) is a square. They show that the Fibonacci sequence is the only one for which this is valid. They have also proved that \(U_9(P, Q)\) is a square if and only if \((P, Q)= (\pm 2,1)\), which corresponds to the sequences \(U_n= n\) and \(U_n= (-1)^{n+1}n\). In order to get these results, the authors are led to find all rational points over \(\mathbb{Q}\) on curves of genus 2. They use a method called the elliptic Chabauty method, developed a few years ago by Bruin, Flynn and Wetherell, which sometimes allows to solve the following kind of problem: Let \(K\) be a number field other than \(\mathbb{Q}\) and \(E\) be an elliptic curve defined over \(K\) by a Weierstrass equation \[ u^2= x^3+ a_2 x^2+ a_4 x+ a_6. \] How can we find all the points \((x, y)\in E(K)\) for which \(x\) is a rational number? In the literature, there are examples of resolution concerning this problem, in order to find the rational points over \(\mathbb{Q}\) on certain curves of genus at least 2.