Pell and Pell-Lucas numbers of the form \(x^a\pm x^b+1\) (Q2210309): Difference between revisions

The Pell numbers \(\{P_n\}_{n\ge 0}\) have initial terms \(P_0=0,~P_1=1\) and satisfy the recurrence \(P_{n+2}=2P_{n+1}+P_n\) for all \(n\ge 0\). The Pell-Lucas numbers \(\{Q_n\}_{n\ge 0}\) have initial terms \(Q_0=2,~Q_1=2\) and satisfy the same recurrence relation as the Pell numbers. In the paper under review the authors study the Diophantine equations \(x^a\pm x^b+1=P_n,~Q_n\), where \(x\) is a fixed integer and \((n,a,b)\) are nonnegative integer indeterminates with \(a>b\). They show that \(n<8\times 10^{30} (\log x)^4\). The proof uses lower bounds for linear forms in logarithms of algebraic numbers. Using their general result and reduction techniques based on continued fractions they find all solutions when \(x\in [3,20]\). The solution with the largest \(n\) in this range for \(x\) has \(n=7\) for which \(P_7=13^2=13^2-13^0+1\).