The algebraic structure of the set of solutions to the Thue equation (Q984836): Difference between revisions

A Thue equation is a Diophantine equation of the form \[ F_n(x, y) = h, \] where \(F_n \in \mathbb{Z}[X, Y]\) is an irreducible binary form of degree \(n\geq 2\) and \(h\) is an integer; the unknown \(x\) and \(y\) being rational integers. The name is given in honor of the Norwegian mathematician \textit{A. Thue} who proved that the above Diophantine equation has only finitely many solutions [see J. Reine Angew. Math. 135, 284--305 (1909; JFM 40.0265.01)]. Upper bounds for the solutions have been given using \textit{A. Baker}'s theory on linear forms in logarithms of algebraic numbers [see for example Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. A 263, 173--191 (1968; Zbl 0157.09702)]. The upper bound for the solutions of Thue equations has been improved by many authors. In this paper, the authors study the structure of the set \({\mathcal T}(F_n, h)\). Let \({\mathcal A}=\{\xi_1, \xi_2, \dots, \xi_r\}\) be a subset of \({\mathcal T}(F_n, h)\) with \(r=\)card\(({\mathcal A})\geq 2\), \(h\geq 2\), and \[ \Delta({\mathcal A})=\prod_{1\leq k<l\leq r} \delta(\xi_k, \xi_l), \] where \(\delta(\xi_k, \xi_l)=x_ky_l-y_kx_l\) and \(\xi_k=(x_k, y_k),\; k=1, 2, \dots, r\). They prove that if card\(({\mathcal A})\geq n+1\), then \(h\) is a divisor of \(\Delta({\mathcal A})\). As immediate consequence, they show that if \((h, \Delta({\mathcal A})) < h\), then card\(({\mathcal A}) \leq n\). Moreover, they give some examples.