On the inverse Fermat equation (Q1199620)
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English | On the inverse Fermat equation |
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On the inverse Fermat equation (English)
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16 January 1993
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The inverse Fermat equation \(x^{1/n}+ y^{1/n}=z^{1/n}\) is solved in positive integers \(x\), \(y\), \(z\), \(n\). If the \(n\)th roots are taken to be positive real numbers, it is equivalent to the following problem: if \(\alpha\), \(\beta\) are positive real numbers for which \(\alpha+\beta=1\), \(\alpha^ n\) and \(\beta^ n\) are rational, then \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) are rational. The proof is very short called a ``one line proof''. If the \(n\)th roots rather than positive real ones are allowed in the equation, the author proves that up to a suitable equivalence relation there are exactly four nontrivial solutions.
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inverse Fermat equation
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