Equations of real quadratic fields and semi-simple and minimal continued fractions (Q1909418)

This is one paper in a series on a topic which the author calls semisimple continued fractions. The other papers consist of [Chin. Sci. Bull. 37, 885-889 (1992; Zbl 0762.11036); ibid. 37, 890-893 (1992; Zbl 0762.11037); International Center for Theoretical Physics Preprint Series, \# IC/92/393 and \# IC/94/257; and Algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory, World Scientific Publishers, 189-199 (1992)]. Basically, the author looks at the diophantine equation \(x^2-dy^2=c\), where \(d>1\) is a square-free integer. When \(|c|<\sqrt d\), there is the well-known classical result that says the diophantine equation is (non-trivially) solvable if and only if \(x/y\) is a convergent in the simple continued fraction expansion of \(\sqrt d\). However, when \(|c|>\sqrt d\), the author claims that no such criterion is known. To remedy this situation, he introduces what he calls semisimple continued fractions of \(\sqrt d\) (having negative partial quotients). However, the author's methods are quite abstract, difficult to follow, and to implement, having infinitely many possibilities for these expansions. The author attempts to remedy this situation at the end of the paper by introducing what he calls minimal semi-simple continued fractions. This still leaves the situation in an unsatisfactory state. What the author has overlooked is the classical theory. In fact, by ignoring ideal theory and its interplay with the theory of simple continued fractions via the continued fraction algorithm, the author has unnecessarily complicated the situation. This reviewer, in response to this series of papers, has been able to explain the phenomenon for arbitrary \(c\) as well as arbitrary \(d\) (not necessarily square-free), in terms of ideals and the simple continued fraction expansion of \(\sqrt d\) in a paper to appear.