On \(Y\)-coordinates of Pell equations which are Lucas numbers (Q2097512)

Let \( d>1 \) be a square-free integer. Consider the Pell equation \[ X^2-dY^2=\pm 1.\tag{1} \] All the positive integer solutions \( (X,Y)\) of Eq. (1) are given by \( (X,Y)=(X_m, Y_m) \) for some positive integer \( m \), where \[ X_m+Y_m\sqrt{d}=(X_1+Y_1\sqrt{d})^{m}, \] with \( (X_1,Y_1) \) the smallest positive integer solution. The sequences \( \{X_m\}_{m\ge 1} \) and \( (Y_m)_{m\ge 1} \) are binary recurrent of characteristic polynomial \( x^2-(2X_1)x+\varepsilon \), where \( \varepsilon:=X_1^2-dY_1^2\in \{\pm 1\} \) and the formulas \[ X_n=\dfrac{(X_1+Y_1\sqrt{d})^{m}+(X_1-Y_1\sqrt{d})^{m}}{2}\text{ and }Y_n=\dfrac{(X_1+Y_1\sqrt{d})^{m}-(X_1-Y_1\sqrt{d})^{m}}{2\sqrt{d}}, \] hold for all \( m\ge 1 \). On the other hand, the classical sequence of Lucas numbers \( \{L_n\}_{n\ge 0} \) is defined by the linear recurrence \( L_{n+2}=L_{n+1}+L_n \) for all \( n\ge 0 \) with initial conditions \( L_0=2 \) and \( L_1=1 \). In the paper under review, the authors prove the following result, which is the main result in the paper. Theorem 1. Let \( d\ge 2 \) be a square-free integer, \( (X_m,Y_m)_{m\ge 0} \) be the \( m \)th positive integer solution to the Pell equation (1). Then the Diophantine equation \[ Y_m=L_n, \] has at most two positive integer solutions \( (m,n) \) with \( m\ge 1 \), \( n\ge 0 \) except for \( d=2\) when it has three solutions \( (m,n)\in \{(1,1), (2,0), (5,7)\} \). The proof of Theorem 1 follows from a clever combination of techniques in Diophantine number theory, the usual properties of Pell equations and the Lucas sequences, Baker's theory of non-zero linear forms in logarithms of algebraic numbers, as well as reduction techniques involving the theory of continued fractions. Intensive computations are done with the help of a computer program in \texttt{Mathematica}.