Partitions with equal products and elliptic curves (Q2348677)

Let \(M\), \(N\) be positive integers and consider their partitions given by the equations \(M=x+y+z\) and \(N=xyz\). These equations are equivalent to the curve \(Nz^3+xy^2+x^2y-Mxyz=0\) whose Jacobian (assuming \(N^3(M^3-27N)\neq 0\)) is the elliptic curve \(E_{(M,N)}: y^2-Mxy-Ny=x^3\). The paper deals with the Mordell-Weil group of \(E_{(M,N)}\) over \(\mathbb{Q}\) or some function field generated (again over \(\mathbb{Q}\)) by certain parameters. Using the well known description of the torsion group of elliptic curves defined over \(\mathbb{Q}\), the authors show that \(E_{(M,N)}(\mathbb{Q})\) is isomorphic to \(\mathbb{Z}/3\), \(\mathbb{Z}/6\) or \(\mathbb{Z}/2\times \mathbb{Z}/6\), giving explicitly the points of order 2, 3 or 6 and, assuming \(M=a+b+c\), \(N=abc\) and \(a(b-c)^3\neq c(a-b)^3\), they also provide a point of infinite order so that rank\(E_{(M,N)}(\mathbb{Q})\geqslant 1\). In an attempt to find a relation between the number of partitions of \(M=a+b+c\) with fixed product \(N=abc\) (with positive integers \(a\), \(b\) and \(c\)), the authors parametrize numbers with 2 or 3 partitions and, using the specialization theorem, provide families of elliptic curves of rank at least 2 or 3 over the field generated by the parameters.