Diophantine approximations and a problem from the 1988 IMO (Q2477842)

The paper gives a complete solution of the following problem which originates from a problem given to the participants at the 1988 International Mathematical Olympiad (Problem 6): (1) Describe all integer solutions \((x,y,k)\) of the quadratic equation \[ x^{2}-(k^{2}-4)y^{2}=4k. \] To address this problem, the authors show first that the only case left to consider is the case where \(k\) is odd and gcd\((x,y)=1\). In fact, in this case the solution follows also from work of [\textit{H. Harborth}, in: Applications of Fibonacci numbers. Volume 9. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 63--67 (2004; Zbl 1066.11005)], which gives that if \(k>1\) is odd, then \(x^{2}-(k^{2}-4)y^{2}=4k\) has no solutions in coprime integers \((x,y)\). The authors give a generalisation of this result by proving the following theorem. Theorem. For \(k>1\) odd, we have that if \(t\in \mathbb N\) such that \(t < 2 \sqrt{k^{2}-4}\) and such that the equation \(x^{2}-(k^{2}-4)y^{2}=4t\) has coprime integer solutions \(x,y\), then either \(t=1\) or \(t=k+2\). What makes this theorem in particular interesting is the fact that for its proof the authors establish a Legendre-like Theorem for \textit{mediating fractions} (also called \textit{micro-intermediate convergents} (see [\textit{A.Ya. Khintchine}, `Continued fractions', Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago (1964; Zbl 0117.28601); \textit{M. Kesseböhmer} and \textit{B. O. Stratmann}, Fractal analysis for sets of non-differentiability of Minkowski's question mark function, J. Number Theory 128, 2663--2686 (2008; Zbl 1154.28001)]).