Number of solutions for quartic simple Thue equations (Q2907086)

It is proved that for non-zero integers \(a,b\) the Diophantine equation NEWLINE\[NEWLINE bX^4 - aX^3Y - 6bX^2Y^2 + aXY^3 + bY^4 = \pm 1NEWLINE\]NEWLINE has 0 or 4 solutions, except for the case \(b=1\) and \(a \in \{\pm1, \pm 4\}\), in which it has 8 solutions. The above equation is a generalized version of the simple quartic Thue equation, as investigated by the reviewer, \textit{A. Pethő} and \textit{P. Voutier} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 351, No. 5, 1871--1894 (1999; Zbl 0920.11041)].NEWLINENEWLINEThe proof uses standard Padé approximation methods and continued fraction expansions with rational quotients. Thus one obtains bounds for a further quadruple of solutions of the above equation, which lead to a contradiction if some value \(A\) is large enough. The remaining finitely many equations were checked with a computer.