Pell's equation (Q5917463)

This book belongs to the collection ``Problem Books in Mathematics''. Because of this choice, this book is not a course on Pell's equation but a series of exercises which presents the theory of this equation (recall that Pell's equation is the Diophantine equation \(x^2-dy^2=1\) where \(d\) is a positive integer which is not a square). I quote the Preface of the author: ``The topic is motivated and developed through sections and exercises that will allow the student to recreate known theory and provide a focus for algebraic practice. There are several explorations that encourage the reader to embark on individual research. Some of these are numerical, and often require the use of a calculator or computer. Others introduce relevant theory that can be followed up and elsewhere, or suggest problems that the reader may wish to pursue.'' There are nine chapters which are: the square root of 2, problems leading to Pell's equation and preliminary investigations, quadratic surds, the fundamental solution, tracking down the fundamental solution, Pell's equation and Pythagorean triples, the cubic analogue of Pell's equation, analogues of the fourth and higher degrees, a finite version of Pell's equation. This list shows clearly the landscape and the progression of the studies. This book is certainly a good book for students who are courageous enough to try to solve many exercises; they can learn a lot this way. Moreover, this long collection of exercises presents a lot of examples and a great variety of methods.