On the representation of a number as a sum of two fourth powers (Q5917684)

Let \(h\geq 3\) be an integer, and let \(N_h (P)\) denote the number of solutions of the equation \[ x^h+ y^h= X^h+ Y^h, \qquad 1\leq x, y, X, Y\leq P \] in integers \(x\), \(y\), \(X\), \(Y\), except the trivial solutions \(x=X\) or \(y=Y\). The author proves, for each \(\varepsilon> 0\), \[ N_h (P)\;\ll_\varepsilon\;P^{2- (1/6)+ \varepsilon} \qquad \text{and} \qquad N_4 (P)\;\ll_\varepsilon\;P^{2- (1/4)+ \varepsilon}. \] These estimates improve earlier results of \textit{C. Hooley} [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. Ser. 43, 73-109 (1981; Zbl 0463.10035)]\ and the author [Math. Z. 94, 223-234 (1966; Zbl 0151.038)]. The proofs are based on a 2-dimensional version of the arithmetic large sieve inequality.