On the practical solution of genus zero Diophantine equations (Q5926300)

Let \(F(X,Y,Z)\in \mathbb{Z}[X,Y,Z]\) be an absolutely irreducible polynomial of degree at least three, such that the projective curve \(C\) defined by the equation \(F=0\) is of genus zero and has at least three distinct discrete valuation rings of \(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}(C)\) which dominate the local rings of \(C\) at the points of infinity. Then, by an old result of E. Maillet, the equation \(F=0\) has at most finitely many integer solutions. The result was based on the finiteness of solutions of a Thue equation which, in those days was not effective. In the post Baker era, a number of effective results providing bounds for the number of integer solutions of this equation are found in the literature. These results do not actually offer methods for finding explicitly all integer solutions. The present paper provides such a method based, of course, on the considerable progress which, in the recent years has been made on various computational matters, like the explicit solutions of Thue equations, the determination of singularities of \(C\), the decision about the existence of rational points on \(C\) and the explicit construction of a birational transformation over \(\mathbb{Q}\) between \(C\) and \(\mathbb{P}^1\). We remark that, by a lemma of the authors, the checking of the condition concerning the discete valuation rings at infinity mentioned at the beginning can be easily done once one knows a birational parametrization over \(\mathbb{Q}\) between \(C\) and \(\mathbb{P}^1\). Four examples of applications of the method are given, two of them related to parametric equations.