Gaps between cubes with perfect power sum (Q6908847)

The literature on the diophantine equation \(a^p+b^q=c^r\) is rich, perhaps the more so after Wiles. This paper is another enjoyable contribution in this area. The authors show that for the equation \(a^3+b^3=c^n\) with \(n\ge 3\), the greatest prime divisor of \(a-b\) is greater than \(10^{12}\). Using the Primitive Divisor Theorem, they first show that there exists a prime \(q\) that divides \(a-b\) such that \(n \vert q-\left(\frac{-3}{q}\right)\) and then proceed to show that \(q>10^{12}\). This is achieved by considering the cases when \(q\) is \(1\) and \(2\) modulo \(3\), the latter involving elliptic curves and computer verifications.