English

On power values of pyramidal numbers, II

Number Theory 2023-08-25 v2

Abstract

For m3m \geq 3, we define the mmth order pyramidal number by Pyrm(x)=16x(x+1)((m2)x+5m). \mathrm{Pyr}_m(x) = \frac{1}{6} x(x+1)((m-2)x+5-m). In a previous paper, written by the first-, second-, and fourth-named authors, all solutions to the equation Pyrm(x)=y2\mathrm{Pyr}_m(x) = y^2 are found in positive integers xx and yy, for 6m1006 \leq m \leq 100. In this paper, we consider the question of higher powers, and find all solutions to the equation Pyrm(x)=yn\mathrm{Pyr}_m(x) = y^n in positive integers xx, yy, and nn, with n3n \geq 3, and 5m505 \leq m \leq 50. We reduce the problem to a study of systems of binomial Thue equations, and use a combination of local arguments, the modular method via Frey curves, and bounds arising from linear forms in logarithms to solve the problem.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2112.03782,
  title  = {On power values of pyramidal numbers, II},
  author = {Andrej Dujella and Kálmán Győry and Philippe Michaud-Jacobs and Ákos Pintér},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2112.03782},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

Minor corrections, to appear in Acta Arithmetica