Conjecture on squares in binary recurrence sequences

Let aa, bb, and dd be positive integers with dd nonsquare, let α=a+b2d\alpha=a+b^{2}\sqrt{d} have norm

Nα=a2b4d,N_{\alpha}=a^{2}-b^{4}d,

and let ε=(t+ud)/2\varepsilon=(t+u\sqrt{d})/2 be a unit in OQ(d)\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{d})} with t,ut,u positive integers. Define integers xk,ykx_k,y_k by

xk+ykd=αε2kx_k+y_k\sqrt{d}=\alpha\varepsilon^{2k}

for kZk\in\mathbb{Z}, and let sf(n)\operatorname{sf}(n) denote the unique squarefree integer such that n/sf(n)n/\operatorname{sf}(n) is a square. Squares-in-one-sequence conjecture. There are at most four distinct integer squares among the yky_k. If sf(Nα)=2pm\operatorname{sf}(|N_{\alpha}|)=2^{\ell}p^{m}, where ,m{0,1}\ell,m\in\{0,1\}, +m1\ell+m\geq1, and pp is an odd prime, then there are at most three distinct integer squares among the yky_k. Furthermore, if Nα|N_{\alpha}| is a perfect square, then there are at most two distinct integer squares among the yky_k. These bounds concern the number of square values occurring in the associated non-degenerate binary recurrence sequence; the conjecture is presented as part of the paper's study of quartic Diophantine equations and remains unresolved in the supplied source.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Paul M Voutier, “Bounds on the number of squares in recurrence sequences”, arXiv:2401.01293 (2025).

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