Linnik's conjecture on small coordinates in representations by three squares

Let nn be a positive integer satisfying n≢0,4,7(mod8)n\not\equiv 0,4,7\pmod{8}. A representation of nn by three integer squares is a triple of integers (x,y,z)(x,y,z) satisfying

x2+y2+z2=n.x^2+y^2+z^2=n.

Linnik's conjecture. For each such nn, there exists a representation with

z=O(nϵ)|z|=O(n^\epsilon)

for any ϵ>0\epsilon>0.

This is a conjecture on primitive representations of integers by three squares and is connected with small-scale equidistribution of rational points on the sphere. The supplied source gives no resolution status, so it is recorded as open.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Claire Burrin and Matthias Gröbner, “Equidistribution, covering radius, and Diophantine approximation for rational points on the sphere”, arXiv:2502.17678 (2026).

Additional references

3 papers in this index state this conjecture (2011–2025). The statement above is taken from the most recent of them; the others are arXiv:2108.09001, arXiv:1109.4661.

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