[Math] Favorite problems that lead to interesting diophantine equations

diophantine equationsnumber theory

I am looking for interesting problems (in number theory, or otherwise) that lead to interesting diophantine equations. The solution to the problem may be known, or it may be open… I just care for connections between problems and equations that one can use to motivate the study of diophantine equations, arithmetic geometry, and so on. I am more interested in problems that can be stated in elementary terms (that an undergraduate can understand), but I'll be happy to see any problems that you think fit the bill.

I'll start with one of my favorites: the congruent number problem leads to the study of elliptic curves of the form $y^2=x^3-n^2x$.

PS: the problem does not need to be a famous problem, any problem that is interesting, cute, entertaining, and leads to a diophantine equation also works!

Best Answer

How about the Perfect Cuboid, which is still an open problem, to the best of my knowledge.

This problem leads to a system of Diophantine equations:

$$a^2 + b^2 = d^2$$ $$a^2 + c^2 = e^2$$ $$b^2 + c^2 = f^2$$ (i.e. the face diagonals of the cuboid must be integers) and

$$a^2 + b^2 +c^2 = g^2$$ (i.e. the space diagonal must also be an integer.)

It is easily understandable, and at first glance, looks as if it ought to be solvable with a bit of computer searching, but turns out to be a rather harder than it might seem. The interesting (or frustrating) thing here is that it is possible to find solutions for three of the four equations, but no solution is known that satisfies all four.

Related Question