Problem:
Determine whether there exists a polynomial of two variables, with real coefficients, with the following property: A positive integer is a triangular number if and only if there do not exist positive integers and such that .
Solution
Solution:
The answer is yes.
The difference between the th and st triangular numbers is . Therefore, a positive integer is not a triangular number if and only if it has the form
where . Define ; then the conditions and are equivalent to and . Conversely, , so the polynomial
hits exactly the non-triangular numbers as and range over positive integers.
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