Find all pairs of positive integers satisfying the equation:
Solution
If , then we have no solutions, while for , we have the solution .
Now we suppose that . The left part of the equation is even and so is even, say . Then the equation can be written as: , and hence is odd. Thus the equation is written as: .
1st case: and , , with . Then by subtracting we get . If , then the left part is divisible by 4, while the right part is not. Therefore, either , which implies and , or , not giving solution for . Hence we have .
2nd case: and , , with . Then we have the equation . If then the left part is divisible by 4, while the right part is not. Hence, either or , giving and . Therefore in this case we have the solution .
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