Let g(x)=f(x)−x2. The equation becomes
g(g(x)+x2+y)=g(g(x)+x2−y)
For all real numbers a,b,c, by taking x=a and y=c−b2−g(b), and x=b,y=c−a2−g(b), we obtain
g(g(a)+a2−g(b)−b2+c)=g(g(a)+a2+g(b)+b2−c)=g(g(b)+b2−g(a)−a2+c)
The equality between the first and the third member shows that g(c′)=g(c′+2(g(a)+a2−g(b)−b2)) for all c′∈R. Thus, either g(x)+x2 is a constant function, which implies that f is constant, and then f(x)=0 for all real x by returning to the original equation; or there exist a=b such that g(a)+a2=g(b)+b2, and g is periodic. In this case, let T be its period. Taking a=b+T, we get g(c′)=g(c′+2(2yT+T2)). Therefore, g is 4yT+2T2-periodic. As y ranges over R, 4yT+2T2 also ranges over R, so g(c′)=g(c′+r) for all real r. Thus, g is constant, and f(x)=x2+C where C∈R. Conversely, if g is constant, it clearly satisfies equation (VI.1) which is equivalent to the given equation, so these functions f are solutions to the problem for any real C.