Find all positive integers satisfying the equation
Solution
Solution 1
We can re-write the equation as:
or
The above equation tells us that is a perfect square.
Since . this implies that
Also, taking on both sides we see that cannot be a multiple of . Also, note that has to be even since is a perfect square.
So, cannot be even, implying that is odd.
So we have only to consider for .
Trying above 5 values for we find that result in perfect squares.
Thus, we have cases to check:
Thus all solutions are and .
Solution 2
Expanding, combining terms, and factoring results in \begin{align*} 9x^2 + 9y^2 + 9 + 6xy + 4 &= 2005 \\ 9x^2 + 9y^2 + 6xy &= 1992 \\ 3x^2 + 3y^2 + 2xy &= 664 \\ (x+y)^2 + 2x^2 + 2y^2 &= 664. \end{align*} Since and are even, must also be even, so and must have the same parity. There are two possible cases.
Case 1: and are both even
Let and . Substitution results in \begin{align*} 4(a+b)^2 + 8a^2 + 8b^2 &= 664 \\ (a+b)^2 + 2a^2 + 2b^2 &= 166 \end{align*} Like before, must be even for the equation to be satisfied. However, if is even, then is a multiple of 4. If and are both even, then is a multiple of 4, but if and are both odd, the is also a multiple of 4. However, is not a multiple of 4, so there are no solutions in this case.
Case 2: and are both odd
Let and , where . Substitution and rearrangement results in \begin{align*} 4(a+b+1)^2 + 2(2a+1)^2 + 2(2b+1)^2 &= 664 \\ 2(a+b+1)^2 + (2a+1)^2 + (2b+1)^2 &= 332 \\ 6a^2 + 4ab + 6b^2 + 8a + 8b &= 328 \\ 3a^2 + 2ab + 3b^2 + 4a + 4b &= 164 \end{align*} Note that , so . There are only a few cases to try out, so we can do guess and check. Rearranging terms once more results in . Since both and are integers, we must have \begin{align*} n^2 &= 4a^2 + 16a + 16 - 12(3a^2 + 4a - 164) \\ &= -32a^2 - 32a + 16 + 12 \cdot 164 \\ &= 16(-2a^2 - 2a + 1 + 3 \cdot 41) \\ &= 16(-2(a^2 + a) + 124), \end{align*} where is an integer. Thus, must be a perfect square.
After trying all values of from 0 to 7, we find that can be or . If , then , and if , then .
Therefore, the ordered pairs that satisfy the original equation are .