Are there any other occurrences of these interesting equalities?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the exploration of specific equalities involving powers of integers, particularly focusing on the equation A^p - B^p - C^p = A - B - C for various values of p. Participants investigate the existence of positive integer solutions for different values of p, including cases where p is greater than 3.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a specific case for p = 5, suggesting that A = 17, B = 16, and C = 13 is a unique solution.
  • Another participant questions whether the solutions are restricted to positive integer values.
  • A participant lists multiple solutions for p = 2 and p = 3, indicating that there are many solutions for larger values of A.
  • For p = 4, 5, 6, and 7, one participant claims that solutions are rare and only the previously mentioned case exists for A < 200.
  • Another participant refines the question to focus on cases where p > 3, relating the findings to Fermat's Last Theorem.
  • One participant notes that for p = 1, 2, or 3, the least possible value of Y is zero, highlighting the existence of infinite sets of solutions in these cases.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the existence and rarity of solutions for various values of p. While some agree on the uniqueness of certain cases, there is no consensus on the overall occurrence of solutions across different powers.

Contextual Notes

Participants assume positive integer values for A, B, and C, and there are limitations regarding the scope of values for p, particularly in the context of Fermat's Last Theorem and the rarity of solutions for higher powers.

Terry Coates
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A^p - B^p - C^p = A - B - C
With p > 1 this appears to occur only when p = 5: A = 17: B = 16 : C = 13

A^p - B^p - C^p = D^p - E^p - F^p = G^p - H^p - I^p = Y
A,B,C = 3,2,1
D,E,F = 9,8,7
G,H,I = 37,36,21
( Y = 64)

Are these really the only occurrences of these equalities?
 
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Terry Coates said:
Are these really the only occurrences of these equalities?
You are asking about solutions where all variables take on positive integer values?
 
I'll assume A,B,C > 0, otherwise there are many trivial solutions.

p=2 up to A=20:
Code:
A   B   C
7   6   4
9   7   6
11   10   5
12   10   7
14   11   9
16   15   6
17   14   10
19   15   12
There are many solutions for larger A as well.

p=3 has many solutions as well, the smallest one is (16,15,9).

p=4, p=5, p=6 and p=7 don't have a solution for A<200 apart from the one you posted. Heuristic arguments suggest solutions are very rare.
 
I mean all variables to be positive integers greater than zero.
Thanks for examples with p = 2 and 3, so let's change my question to have p > 3.
The case A,B,C = 17,16,13 represents the nearest to Fermat being wrong with p = 5
 
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Also the three sets of A,B,C for p = 4 represent the least possible value of Y (A, B & C all different from each other)
 
And with p = 1,2 or 3 the least possible value of Y is zero with an infinite number of sets (Pythagoras triples when p = 2, 1 or 2 with p = 3)
 

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