Problem : Let S be the set of all ordered triples of primes (p, q, r) such that the quadratic px2 + qx + r has

a rational root; i.e., (p0 , q0 , r0 ) S i x Q : p0 x2 + q0 x + r0 = 0

Determine the set R of all primes which are in 7 or more triples in S .

Solution : First, we rephrase the requirement: we will have (p, q, r) in S i q q 2 4pr Q 2p

q 2 4pr Q

q 2 4pr Z

The last forward implication is surely well-known to you, but here is an elegant proof anyway. Lemma : s Z, s Q = s Z Proof : Let s Q, so that there exist coprime integers m and n such that s = m ezout, a, b Z : ma + nb = 1; rearrangement gives n . By B n s m = 0, and so (n s m)(b a s) = (ma + nb) s bm na(s) = 0 = s = bm + nas

which says that

s is integral.

It is now clear that (p, q, r) S m Z : m2 = q 2 4pr. Let us also note before we proceed that in any member of S , we are justied in assuming q 5, since no coecient triple with q < 5 is possible (this is clear on inspection), and that m must be an odd integer (clear, given the restrictions on q ). Now, m2 = q 2 4pr (m2 1) + 4pr = (q 2 1) But since m is odd, we have that 8|(m 1)(m + 1), and an amusing fact about primes q 5 is that 24|(q 2 1); the upshot of this is that m2 = q 2 4pr (m2 1) + 4pr = (q 2 1) = 8|4pr 1

Thus, all members of S must satisfy q 2 8t = m2 , where t is either p or r, or q 2 m2 = 8t. We can use this rearrangement protably, as shown in the diagram:

(Since t does not factor, this represents all possible factorizations of q 2 m2 .) The rst factorization is impossible, and the last, fully determined, yields t = 2, q = 5 (which is, in fact, a triple in S ). Thus, whenever t = 2, we must have either q = 2t + 1 or q = 2 + t. In summary: any triple in S must contain 2; for a prime u = 2 to belong to a triple in S , it must satisfy q = 2t + 1 or q = 2 + t, in the role of either q or t; we can write this as a chain of equations involving a prime u, with v playing the role of the other guy - i.e., the other prime = 2 in the unordered triple (u, v, 2). We must have: u = 2v + 1 = u1 is prime 2 (1) (2) (3) (4)

u = 2 + v = u 2 is prime v = 2u + 1 = 2u + 1 is prime v = u + 2 = u + 2 is prime

Now, each of these equations determines precisely 1 unordered triple (u, v, 2) for a given u: thus, they determine precisely 2 ordered triples, since reversal of the rst and last coecients doesnt change anything important. (Notice 2

that I havent proven that satisfying these equations is sucient for a triple to be in S , only that it is necessary; but I wont need suciency.) Thus, a priori, there are at most 8 distinct ordered triples that any prime could belong to (since there are at most 4 equations for distinct unordered triples which it might satisfy with some other prime). However, if u = 5, then there are not even this many: it is impossible for equations (2) and (4) to be concurrently satised, since there is no u = 5 such that u 2, u, and u + 2 are concurrently prime. Thus, there could be at most 6 triples in S which any u = 5 could belong in; so any prime not equal to 5 (or 2, since 2 is a part of every triple regardless of these considerations) is not in R. The reader may check that 5 indeed is in R; he will notice that the solution to (1) degenerates to the special case we noted earlier, and that all other cases produce two ordered triples. Since 2 is in every triple that 5 is in, we also have 2 R. By our earlier considerations, these are the only possible members of R; thus, R = {2, 5}.