Thesis (Ph.D.)--Columbia University, 1912. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 113-161.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, May 2016. / This dissertation provides the main results leading to its primary aim, the proof of the Primitive Divisor Theorem, by appealing to an electric potpourri of mathematical machinery. The employment of binary recurrent sequences with related results is crucial to the approach adopted. The various forms in which the theorem manifests are attributed, among others, to K. Zsigmondy, P.D. Carmichael, and Y. Bilu, G. Hanrot and P.M. Voutier. The proof is confined to instances where the roots of the characteristic polynomial are integers, and when the roots are reals. This dissertation culminates in the resolution of a Diophantine equation which serves as an application of the Primitive Divisor Theorem that is attributed to Carmichael. / GR 2016

published_or_final_version / Mathematics / Master / Master of Philosophy

Using a classical result of Thue, we give an upper bound for the number of solutions to a family of quartic Thue equations. We also give an upper bound upon the number of solutions to a family of quartic Thue inequalities. Using the Thue-Siegel principle and the theory of linear forms in logarithms, an upper bound is given for general quartic Thue equations. As an application of the method of Thue-Siegel, we will resolve a conjecture of Walsh to the effect that the Diophantine equation aX⁴ - bY² = 1, for fixed positive integers a and b, possesses at most two solutions in positive integers X and Y. Since there are infinitely many pairs (a, b) for which two such solutions exist, this result is sharp. It is also effectively proved that for fixed positive integers a and b, there are at most two positive integer solutions to the quartic Diophantine equation aX⁴ - bY² = 2. We will also study cubic and quartic Thue equations by combining some classical methods from Diophantine analysis with modern geometric ideas.

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Using a classical result of Thue, we give an upper bound for the number of solutions to a family of quartic Thue equations. We also give an upper bound upon the number of solutions to a family of quartic Thue inequalities. Using the Thue-Siegel principle and the theory of linear forms in logarithms, an upper bound is given for general quartic Thue equations. As an application of the method of Thue-Siegel, we will resolve a conjecture of Walsh to the effect that the Diophantine equation aX⁴ - bY² = 1, for fixed positive integers a and b, possesses at most two solutions in positive integers X and Y. Since there are infinitely many pairs (a, b) for which two such solutions exist, this result is sharp. It is also effectively proved that for fixed positive integers a and b, there are at most two positive integer solutions to the quartic Diophantine equation aX⁴ - bY² = 2. We will also study cubic and quartic Thue equations by combining some classical methods from Diophantine analysis with modern geometric ideas.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-145). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1936. / Vita. Lithoprinted. "Private editions, distributed by the University of Chicago libraries Chicago, Illinois."

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-65). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.