Diophantine equation

Consider quadratic Diophantine equations of the form:

x² – Dy² = 1

For example, when D=13, the minimal solution in x is 649² – 13×180² = 1.

It can be assumed that there are no solutions in positive integers when D is square.

By finding minimal solutions in x for D = {2, 3, 5, 6, 7}, we obtain the following:

3² – 2×2² = 1 2² – 3×1² = 19² – 5×4² = 1 5² – 6×2² = 1 8² – 7×3² = 1

Hence, by considering minimal solutions in x for D ≤ 7, the largest x is obtained when D=5.

Find the value of D ≤ 1000 in minimal solutions of x for which the largest value of x is obtained.

Written by gamwe6 who lives and works in San Francisco building useful things. You should follow him on Twitter