Problem

Source: Poland 2005, IMO Shortlist 2004, number theory problem 4

Tags: quadratics, number theory, Sequence, relatively prime, IMO Shortlist



Let $k$ be a fixed integer greater than 1, and let ${m=4k^2-5}$. Show that there exist positive integers $a$ and $b$ such that the sequence $(x_n)$ defined by \[x_0=a,\quad x_1=b,\quad x_{n+2}=x_{n+1}+x_n\quad\text{for}\quad n=0,1,2,\dots,\] has all of its terms relatively prime to $m$. Proposed by Jaroslaw Wroblewski, Poland