A polynomial variant of a problem of Diophantus and its consequences

Abstract

We prove that every Diophantine quadruple in $\mathbb{R}[X]$ is regular. More precisely, we prove that if $\{a, b, c, d\}$ is a set of four non-zero polynomials from $\mathbb{R}[X]$, not all constant, such that the product of any two of its distinct elements increased by $1$ is a square of a polynomial from $\mathbb{R}[X]$, then $$(a+b-c-d)^2=4(ab+1)(cd+1).$$ One consequence of this result is that there does not exist a set of four non-zero polynomials from $\mathbb{Z}[X]$, not all constant, such that a product of any two of them increased by a positive integer $n$, which is not a perfect square, is a square of a polynomial from $\mathbb{Z}[X]$. Our result also implies that there does not exist a set of five non-zero polynomials from $\mathbb{Z}[X]$, not all constant, such that a product of any two of them increased by a positive integer $n$, which is a perfect square, is a square of a polynomial from $\mathbb{Z}[X]$.