Bounds on the exceptional set in the $abc$ conjecture

Tim Browning, Jared Duker Lichtman, Joni Teräväinen

Published 2024-10-16Version 1

We study solutions to the equation $a+b=c$, where $a,b,c$ form a triple of coprime natural numbers. The $abc$ conjecture asserts that, for any $\epsilon>0$, such triples satisfy $\mathrm{rad}(abc) \ge c^{1-\epsilon}$ with finitely many exceptions. In this article we obtain a power-saving bound on the exceptional set of triples. Specifically, we show that there are $O(X^{33/50})$ integer triples $(a,b,c)\in [1,X]^3$, which satisfy $\mathrm{rad}(abc) < c^{1-\epsilon}$. The proof is based on a combination of bounds for the density of integer points on varieties, coming from the determinant method, Thue equations, geometry of numbers, and Fourier analysis.