MathLabs

Problem 4

Find all pairs of integers (m,n) such that m squared plus 4n and n squared plus 4m are both perfect squares.
Step 2 of 5: Find a small integer root
∣x1x2∣≤∣x1+x2∣⇒min⁡(∣x1∣,∣x2∣)≤2|x_1x_2|\le|x_1+x_2|\Rightarrow\min(|x_1|,|x_2|)\le2
Detailed analysis

Because |x1x2|=|n|<=|m|=|x1+x2|, the two nonzero integer roots cannot both have absolute value at least 3. Hence one root has absolute value at most 2, so it is one of 1,-1,2,-2.