Markoff Equation and Nilpotent Matrices

Abstract

A triple (a,b,c) of positive integers is called a Markoff triple iff it satisfies the diophantine equation a2 + b2 + c2 = abc . Recasting the Markoff tree, whose vertices are Markoff triples, in the framework of intergral upper triangular 3x3 matrices, it will be shown that the largest member of such a triple determines the other two uniquely. This answers a question which has been open for almost 100 years.