Almost universal mixed sums of squares and polygonal numbers

Abstract

For each integer $m\ge3$, let $P_m(x)$ denote the generalized $m$-gonal number $\frac{(m-2)x^2-(m-4)x}{2}$ with $x\in\mathbb{Z}$. Given positive integers $a,b,c,k$ and an odd prime number $p$ with $p\nmid c$, we employ the theory of ternary quadratic forms to determine completely when the mixed sum $ax^2+by^2+cP_{p^k+2}(z)$ represents all but finitely many positive integers.