Integral zeros of quadratic polynomials avoiding sublattices

Abstract

Assuming an integral quadratic polynomial with nonsingular quadratic part has a nontrivial zero on an integer lattice outside of a union of finite-index sublattices, we prove that there exists such a zero of bounded norm and provide an explicit bound. This is a contribution related to the celebrated theorem of Cassels on small-height zeros of quadratic forms, which builds on some previous work in this area. We also demonstrate an application of these results to the problem of effective distribution of angles between vectors in the integer lattice.