The Problem of Catalan

In 1842 the Belgian mathematician Eugène Charles Catalan asked whether 8 and 9 are the only consecutive pure powers of non-zero integers. 160 years after, the question was answered affirmatively by the Swiss mathematician of Romanian origin Preda Mihăilescu. In other words, 3² - 2³ = 1 is the only solution of the equation x^p - y^q = 1 in integers x, y, p, q with xy 0 and p, q >= 2.

In this book we give a complete and (almost) self-contained exposition of Mihăilescus work, which must be understandable by a curious university student, not necessarily specializing in Number Theory. We assume a very modest background: a standard university course of algebra, including basic Galois theory, and working knowledge of basic algebraic number theory.