Sums of three powerful numbers

Abstract

Let $p,q,r\ge 2$ and consider the Campana orbifold \[ \left( \mathbb{P}^1, \left(1-\tfrac1p\right)[0] +\left(1-\tfrac1q\right)[1] +\left(1-\tfrac1r\right)[\infty] \right). \] Primitive positive Campana points on this orbifold correspond to solutions of $a+b=c$ in which $a$, $b$, and $c$ are respectively $p$-full, $q$-full, and $r$-full. We establish upper bounds for the number of such points of bounded height in a broad range of exponents, with a power-saving over the trivial bound. The main analytic input is an estimate for primitive integral points in lopsided boxes on generalized Fermat surfaces $a_1{x}^p+a_2{y}^q+a_3{z}^r=0$, which is uniform in the coefficients.

18 pages