Some problems about the ternary quadratic form m₁² + m₂² + m₃²
Asymptotic formulae are provided for the number of representations of a natural number as the sum of four and of three squares that are pairwise coprime.
We prove that in a ring of S-integers containing 1/2, any totally positive element is a sum of five squares. We also exhibit examples of such rings where some totally positive elements cannot be written as the sum of four squares.
Under the assumption that the ternary form x² + 2y² + 5z² + xz represents all odd positive integers, we prove that a ternary quadratic form ax² + by² + cz² (a,b,c ∈ ℕ) represents all positive integers n ≡ 4(mod 8) if and only if it represents the eight integers 4,12,20,28,52,60,140 and 308.