An absolute bound for generalized Diophantine tuples over polynomial rings

Let $\mathbb F$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic $0$.

Let $k\geq 2$ be an integer, and let $n\in \mathbb F[x]\setminus\{0\}$.

We study generalized Diophantine tuples $A\subset \mathbb F[x]$ with property $D_k(n)$, meaning that $ab+n$ is a $k$-th power in $\mathbb F[x]$ for all distinct elements $a,b\in A$.

For $k\ge18$, we prove that every such tuple satisfies $|A|\le6$, except for the necessary exceptional family in which $n=s^2$ is a $k$-th power and $A\subset s\mathbb{F}$.

This bound is absolute: it is independent of both $n$ and $\operatorname{deg} n$.

Our proof develops a new method for studying polynomial Diophantine tuples, combining a determinant criterion, generalizations of the Mason--Stothers theorem, and the Combinatorial Nullstellensatz.

We also record a conditional analogue for generalized Diophantine tuples over the integers.