5x5 bimagic search technique
by Lee Morgenstern, January 2014.


     A B C D E
     F G H I J
     K L M N P
     Q R S T U
     V W X Y Z

for MaxNo = 12 to 1000   [and hopefully greater]
for PartialSum = (MaxNo + 66)/3 to 2(MaxNo + 1)   [see Note 1]

List all 4-entry series adding to PartialSum using 1 to MaxNo.
Sort the series by their sum of squares.

for each group of three disjoint series
   with the same sum and sum of squares
   that contain both 1 and MaxNo          [see Note 2]
   assign them to A,G,T,Z and E,I,R,V and C,H,S,X such that

   E + I + R + V  =  A + G + T + Z  =  C + H + S + X
   E² + I² + R² + V²  =  A² + G² + T² + Z²  =  C² + H² + S² + X²

for each permutation of the 12 entries that satisfies the above,

   Avoid permutations that can be reached by a rotation, reflection, etc.
   Delay permutations until they are needed.   [see Note 3]

   3 choices for C,H,S,X line
   3 choices for (A,Z),(G,T) combo    AGTZ AGZT AZTG
   6 choices for (E,V),(I,R) combo
   6 choices for (C,X),(H,S) combo

Solve for L and N using Formula 1.
   L + N = A + Z + E + V + C + X - G - T - I - R
   L² + N² = A² + Z² + E² + V² + C² + X² - G² - T² - I² - R² Reject if not rational.

Solve for K and P using Formula 1.
   K + P = A + Z + G + T - L - N
   K² + P² = A² + Z² + G² + T² - L² - N² Reject if not rational.

for each permutation involving swapping
   E,V;  I,R;  K,P;  H,S   [16 permutations]

Solve for J and Q using Formula 2.
   J - Q = A + K + V - G - H - I
   J² - Q² = A² + K² + V² - G² - H² - I² Reject if not integer.

Solve for U and M using Formula 2.
U - M = A + G + Z - Q - R - S
U² - M² = A² + G² + Z² - Q² - R² - S² Reject if not integer.

Compute F = G + M + T + Z - K - V - Q
Verify F² = G² + M² + T² + Z² - K² - V² - Q² Reject if not equal.

for each permutation involving swapping
   L,N;  C,X  [4 permutations]

Solve for W and D using Formula 2.
   W - D = A + C + E - G - L - R
   W² - D² = A² + C² + E² - G² - L² - R² Reject if not integer.

Compute Y = A + G + Z + M - D - I - N
Verify Y² = A² + G² + Z² + M² - D² - I² - N² Reject if not equal.

Compute B = G + T + Z + M - C - D - E
Verify B² = G² + T² + Z² + M² - C² - D² - E² Reject if not equal.

Output solution.


Formula 1

Given a and b, find x and y such that
   x + y = a
   x² + y² = b

   x = (a + c)/2
   y = (a - c)/2
         where c² = 2b - a²

Reject if c is not rational.
Note that if a and b are integer and c is rational, then x and y will be integers.
Note also that the values of x and y can be swapped.

Formula 2

Given a and b, find x and y such that
   x - y = a
   x² - y² = b

This always has the rational solution
   x = (b/a + a)/2
   y = (b/a - a)/2
but may not be integer.


Note 1.

The highest PartialSum value is 2(MaxNo + 1).
If a bimagic square existed with a higher partial sum, you could subtract all of its entries from (MaxNo + 1) and get another bimagic square with a partial sum smaller than 2(MaxNo + 1) for the initial three series, which would have been found by an earlier search.

Note 2.

1 and MaxNo are required to be in the initial 12 entries.
If they weren't and a bimagic square was found, you could translate this solution to a range using a smaller value of MaxNo, which would have been found by an earlier search.

Note 3.

The computation of L,N and K,P results in the same values if E and V are swapped, for example. If these extra swaps are done and the computation of L,N or K,P is rejected, you would be rejecting the same thing multiple times.


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