The fundamental unit and bounds for class numbers of real quadratic fields

Although class number one problem for imaginary quadratic fields was solved in 1966 by A. Baker [3] and by H. M. Stark [25] independently, the problem for real quadratic fields remains still unsettled. However, since papers by Ankeny–Chowla–Hasse [2] and H. Hasse [9], many papers concerning this problem or giving estimate for class numbers of real quadratic fields from below have appeared. There are three methods used there, namely the first is related with quadratic diophantine equations ([2], [9], [27, 28, 29, 31], [17]), and the second is related with continued fraction expantions ([8], [4], [16], [14], [18]).