We solve several multi-parameter families of binomial Thue equations of arbitrary degree; for example, we solve the equation \[ 5^u x^n-2^r 3^s y^n= \pm 1, \] in non-zero integers $x$, $y$ and positive integers $u$, $r$, $s$ and $n \geq 3$. Our approach uses several Frey curves simultaneously, Galois representations and level-lowering, new lower bounds for linear forms in $3$ logarithms due to Mignotte and a famous theorem of Bennett on binomial Thue equations.

Constants with formulae of the form treated by D.~Bailey, P.~Borwein, and S.~Plouffe (\emph{BBP formulae} to a given base $b$) have interesting computational properties, such as allowing single digits in their base $b$ expansion to be independently computed, and there are hints that they should be \emph{normal} numbers, {\em i.e.,} that their base $b$ digits are randomly distributed. We study a formally limited subset of BBP formulae, which we call \emph{Machin-type BBP formulae}, for which it is relatively easy to determine whether or not a given constant $\kappa$ has a Machin-type BBP formula. In particular, given $b \in \mathbb{N}$, $b>2$, $b$ not a proper power, a $b$-ary Machin-type BBP arctangent formula for $\kappa$ is a formula of the form $\kappa = \sum_{m} a_m \arctan(-b^{-m})$, $a_m \in \mathbb{Q}$, while when $b=2$, we also allow terms of the form $a_m \arctan(1/(1-2^m))$. Of particular interest, we show that $\pi$ has no Machin-type BBP arctangent formula when $b \neq 2$. To the best of our knowledge, when there is no Machin-type BBP formula for a constant then no BBP formula of any form is known for that constant.

The aim of the present paper is the computation of Green's functions for the powers $\DDelta^m$ of the invariant Laplace operator on rank-one Hermitian symmetric spaces. Starting with the noncompact case, the unit ball in $\CC^d$, we obtain a complete result for $m=1,2$ in all dimensions. For $m\ge3$ the formulas grow quite complicated so we restrict ourselves to the case of the unit disc ($d=1$) where we develop a method, possibly applicable also in other situations, for reducing the number of integrations by half, and use it to give a description of the boundary behaviour of these Green functions and to obtain their (multi-valued) analytic continuation to the entire complex plane. Next we discuss the type of special functions that turn up (hyperlogarithms of Kummer). Finally we treat also the compact case of the complex projective space $\Bbb P^d$ (for $d=1$, the Riemann sphere) and, as an application of our results, use eigenfunction expansions to obtain some new identities involving sums of Legendre ($d=1$) or Jacobi ($d>1$) polynomials and the polylogarithm function. The case of Green's functions of powers of weighted (no longer invariant, but only covariant) Laplacians is also briefly discussed.