When a uniform ratio rounds to a square

Let X,Y∼Uniform(0,1)X, Y \sim \text{Uniform}(0,1) be independent. Compute the probability that ⌈YX⌉\left\lceil \dfrac{Y}{X} \right\rceil is a perfect square. The answer has the form q−π2aq - \dfrac{\pi^2}{a} for a rational number qq and an integer aa. What is a⋅qa\cdot q?

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  1. First find the CDF of R=Y/XR = Y/X: it is t/2t/2 for t≤1t\le1 and 1−1/(2t)1 - 1/(2t) for t≥1t\ge1. Then P(⌈R⌉=k)P(\lceil R\rceil=k) is a difference of CDF values.
  2. For k≥2k\ge2, P(⌈R⌉=k)=12k(k−1)P(\lceil R\rceil=k)=\tfrac{1}{2k(k-1)}. Sum over k=m2k=m^2; split into a telescoping series and the Basel sum ∑1/m2=π2/6\sum 1/m^2 = \pi^2/6. Don't forget the k=1k=1 term.

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