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Algebra Difficulty 6.7 National olympiad Prove it Romania

Determine all functions f:RRf: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}, integrable over any bounded interval, satisfying the condition
xyx+yf(t)dt=y(f(x+y)+f(xy)),for all real numbers x and y. \int_{x-y}^{x+y} f(t) \, dt = y(f(x+y) + f(x-y)), \quad \text{for all real numbers } x \text{ and } y.

Solution

It is readily checked that any affine function satisfies the condition in the statement. To prove the converse, set y=xy = x to write
02xf(t)dt=x(f(2x)+f(0)).() \int_{0}^{2x} f(t) \, dt = x(f(2x) + f(0)). \quad (*)
Since ff is integrable, ()(*) shows that the function g:RRg: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}, g(x)=x(f(2x)+f(0))g(x) = x(f(2x) + f(0)), is continuous, so ff is continuous on R=R{0}\mathbb{R}^* = \mathbb{R} \setminus \{0\}. Continuity of ff on R\mathbb{R}^* and ()(*) then show gg differentiable on R\mathbb{R}^*, so ff is differentiable on R\mathbb{R}^*.
Differentiate ()(*) to get 2f(2x)=f(2x)+f(0)+2xf(2x)2f(2x) = f(2x) + f(0) + 2x f'(2x); that is, xf(x)f(x)+f(0)=0x f'(x) - f(x) + f(0) = 0 for all x0x \neq 0. Consequently,
(f(x)f(0)x)=0for all x0, \left( \frac{f(x) - f(0)}{x} \right)' = 0 \quad \text{for all } x \neq 0,
so
f(x)={ax+f(0),x<0,bx+f(0),x>0. f(x) = \begin{cases} a x + f(0), & x < 0, \\ b x + f(0), & x > 0. \end{cases}
Set now x=0x = 0 and y=1y = 1 in the relation in the statement to write
f(1)+f(1)=11f(t)dt=10(at+f(0))dt+01(bt+f(0))dt=12(ba)+2f(0). \begin{aligned} f(1) + f(-1) &= \int_{-1}^{1} f(t) \, dt = \int_{-1}^{0} (a t + f(0)) \, dt + \int_{0}^{1} (b t + f(0)) \, dt \\ &= \frac{1}{2}(b-a) + 2f(0). \end{aligned}
Plug f(1)=b+f(0)f(1) = b + f(0) and f(1)=a+f(0)f(-1) = -a + f(0) into the above relation to get ba+2f(0)=12(ba)+2f(0)b - a + 2f(0) = \frac{1}{2}(b-a) + 2f(0), so a=ba = b and f(x)=ax+f(0)f(x) = a x + f(0) for all real numbers xx.

Alternative Solution:
For convenience, consider the integrable function g:RRg: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}, g(x)=f(x)f(0)g(x) = f(x) - f(0), along with the continuous function G:RRG: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}, G(x)=0xg(t)dtG(x) = \int_{0}^{x} g(t) \, dt. Clearly, gg and GG both vanish at the origin, and it is readily checked that
G(x+y)G(xy)=y(g(x+y)+g(xy)),for all real numbers x and y.(1) G(x+y) - G(x-y) = y(g(x+y) + g(x-y)), \quad \text{for all real numbers } x \text{ and } y. \quad (1)
Let x=y=t/2x = y = t/2 in (1), and recall that gg and GG both vanish at the origin, to infer that
2G(t)=tg(t),for all real numbers t.(2) 2G(t) = t g(t), \quad \text{for all real numbers } t. \tag{2}
Next, let x=0x = 0 in (1) and use (2) to infer that GG is an even function: G(y)=G(y)G(-y) = G(y), for all real numbers yy. With reference again to (2), it follows that gg is odd: g(y)=g(y)g(-y) = -g(y), for all real numbers yy. It is therefore sufficient to focus on the restrictions g+g_+ and G+G_+ of gg and GG, respectively, to the ray of positive real numbers.
By (2), continuity of G+G_+ implies that of g+g_+ which in turn implies differentiability of G+G_+ and G+=g+G'_+ = g_+.
Hence 2G+(t)=tG+(t)2G_+(t) = t G'_+(t) for all real t>0t > 0, showing that the function tt2G+(t)t \mapsto t^{-2} G_+(t), t>0t > 0, is constant; that is, G+(t)=αt2G_+(t) = \alpha t^2 for some real constant α\alpha, so g+(t)=atg_+(t) = a t, where a=2αa = 2\alpha.
Consequently, g(t)=atg(t) = a t for all real numbers tt, and f(t)=at+f(0)f(t) = a t + f(0).

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